ADVENTURENOOSA
havejustspenta weekeatingmy
wayaroundQueenslandwitha
groupofinternationalfoodand
travelwriters.Someofthem
travelled 22 hourstogetthere,and
consideringmytripwastheshortest–
onlythreehoursfromAuckland– I can’t
tellyouwhyI haven’tvisitedearlier.
I fellinlovewiththisbountiful
Australianstate,withitswindingrivers,
lushhinterlandsandcoastalsettlements.
ThefoodI sampledandthehospitalityI
experiencedimpressedmesomuchI am
planninga tripbackwithmyfamily.
MyloveaffairwithQueenslandbegan
ontheNoosaRiverontheSunshine
Coast,whereweenjoyedsundowners,
livemusicanda mealspeciallyprepared
forusby 2016 MasterchefAustralia
runner-upMattSinclair.
Mattcanusuallybefoundathis
beachsideeatery,SumYungGuys,where
Asiancuisineisservedshared-platter-
style,butonthiseveningtheQueensland
WORDSfood ambassador was cooking for us on
Karyn Henger
. PHOTOGRAPHY
Krista Eppelstun
.
Lucky,luckycountryOppositepage:ChefsliterallylayclaimtocertaintreeswhensourcingorganicproducefromTheFallsFarmin
Queensland’shinterland.Above:AtWasabirestaurant,atNoosaHeads,Japanesetechniquesareappliedtobushfoodincludinghoney
painstakingly collected from the tiny Australian native bee. The Noosa River – beautiful from boat, paddleboard or riverbank.boardtheMVCatalina,Noosa’sonly
floatingeventspace.
Thestarter,a FraserIslandspanner
crabandcucumbertoastiewith
lemongrassmayo,wassodelectableI
doubtI canevereata toastieasI knowit
(tomatoandcheeseonMolenberg)again.
Anumberofusreturnedtotheriver
thenextmorningforsomestand-up
paddleboarding(wediscoveredour
guideonceplayeduniversityrugbywith
RichieMcCaw)andit wasbeautiful–
quitea waytoexperiencetheriver.
Otherstooktothecoastalwalkwaysat
NoosaNationalParkwhereyouare
spoiltforchoicewithwalkingtracksand
hiddenbaystodiscover.
Ourtripwastimedtocoincidewith
theNoosaWineandFoodFestival,an
eventfoodiesandchefsfromalloverthe
countryflocktoeveryyear.ChefMatt
Wilkinson,ofMelbourne’shighly
regardedPopeJoanrestaurant,wasin
townforit andtoldusit wasthe
“number-one festival [of its kind] inAustralia”.“It’sa bitofa chefs’gathering- wedogeta bitrowdy,”heconfided.
“Andit’soneoftheonlyfestivalswhere
yougettoseethechefsmixingwiththe
festival-goers.”
Weattendeda handfuloffestival
events,includinglunchatWasabi
Restaurant&Bar,NoosaHeads.
WasabiservesJapanesecuisinewitha
twist.Asoneofmycompanionsputit,
“it’swhereAustralianbushfoodsand
Japanesestylesharetheplateforan
amazingmenu”.Inkeepingwitha
philosophyfollowedbyauthentic
JapaneserestaurantsinJapan,the
ingredientsareonlysourcedfromthe
immediatearea,givingthecuisinea
uniqueflavouroftheAustralianbush.
Onthedaywedroppedin,executive
chefandco-ownerZebGilbertserveda
‘collaborative’dégustationmealthathe’d
preparedwiththevisitingheadchefand
residentforager(AlastairWaddelland
PeterHardwick)fromHarvestrestaurant
in Newrybar, New South Wales.