Going nuts at Hazelbrae!

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Left: Lexi Pietsch of Carrick demonstrates her superior nut cracking skills.
Centre: Ashlee Mitchell and Paula Connell from Hadspen tuck into pizza.
Right: Debbie Smith of Deloraine with Saige (3) and Maya Smith (4) of Campbell Town, playing with water beads.
All photos by Neil Richardson

David Claridge

THE DOWNTIME for business during the Covid-19 lock downs in Tasmania last year caused a lot of hardship.

For Hazelbrae owners Christie McLeod and Michael Delphin, it gave them the opportunity to plan an event that they had been wanting to do for many years.

The result was the first Meander Valley Hazelnut Festival, a sell out success.

Hundreds of people flocked to Hazelbrae in Hagley on Sunday 7 February, two days after World Nutella Day.

Christie shared how the event came together.

‘We’ve had a festival in our minds for seven years, but we’ve never had the time to organise it until now’, she said.

‘Advertising started three weeks before the event. All the tickets sold, so we had to unfortunately close the gates to walk-ins.

‘Our Covid-19 plan limited the amount of people we could have at any time.

‘People were able to bring an empty picnic basket and join in a “picnic circle” where they could pick their favourite foods from local producers, pick a spot to sit and eat, either on the grass or by the garden,and listen to the Pete Cornelius Duo.’

Children enjoyed the tractor rides through the orchard and the faerie hunt.

The big draw to the festival was the eating competition where contestants had to eat one kilogram of Hazelbrae’s own hazelnut spread made with Federation Chocolate.

Only one person was able to finish the contest.

‘For next year’s event we are thinking of making Ferrero Rocher cakes for the competition’, said Christie.

Hazelbrae Farm Cafe is now back open for business, from Wednesday to Saturday 10am-4pm and Friday nights for dinner.

Bookings are being taken for the cafe and future group tours on 0482 945547. (Please leave a message or text outside opening hours.)

Product and wholesale enquiries can be made with Christie on 0438506988.