IF THE chef at your favourite restaurant is missing from his or her usual place behind the stove this month, chances are they’re on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Noosa Food and Wine 2016 has attracted some of Australia’s best chefs who will headline more than 30 events in some of the region’s most idyllic locations.
They will join Noosa’s own at events on Main Beach, by the Noosa River in Noosaville and in signature restaurants.
Guest chefs include Pete Evans, Ben O’Donoghue, Luke Mangan, Cory Campbell, Massimo Mele, Matt Golinski and Noosa’s Peter Kuruvita.
The long-running festival is under new management this year and it has put Australian chefs, particularly local chefs, front and centre.
Events are more affordable and accessible with prices starting at just $15.
More local restaurants have joined in the spirit, organising co-hosted dinners that promise “the perfect pairing of chef and wine”.
You’ll find these dining experiences at restaurants such as Sails Noosa, Embassy XO, Pitchfork, Thomas Corner Eatery, Season, Wasabi, Sirocco, Ricky’s River Bar & Restaurant, Arcuri, Noosa Waterfront, Rump House, Locale, Peppers Noosa and Noosa Beach House.
Tickets for some events have already been snapped up, such as the Long Lunch on Hastings Street and the opportunity to visit the Australian home of Sir Richard Branson, on Makepeace Island, a luxurious private island.
For this event, the lucky guests will travel in style aboard the Catalina along the Noosa River, enjoy an exclusive tour of Sir Richard’s home and then sit down to a seafood lunch designed by David Pugh, Massimo Mele and Peter Kuruvita with matching wines by Pizzini Wines.
Other program highlights include a presentation on the Paleo Way with My Kitchen Rules judge and advocate of the contentious Paleo diet, Pete Evans, and a Wine Tasting Quarter at Sheraton Noosa Resort and Spa where you can enjoy tastings from 22 of Australia’s best wineries.
The place to be on May 22 is Main Beach first thing in the morning for a surfers versus chefs competition. Word is the loser has to cook breakfast – and the surfers are pretty confident they won’t be the ones wielding a breakfast pan.
Then it will be time to head down to the Noosa River at Noosaville where the Noosa Boathouse restaurant will present a barbecue, You’re Better on Beef, from 11.30am with entertainment, local wines and beers.
This celebration of Australian beef will see chefs Matt Golinski, Alastair McLeod, Sunny Gilbert and Shane Bailey serve up their favourite sirloin dishes and wait for the votes to come in from hungry diners as to who has cooked the best dish.
* Sue Preston was a guest of Tourism Noosa and Seahaven Noosa.
IF YOU GO
NOOSA Food and Wine 2016, May 20-22 – www.noosafoodwinefestival.com.au
STAY: Seahaven Noosa is an absolute beachfront property on Hastings Street. Fresh from a $16 million transformation, it features 68 self-contained apartments and rooms in traditional Noosa low-level style (there are no high-rises in Noosa).
The beachfront apartments and rooftop penthouses enjoy uninterrupted ocean views, which means they have a ringside seat to all the wonderful festival events. Its prized apartments are those on the top level, which come with their own expansive roof top terrace, six-person spa pool and barbecue.
Those on ground level have direct access to the resort’s two large pools and two spa pools, as well as direct beach access through low-security gates onto Main Beach.
The apartments have their own kitchens, but Noosa has such a choice of restaurants and cafes, why would you cook, particularly while the festival is on.
The more affordable studio rooms may lack the beach views but their location on bustling Hastings Street is just a stone’s throw from the beach, as well as everything else on offer. 1800-072-013, www.seahavennoosa.com.au
