Foodies brave winter weather for The Forage
Undeterred by the cold Canberra weather, hundreds of people converged on Barton to sample some of the best food the area had to offer at The Forage.
The second iteration of the popular event for 2018, dozens of food stalls opened to public on the grounds of the Little National Hotel, with warming winter food front and centre.
The event, which happens three times a year, has been running in Barton since 2014, with crowd number and stall holders increasing.
As usual, live music was on show, with a range of Canberra musicians performing throughout the day.
The Forage was founded by Canberra businesswoman Belinda Neame, who wanted to showcase food, wine and musical talent from across the region to a wider audience.
Among the many stallholders at the June event was Stuart Strutt-Shotton, who is the owner of Enigma Fine Chocolates.
He said the cooler weather made his hot chocolates one of the most popular items of the day.
"It's been really good and absolutely packed like other Forages that we've attended," he said.
"There's a lot of different food to choose from and people come over for the sweet stuff later on in the day, so there's a good steadiness in the crowd and then we pick up as the sun goes down."
June's Forage was the fourth Mr Strutt-Shotton has showed off his Canberra-made chocolates and truffles, having started Enigma after working in various kitchens.
"It just started off as a part time business, and now it's grown into a full time job," he said.
"I wanted to bring something different to Canberra in terms of chocolate."
The chocolatier said while he has seen the food and wine event grow over its many iterations, he said he prefers the events during the colder months.
"There's a little trouble with the weather during summer, the chocolate's not too happy, with it being an outdoor event."
Mr Strutt-Shotton said The Forage has gone from strength to strength every year.
"Events like The Forage and local markets are a huge thing for us, it allows us to meet more customers," he said.
"There's a lot of support for the event from locals as well as interstaters."