Barossa food’s distinctive character comes from its unique cultural history.  Original traditional dishes made by German-speaking and English settlers are described in History of Barossa Food on this website. Foods made locally by Food Barossa members reflect local food traditions by producing ingredients and dishes that have connections with the settlers’ original food products and customs. Members also offer foods made with a personal touch. The producers are inspected regularly to ensure continuing adherence to Food Barossa principles.

Food Barossa began in 2000, when the founding producer-members proudly presented their products at a launch at Peter Lehmann Wines. As part of the constitution producers seeking promotion under Food Barossa’s distinctive “Fork and Cork” logo had to meet certain criteria established jointly by the producers themselves. The administration was managed with funding from all levels of government by a project officer who was later called a Food Industry Development Officer.

Other districts of South Australia subsequently developed their own food groups, each with a Food Industry Development Officer. Each was organised in a slightly different way, but the aim of all the groups was to promote and develop food producers and their products, and representatives of the groups meet regularly to share experiences and to learn from each other.