When food, wine, celebrity chefs and the sensational Sunshine Coast come together for a four-day culinary celebration, the only thing for a Brisbane local to do is jump in the car, drive two hours north and check what all the fuss is about.
It’s day three of the Noosa International Food and Wine Festival, and being the self-confessed food-a-holic I am, it’s hard to contain my excitement.
Attracting a stellar line up, this year’s festival is pulling the big shots with names like Tetsyua Wakuda, Matt Moran, Matt Preston, Andre’ Chiang, Poh Ling Yoew, as well as local restaurants favourites such as Berado’s, Rickys, Spirit House and Season’s.
Throwing a cherry on top of what I considered to be the perfect weekend, we are faced with not-a-cloud-in-the-sky weather. I love Noosa!
Drawing in the crowds, and it’s only 10am!
Keeping well hydrated is the key to success for a day of eating and drinking so our first stop is the refreshment station. I just love how cute this water truck (a converted trailer) looks amongst the festival grounds. It’s like an open invitation to a garden party…without the gnomes.
Refreshed and ready to go, we make our way to grab some food and wine tickets so we can start eating and drinking our way through Noosa.
| Hot tip: Reasonably priced, food and wine tickets are $8 each, with the cost of a decent sized food sample or glass of wine being one ticket. Stock up at the start of the day. |
It’s a hard decision but in the name of research I dive straight in to the food tents and grab myself a deliciously light chicken laab salad while Mr LML opts for an envious stack of sticky pork ribs. Both are equally morish, but given the number of options at our fingertips we decide to find our next ticket option elsewhere.
Walking past the next tent it’s hard to say no to Lizzie Loel’s Noosa spanner crab cakes, piquillo de pardon, corn salsa and avocado mayo. The dish tastes as good as it sounds and looks.
I have to give praise to Jana Frawley & Simon Wilkinson from taste.com.au for their Spiced Huon Salmon, pickled slaw, lime aioli and crackling on a corn tortilla. The salmon is melt in your mouth amazing, and anyone who knows me will understand how crazy I went over that pickled slaw.
Wandering around, it’s easy to see why the NIFWF draws the crowds. After a few samples of wine at the Village Wine Marquee, we make our way over to the main tent where big name celebrity chef Matt Moran is wowing the crowd with his cooking display. Informative and inspiring, Matt knows how to impress a crowd. One lucky festival goer even got to be his helping hand during his cooking demonstration.
| Hot tip: The celebrity chef demonstrations are super popular so if you’ve got your heart set on any in particular, get there early to guarantee a good spot. |
Just when I think my day could not get any better, I find myself faced with MasterChef’s Matt Preston, live in the flesh! He’s kind enough to let me take a quick happy snap – before tucking into some of his shaker bag Game Farm Spatchcock, virtuous smoked sweet corn mayo, evil candied popcorn, cashew, coriander and bacon crumbs. I was too busy eating to snap shot this dish, but let me tell you it was to die for!
Matt Preston setting up shop
Another awesome feature of the NIFWF is the culinary exhibition in the Grand Marquee. Open from 9am, here you’ll find plenty of local and international produce offers and tastings, as well as top of the range kitchenware to purchase. I’m a sucker for a bargain and happily walk away with a new set of Scanpan knives for next to nix.
The crowds: well worth battling, I promise!
Poh Ling Yeow giving a live cooking demonstration
The wrap-up
Whist I only had the time to savour one day of the Noosa Food and Wine Festival, there’s certainly enough to keep you busy if you commit to the full four day jam-packed event.
General admission to the festival includes entry into the festival village, culinary exhibition with food tastings, choice of 20 Celebrity Chef cooking demonstrations, live entertainment and more. Festival goers also have the opportunity to buy tickets to exclusive sessions, including champagne masterclasses, high tea by the river, and degustations that will have you salivating.
Being my first (of many) trips to the annual food and wine festival, I vow to make a full four-day exhibition of it next year, including a visit to the much talked about seafood feast on the beach.
