There were two requisites for attending Nutella Palooza yesterday:

1. Must love Nutella, or any sugary delicious goodness for that matter, including fudge, brownies, pastries, oodles of chocolate and all kinds of Nutella based treats. For those wishing to counteract their sugar intake with a bit of light savoury need not attend either. Food trucks brimming with burgers, fried, wedges, pizza, Mexican and much more were on offer to add to the feast.

2. Be prepared to hustle for your tasty treats. From the opening of the gates the festival was packed, bursting at the seams with Nutella enthusiasts from all across Adelaide, coming to pay their respects and stuff their faces. The elbows were out and in many cases the early bird did get the worm, as many treats sold out early due to sheer demand. The best tactic was to grab a friend, pick a topic you could talk about forever and just enjoy the line ride.

A day of pure indulgence, Nutella Palooza is like a giant Fork in the Road that’s high on sugar. As far as the eye could see there were food trucks, tents, carts and pop up stalls filled with food, glorious food. For the casual Nutella enjoyer you could simply wander about, visit the chocolate tent, peruse the pastries or idolize some ice creams before making your section, chowing down on a Nutella Pizza, and heading off to bounce of the walls for a few hours before a sugar crash nap in the afternoon.

For the more serious connoisseur, there were cooking demonstrations throughout the day, showing you how to make the most of your hazelnut goodness (we just eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon, but if you have the willpower to use it in other ways, power to you).

Those truly dedicated, for whom simply eating Nutella was just not enough, headed for Steve the Bartender bar where they could wash down their Nutella Cronut with a delicious Nutella Espresso Freakshake, topped with sprinkled doughnut. Or for those wanting something a little more savoury, Big Shed Brewing Co. were on hand with the Nuts ‘n’ Malts – a dark beer that was a lot more bitter than expected and really captured the early, nutty flavour of Nutella, sans sugar, plus alcohol. For those Nutella’d out there were plenty of wines, spirits and beer flavoured beers on offer, plus Pimm’s Jugs and Mojitos, which could be enjoyed while listening to the sweet sounds of the one and only Michael Jackson being pumped out by the DJ. There was even a flash mob, just to remind us all that we are going to need to burn those calories at some point.

We would have to guess, seeing the turn out and the excitement on the sugar crazed faces of the crowd that founders David and Tash are pleased with how the day went. The first event for both of them, with the assistance of Splash Adelaide, we wager this will not be their last and we are already eagerly awaiting next year.

Words and Photos by Olga Winter from Little Miss Stuff

Photos also by Angela Scarfo from All About That Food

WHERE: Bonython Park, Port Rd, Adelaide