LOVE BITES

EAT LOCAL WEEK — TODAY UNTIL JULY 3: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE

2022-06-25 - ANOOSKA TUCKER-EVANS

AFTER two cancelled years due to Covid, the Scenic Rim’s annual showcase of all things food and drink, Eat Local Week, returns from this weekend, promising to be bigger and better than ever.

The festival of flavours celebrating the region from Tamborine Mountain to Boonah and Peaks Crossing runs from June 25-July 3, featuring everything from sunset cocktails and vodka tastings with camels to market days and multi-course lunches and dinners.

The Scenic Rim Regional Council’s Brenda Walker said this year’s event was extra special after a two-year hiatus.

“There is a lot of pent-up enthusiasm from local event holders and our primary producers, who love the chance to showcase what they do, and from attendees, due to us having to cancel all of the 2020 event and the latter half of the 2021 event, due to Covid,” Mrs Walker said.

“It is heartbreaking to have to cancel and not deliver such a beloved – and such an important – event.”

She said this year’s festival had come together “really, really well” and would be the biggest yet with 125 events, ranging from chef collaboration dinners at the Scenic Rim’s new critically acclaimed restaurant Blume to gin tours at the region’s freshest distillery, Cauldron.

“Every year we try to add new things to keep it fresh and interesting for our long-time fans,” Mrs Walker said.

But it’s some of the original events that continue to prove the most popular, with the annual Kalfresh Carrot Day selling out almost immediately.

“It’s a family friendly day where people get to see how carrots are grown and walk the paddocks, pull their own carrots and even see how they are processed. People just go wild for it,” Mrs Walker said.

The festival is estimated to bring around 40,000 people to the area during the week of activities, with more than 12,000 expected at the event’s signature Winter Harvest Festival on July 2.

“What we really prize most highly is the authenticity of the experience for people, and making sure they have a wonderful time. We want them to fall in love with the region, and ideally to want to come back again and again,” Mrs Walker said.

Whether you like a tipple or are looking to entertain the kids these school holidays, here are the top 10 Eat Local Week activities.

TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN DISTILLERY TOURS

Daily June 25-July 1, 12.30pm

Tamborine Mountain Distillery, Tamborine Mountain

Go on a guided walking tour inside this award-winning distillery, learning how its range of spirits, including liqueurs, vodka and schnapps, are made. The hour-long tour includes a gin and tonic on arrival and a tasting of the products to finish.

Cost: $35 per person

TOUR & TASTE

Daily June 25-July 3, 10.30am and 1pm

Summer Land Camels, Harrisville

Tour Australia’s largest camel farm and dairy operation, learning about how camel milk is retrieved and

the huge range of products Summer Land transforms it into, from soaps and hand creams to cheese and milkshakes. There’s even a camel milk and honey vodka. The tour includes a tasting of their dairy products.

Cost: $25 per adult, $15 per child, $65 per family

GIN & HISTORY TOUR

June 25 and 26, July 2 and 3, 11am, noon, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm

Cauldron Distillery, Tamborine Mountain

This 30-minute tour begins with a G&T in a take-home poly cup, before going behind the scenes at the award-winning distillery to find out how their spirits are created, while

getting a history lesson on gin along the way.

Cost: $50 per person

BEAUDESERT STREET FOOD FESTIVAL

Sunday, June 26, 9am-3pm Jubilee Park, Beaudesert

Beaudesert’s famous street food festival returns bigger and better with the new Scenic Rim Farm Collective markets showcasing the region’s local artists and producers. There will also be food trucks from across southeast Queensland serving up the best of locally grown ingredients.

Cost: Free entry

BUSH TUCKER COOKING

Tuesday, June 28, 9.30am &

Friday, July 1, 9.30am

Scenic Rim Cooking Classes, Mount Alford

Caz Osborne teaches participants how to cook delicious, everyday meals using sustainable bush foods and local Scenic Rim produce. The hands-on classes will feature native ingredients such as wattle seed, macadamias, pepper berries and lemon myrtle, which are full of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. After guests flex their muscles in the kitchen, they’ll then sit down to a shared main course and local beverage.

Cost: $165 per person

ALPACA PICNIC IN THE VINES

Daily from June 25-July 3

Mountview Alpaca Farm, Canungra

One for the whole family and particularly great for kids, this activity will see participants wandering through the vineyard with two alpacas, before sitting down to a gourmet picnic hamper for two. There is also the option for a pizza for the kids.

Cost: $199 per person

KIDS CHEESE MAKING WORKSHOP

Wednesday, June 29, 11am-2pm

Towri Sheep Cheeses, Allenview

Specialising in sheep’s cheese, this farm will have kids hanging out with the flock and learning how the sheep are milked, before learning how to make their own sheep’s cheese, which they can then take home to mature. Lunch also included.

Cost: $80 per person

FOOD AND FASHION – VINTAGE PARADE WITH THE WISS EMPORIUM KALBAR

Friday, July 1, 5-9pm

Kalbar School of Arts, Kalbar

After five years of being closed and empty, the landmark, heritage-listed WISS Emporium in Kalbar is now home to antiques, collectibles, vintage fashion pieces and stunning homewares. That fashion will be displayed in a fun parade alongside a twocourse canape meal featuring local ingredients prepared by award-winning chef Richard Ousby.

Cost: $110 per person

SCENIC RIM FARM SHOP

Friday-sunday June 25-July 3

Scenic Rim Farm Shop & Cafe, Kalbar

Fill your esky with produce from the Scenic Rim at this cute country providore and cafe. Selling everything from fruit and veg to meat, dairy products and baked goods, customers can splurge on tasty goodies and eat them picnic-style in the bucolic surrounds, or grab a bite from the on-site cafe, with culinary treats prepared by renowned chef Kate Raymont. The grounds are also home to Elderflower Farm’s garden shop, selling everything from freshcut flowers to vases, baskets, pottery and more.