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Fresh Produce
Queensland is blessed not only with a perfect climate to grow amazing produce but extraordinary people who create it. From small family-operated farms to larger businesses, but all sharing a common bond: a commitment to quality, sustainability, biodynamic or organic processes plus innovative excellence. Rummaging around markets checking out the fruits of producers' labours is a favourite pastime but for a complete surprise, why not venture off the beaten track in search of taste sensations.
The Tropical North Queensland region is a bounty of exotic tropical fruits, wines, tea and coffees which languish under the tropical sun. The Cape Tribulation Exotic Fruit Farm and organic permaculture orchard has 150 fruit varieties and at least 10 are available for tasting on the farm tour. Meander inland from Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef to Innisfail and the misty mountains where the Hmong people, who are refugees from Laos live. They grow ducasse, a small, sweet, slightly tangy banana with soft pliable leaves and crunchy purple 'bells' which are used in an amazing array of fabulous dishes.
Nearby on a former sugar cane plantation, Levis and Louis Campagnolo are pioneering the cultivation of fragrant green peppercorns; the Salleras family grow sugar cane, tropical fruit and the lesser known crop of taro, which adds a nutty texture to Asian dishes; and at East Palmerston view the magnificent Nucifora Tea plantation. Buy a pesticide and herbicide-free sample to take home.
Savour the aroma of Arabica beans at the Maloberti's North Queensland Gold Coffee Plantation in Mareeba; and the Ambrose Biodynamic Organic Buffalo Dairy which produces mozzarella and flavoured fetta, is the only buffalo dairy in Queensland.
On the coast, sashimi-quality Yellow Fin tuna is delivered direct from the charter boats to local restaurants each morning; Pantacchini's Gourmet Seafood has smoked and cured barramundi, coral trout, and other local fish; hot and spicy palates are pacified with Sim Hayward's Asian Foods Australia, the largest Queensland-based Asian food wholesaler; and at the Bingil Bay Tahitian lime orchard at Mission Beach, add zing to your life with the gourmet range of preserves.
The culinary journey continues as you head south along the coast road through the sugar-producing capital of Australia the Burdekin, then to Townsville, Cardwell and Mackay. Road-side stalls everywhere burst forth with must-buy sensational mangoes, bananas, pineapples and melons in season, while timber shacks which hug rickety wharves, offer the freshest reef fish, the sweetest prawns and ambrosial mud crabs. Stop at the Flaggy Rock Exotic Fruit Garden south of Mackay where lunches including ice cream are home made by Hans and Janice Plessing.
Bundaberg is the fruit bowl of the Coral Coast, the supplier of chillies, tomatoes and the sweetest of peas to the southern states, however the mainstay of the local economy is sugar which distils into the famous Bundy Rum.
Meander inland to South-East Queensland Country and Kilkivan where Bendele Farm organic ducks are highly regarded nationally for their premium quality, and onto Goomeri where a success story is Spring Valley Olives. Terry Beutel's Googa Farms, which is nestled amongst the grassy hills and forest on the outskirts of Blackbutt produces dynamic organic avocado oil using cold pressing techniques.
Kingaroy is known as the peanut capital of Australia and the peanut van in Kingaroy Street sells nine flavours including a wowee chilli and garlic. At Christopher Ganzer's Kingaroy Cheese Company it's worth saving room in the esky for his award-winning triple cream brie and washed rind.
Closer to the coast at Gympie, sweet tooths will be in seventh heaven at the Nut Farm where macadamias are roasted in honey from the farm and smothered in chocolate. French-born cheesemaker extraordinaire Camille Mortaud continues to make glorious Gympie Farm Goat Cheeses plus European-style cultured butter using local Jersey cream.
South from the Cooloola Coast is the Sunshine Coast. In the rich rolling hills of the hinterland, Joel and Shirin Donaldson who turned a conventional farm into the Kenilworth Organic Olive Farm with 1200 plus trees, are vigilant about pressing the five varieties of olives at the right time to extract the perfect flavours for a cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. When the Kraft factory closed in Kenilworth, the ex employees pooled their resources and carrying on the tradition from the 1920s of handcrafting Malling Red and Malling Roma cheeses. Today Kenilworth Country Foods, using milk from the local dairy herds, churn a range of 20 cheeses.
Nearby on the Coolabine Road, visit the Coolabine Farmstead Goats Cheeses, where Dee Dunham and her daughter Rachel treat their 80-plus herd of Anglo-Nubian and Saanen Boer goats like pets and say thank-you to their owners with creamy milk that Dee makes into award-winning cheese such as fetta and curd. Durnford Dart's Bamboo Australia at Belli Park grows 250 species of bamboo including shoots for Asian cooking; Shipard's Herb Farm in Nambour has an incredible range of culinary herbs and spices; for the real taste of the rainforest, Galeru in Cooroy makes cakes and sauces using bush foods such as lemon myrtle and rainberries, and between June and November pick your own strawberries from Strawberry Fields at Palmview opposite the Ettamogah Pub.
Garnisha Spice Gardens at Boreen Point grow all the glory of a good curry and Tim and Claire Warren lovingly make them into authentic pastes and chutneys. At the Australian Nougat Company in Eumundi, the French-style nougat is studded with taste sensations such as macadamias, ginger, coffee, chocolate and pistachio and nearby, discover the taste of Noosa Reds vine ripened tomatoes at Doonan.
In Brisbane's Moreton Bay Kooringal Oysters are hand-harvested and chocoholics are guaranteed divine intervention at Mayfield Chocolates in Spring Hill; just north of Brisbane at Kallangur, Ron Bray's love of the tomatoes has earned him a prestigious Jaguar Award for Primary Produce. His Tomato Patch at also sells homemade relish and other seasonal vegetables.
A short drive south of Brisbane is the Gold Coast with its white sandy beaches and unspoilt hinterland. At Mudgeeraba Maria Tate and her partner Allan Nielson have created a garden of Eden growing ingredients for their one hundred plus varieties of their Mudgeeraba Spice Indian-style pickles and chutneys; nearby at Berrigans Road, the Parsons' Charella Farmstead Goat Dairy sells first class goat's cheese; and take time out amongst the 900 coffee trees at the Mt Tamborine Coffee Plantation and Fingerprint Gallery for a coffee which has one of the lowest caffeine contents of any coffee in the world.
The cooler climes of the Granite Belt tablelands in the Toowoomba and Southern Downs regions are home to many migrants whose forte apart from winemaking is growing apples, pears and stone fruit.
The Berry Patch at Glen Aplin, next to Cominos Winery at Stanthorpe has cherry products such as liqueurs, jams, sauces and spreads plus fresh cherries during October to mid December; Wilga Vale Venison at Texas, runs several types of deer and has cuts of venison and sausages; and look out for roadside stalls selling fruit and vegetable in season.
Tropical North Queensland
The Tropical North Queensland region is a bounty of exotic tropical fruits, wines, tea and coffees which languish under the tropical sun. The Cape Tribulation Exotic Fruit Farm and organic permaculture orchard has 150 fruit varieties and at least 10 are available for tasting on the farm tour. Meander inland from Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef to Innisfail and the misty mountains where the Hmong people, who are refugees from Laos live. They grow ducasse, a small, sweet, slightly tangy banana with soft pliable leaves and crunchy purple 'bells' which are used in an amazing array of fabulous dishes.
Nearby on a former sugar cane plantation, Levis and Louis Campagnolo are pioneering the cultivation of fragrant green peppercorns; the Salleras family grow sugar cane, tropical fruit and the lesser known crop of taro, which adds a nutty texture to Asian dishes; and at East Palmerston view the magnificent Nucifora Tea plantation. Buy a pesticide and herbicide-free sample to take home.
Savour the aroma of Arabica beans at the Maloberti's North Queensland Gold Coffee Plantation in Mareeba; and the Ambrose Biodynamic Organic Buffalo Dairy which produces mozzarella and flavoured fetta, is the only buffalo dairy in Queensland.
On the coast, sashimi-quality Yellow Fin tuna is delivered direct from the charter boats to local restaurants each morning; Pantacchini's Gourmet Seafood has smoked and cured barramundi, coral trout, and other local fish; hot and spicy palates are pacified with Sim Hayward's Asian Foods Australia, the largest Queensland-based Asian food wholesaler; and at the Bingil Bay Tahitian lime orchard at Mission Beach, add zing to your life with the gourmet range of preserves.
Heading South
The culinary journey continues as you head south along the coast road through the sugar-producing capital of Australia the Burdekin, then to Townsville, Cardwell and Mackay. Road-side stalls everywhere burst forth with must-buy sensational mangoes, bananas, pineapples and melons in season, while timber shacks which hug rickety wharves, offer the freshest reef fish, the sweetest prawns and ambrosial mud crabs. Stop at the Flaggy Rock Exotic Fruit Garden south of Mackay where lunches including ice cream are home made by Hans and Janice Plessing.
Bundaberg is the fruit bowl of the Coral Coast, the supplier of chillies, tomatoes and the sweetest of peas to the southern states, however the mainstay of the local economy is sugar which distils into the famous Bundy Rum.
South East Queensland Country
Meander inland to South-East Queensland Country and Kilkivan where Bendele Farm organic ducks are highly regarded nationally for their premium quality, and onto Goomeri where a success story is Spring Valley Olives. Terry Beutel's Googa Farms, which is nestled amongst the grassy hills and forest on the outskirts of Blackbutt produces dynamic organic avocado oil using cold pressing techniques.
Kingaroy is known as the peanut capital of Australia and the peanut van in Kingaroy Street sells nine flavours including a wowee chilli and garlic. At Christopher Ganzer's Kingaroy Cheese Company it's worth saving room in the esky for his award-winning triple cream brie and washed rind.
Closer to the coast at Gympie, sweet tooths will be in seventh heaven at the Nut Farm where macadamias are roasted in honey from the farm and smothered in chocolate. French-born cheesemaker extraordinaire Camille Mortaud continues to make glorious Gympie Farm Goat Cheeses plus European-style cultured butter using local Jersey cream.
Sunshine Coast
South from the Cooloola Coast is the Sunshine Coast. In the rich rolling hills of the hinterland, Joel and Shirin Donaldson who turned a conventional farm into the Kenilworth Organic Olive Farm with 1200 plus trees, are vigilant about pressing the five varieties of olives at the right time to extract the perfect flavours for a cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. When the Kraft factory closed in Kenilworth, the ex employees pooled their resources and carrying on the tradition from the 1920s of handcrafting Malling Red and Malling Roma cheeses. Today Kenilworth Country Foods, using milk from the local dairy herds, churn a range of 20 cheeses.
Nearby on the Coolabine Road, visit the Coolabine Farmstead Goats Cheeses, where Dee Dunham and her daughter Rachel treat their 80-plus herd of Anglo-Nubian and Saanen Boer goats like pets and say thank-you to their owners with creamy milk that Dee makes into award-winning cheese such as fetta and curd. Durnford Dart's Bamboo Australia at Belli Park grows 250 species of bamboo including shoots for Asian cooking; Shipard's Herb Farm in Nambour has an incredible range of culinary herbs and spices; for the real taste of the rainforest, Galeru in Cooroy makes cakes and sauces using bush foods such as lemon myrtle and rainberries, and between June and November pick your own strawberries from Strawberry Fields at Palmview opposite the Ettamogah Pub.
Garnisha Spice Gardens at Boreen Point grow all the glory of a good curry and Tim and Claire Warren lovingly make them into authentic pastes and chutneys. At the Australian Nougat Company in Eumundi, the French-style nougat is studded with taste sensations such as macadamias, ginger, coffee, chocolate and pistachio and nearby, discover the taste of Noosa Reds vine ripened tomatoes at Doonan.
Brisbane
In Brisbane's Moreton Bay Kooringal Oysters are hand-harvested and chocoholics are guaranteed divine intervention at Mayfield Chocolates in Spring Hill; just north of Brisbane at Kallangur, Ron Bray's love of the tomatoes has earned him a prestigious Jaguar Award for Primary Produce. His Tomato Patch at also sells homemade relish and other seasonal vegetables.
Gold Coast
A short drive south of Brisbane is the Gold Coast with its white sandy beaches and unspoilt hinterland. At Mudgeeraba Maria Tate and her partner Allan Nielson have created a garden of Eden growing ingredients for their one hundred plus varieties of their Mudgeeraba Spice Indian-style pickles and chutneys; nearby at Berrigans Road, the Parsons' Charella Farmstead Goat Dairy sells first class goat's cheese; and take time out amongst the 900 coffee trees at the Mt Tamborine Coffee Plantation and Fingerprint Gallery for a coffee which has one of the lowest caffeine contents of any coffee in the world.
Toowoomba & Southern Downs
The cooler climes of the Granite Belt tablelands in the Toowoomba and Southern Downs regions are home to many migrants whose forte apart from winemaking is growing apples, pears and stone fruit.
The Berry Patch at Glen Aplin, next to Cominos Winery at Stanthorpe has cherry products such as liqueurs, jams, sauces and spreads plus fresh cherries during October to mid December; Wilga Vale Venison at Texas, runs several types of deer and has cuts of venison and sausages; and look out for roadside stalls selling fruit and vegetable in season.
Celebrity Comments
Ben O'DonoghueSurfing the Menu, ABC TV |
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Hervey Bay and Fraser Island are some of my favourite places in Queensland. The beautiful beaches are just sensational, and the variety of seafood is second to none. My mate Shaun Beckett owns a fish shop in Hervey Bay called Urangan Fisheries and it's the best one on the east coast. You can do ultra lite flights and view the whales, the place is awesome.
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Peter HowardChef, Author & Speaker |
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WatermelonIn the pool or dam... that was very best place for me to devour big wedge luscious, cool watermelon - now this crunch cousin of the cucumber family finds its way into martinis, grown up smoothies and seductive salads where it is adorned with feta cheese, red onion, and rose water dressing. What's not to like about it... and now even the seeds have gone! |
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