Australia’s singing cook once again brings her award winning music sensation, Comfort Food Cabaret, to the Adelaide Fringe.

Michelle Pearson combines both her passions for food and music within one spectacular, fun-filled show, which she says lets her have her cake and eat it too.

Pearson’s soulful voice was a delight, as she effortlessly serenaded the audience while discussing her life’s journeys, giving an insight into her loves, heartbreaks and her passion for food and family.

Creating a feast for the senses, Pearson served up a wonderful performance on Thursday night, filled with lots of food, love and laughter.

“Tonight is all about comfort food. It is all about non-pretentious, delicious, tasty food that probably doesn’t quite fit into your weight watchers diet,” she said.

Celebrating the Fringe and everyone’s love for food, Pearson’s choice of performing within the Adelaide Central Markets was a perfect fit.

Using ingredients from the local stalls, Pearson, with the help of her ‘cooking queens’ Loren Quinn and Rhiannon Groutsch, was able to conjure up a delicious three-course meal for the whole audience to enjoy.

Not only did we get to see how the three meals were prepared, but we were able to try every dish, all while Pearson told stories about her life through cabaret songs, using them as a way to introduce each dish she was about to cook.

The food portions were small but full of flavour, and represented certain moments in Pearson’s life: A handsome young chef brought on our entrée of Basil and Cheese Arancini; A date with Pete gone horribly wrong was saved by the Macaroni and Cheese we had for our main; while the Cheesecake we had for dessert was inspired by the love for her family who helped begin her cooking journey.

Michelle’s strong and powerful vocal chords, accompanied by bass and keys, led the audience on a soulful food journey where the lyrics changed to match the meals and the situations Pearson was in; all to the tunes of well-known songs, such as: The Temptations’ ‘Get Ready’, Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’, Timbaland’s ‘Apologise’, and Katy Perry’s ‘Teenage Dream’.

Our compliments were given to the chef as we cleaned our plates and licked our lips after every meal. However, the food came second to the main star of the show that was Pearson’s voice and her emotional and slow rendition of Jimmy Barnes’, ‘Working Class Man’, dedicated to her late grandfather.

Her song moved the hearts of audience members, almost bringing us to tears and sending our thoughts towards our own memories of cooking with loved ones.

Comfort Food Cabaret is a must see show that will tick all the boxes and leave audiences with full stomachs and warm hearts.

Interesting, hilarious and touching stories, intertwined with step-by-step instructions on how to make delicious recipes, made this show the most exciting cooking lesson I have ever experienced.

Michelle Pearson has also released her own Comfort Food Cabaret Cookbook, which is available online, featuring the recipes from all of her shows.

If this seems like the show for you, but you’ve missed out on seeing her at this year’s Fringe, don’t fret as Pearson will also be performing at the upcoming Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, offering a premium version of Comfort Food Cabaret, and also again in Tasting Australia, right here in Adelaide.

This is one dinner party you don’t want to miss, so make sure to book your tickets to Comfort Food Cabaret whenever it comes to town.

Words by Cyndal King