Behind The Scenes At The Central Markets

Am I the only person who gets so overwhelmed by the Adelaide Central Markets that I tend to go back to the exact same stalls every time? 

It turns out there is a solution. 

I love the Central Markets so I jumped at the chance to take a tour of them with Central Market Tours, fellow Glam Adelaide writer Gianni and and Celebrity Chef Matt Moran. Also because I never turn down free food. Never.

Central Market Tours was a great way to discover a lot of hidden gems at the markets and visit stalls you never would have noticed before. Including discovering the best shallot pancakes I have ever tasted.

 I was expecting Matt Moran to be scary and intimidating like he is on Masterchef but he was actually very nice and surprisingly down to earth. He also followed me on Twitter which pretty much means we are besties now (free dinner at Aria?).

He's spent a lot of time in Adelaide recently and seemed to really enjoy it here. I was also super impressed that he was tweeting and blogging as we went as part of TQUAL (tourism quality).

Usually I am the only person on their phone 24/7.

You can read his TQUAL tick tour blog here.

The markets tour may seem like something only tourists would do but it's something fun to do next time you have people visitng from interstate. I guarantee you will discover a host of things you didn't know about the markets. 

I also got to go into A ROOM OF CHEESE. It was pretty much an out of body experience.

Hilton High Tea

High Tea seems to be really in fashion right now. 

But how many people can say they have had High Tea in Rundle Mall complete with an Eiffel Tower made of ice!

The Hilton puts on High Tea every Saturday and Sunday and the hotel and Harris Scarfe held this event in Rundle Mall last week. 

And I can tell you that the cakes were made extra sweet by the jealously of the onlookers.

Even though we were lucky enough to be served Veuve Clicquot, I was very impressed by range of teas on offer. The Hilton actually has a tea sommelier - a whole employee dedicated to tea who said 'there is an art to tea'!

If you would also like to be jealous of my High Tea experience also, check out some of my photos below and maybe get some inspiration for hosting your own High Tea. 

A Night In London - The Best Of British Dinner

On the anniversary of Kate and Wills' marriage I got dressed up like a royal and headed to the Best Of British dinner at the InterContinental Adelaide.

Now, I didn't think that Britian was know for it's excellent cuisine. In fact I thought it was quite the opposite.

However, I suppose if you're going to eat calf tongue and eel, you may as well have it cooked by some of the best chefs in the world.

Plus Bernie Vince was there so....

I wore an amazing Couture + Love + Madness gown. Navy is one of my favourite colours and sequins are the next big thing this season so it was perfect.

After the eel and the tounge and some lamb chops (that we're actually quie normal and delicious) a Beatles cover band The Fab Four entertained the crowd and they were actually really, really good!

The last cover band I saw was a Spice Girls tribute band called Sugar and Spice at the Tivoli when I was 8 so I really wasn't sure what to expect after that experience.

The highlight was when one of The Beatles asked to have a photos with me. He said his name was Andy. I'm pretty sure there is no Andy in The Beatles. They may need to learn to stay in character better.

One thing that had me a bit confused was the dress code which was black tie. I always took black tie to mean floor length gowns for girls and tuxedos for the boys. But apparently that's white tie, so Google has saved the day and here's a guide if you're ever invited to a black tie or white tie event.

Black Tie

Traditionally black tie is only worn for events after 6pm.

Less formal than white tie.

Women
Usually means a dinner (to the ankle) or tea (below mid-calf) sleeveless dress. Today cocktail (knee-length) dresses are considered appropriate.

Men 

Suit, usually of black wool, in which the jacket lapels and trouser braid are of silk or other contrasting material, a white dress shirt, a black bow-tie, a waistcoat or cummerbund, and black dress shoes.

White Tie

Also for events after 6pm.

 Worn to ceremonial occasions such as state dinners as well as to very formal balls and evening weddings.

Men

Black dress coat commonly known as an evening tailcoat, white bow tie, white waistcoat and starched wing collar shirt, 

Women should wear a formal gown to the ankle.

I still prefer full length dresses over cocktail for black tie and at the end of the day and if you have the chace to wear a beautiful gown and dress up, why the heck wouldn't you?

InterContinental Adelaide photos by Chloe Henderson Photography

900 Ways To Wear Black & White - H By Felici Launch

Cristina Tridente of Couture+Love+Madness created this dress!

Friday night was the much anticipated H by Felici Launch at Burnside Village.

I seem to be spending a lot of time at Burnside lately. Next thing you know I'll be wearing pearls and driving an SUV!

The dress code was black and white cocktail and luckily most people stuck to this which made for a very impressive looking crowd.

To be honest, the dress code really threw me. As soon as I felt like I was told what I had to wear I was really put off and kept seeing beautiful colourful dresses everywhere.

However I ended up being really happy with my outfit.

I wore a white Liza Emanuele strapless dress, Witchery shoes and accessories from Miss Mollini on King William Road.

I also surprisingly didn't spot any people wearing the same thing which was kind of amazing. 

900 people ended up attending the launch! In Adelaide, you often end up with the same crowds at events (there's only so many of us) so it was kind of cool to attend a huge launch like this.

I've picked a selection of the 900 black and white outfits to showcase below. 

I thought that with so many people it would be hard to get a drink/food/move around but it didn't feel like there was that many people there.

 The delicious canapés were styled from the H by Felici menu by Paul Wood and guests even had the choice of Longview Wines, McLaren Vale Beer or Hills Cider.

 I may or may not have had one too many ciders...

 Mark Holden, the former Australian Idol judge made an appearance which was pretty random. Dicko gets The Celebrity Apprentice, Mark Holden gets restaurant launches in Adelaide.

It was really a great night and if I learnt anything (besides to cut back on the ciders unless you want to end up falling down the stairs at Sugar and 2am) it's that there really are 900 different ways to wear black and white!

All photos were taken by Supernova Photographics and can be found on Glam Adelaide.

Nespresso VIP Launch in Adelaide

What would make former Miss Universe Australia and Celebrity Apprentice star Jesinta Campbell treck all the way to Adelaide? The launch of Nespresso of course!

The launch of the Nespresso boutique in Rundle Mall has been highly anticipated. We've had people emailing us at Glam Adelaide asking how they can get an invite and I've heard whispers that people have been ringing up pretending to be from PR companies and asking for tickets!

The lengths people will go for a good cup of coffee!

If you haven't ever used a Nespresso machine then you probably won't understand the craze. 

I think the real appeal is that they're cute little machines, the coffee comes in funky little pods, and they are endorsed by George Clooney. Nespresso is the hottest trend in coffee right now. 

Most of all it's just fabulous that Adelaide keeps getting these great new stores and luxury brands!

The incredibly gorgeous (and friendly, she was crowned Miss Congeniality you know) Jesinta Campbell opened the store in a citrus George Gross & Harry Who dress.

I have never paid much attention to the Adelaide designers always assuming that they catered to an older market than myself but after seeing Jesinta Campbell rock that dress I feel like I seriously need to get me some George and Harry.

I loved the lime dress and I noticed a lot of women were wearing bright, block coloured dresses.

This is definitely a next purchase on the cards.... after a Nespresso machine of course!