Words: Kathryn Carter
If you’re one of the thousands of Australians currently harbouring an emotional investment in the outcome of a reality TV cooking show, you are not alone.
It’s hard to know when it started for sure, but somewhere between Maggie Beer designing her own tea towels and Curtis Stone cooking for Oprah, we all got a little more fascinated with food.
Capitalising on this culinary captivation, Australia’s finest food producers have joined forces with our best tour operators, resulting in a magnificent menu of food field trips to choose from.
Televised kitchen action may work wonders in whetting your appetite, but nothing is quite as tantalising as travel that tastes good, too.
That’s why we’ve paved and garnished the way towards five of Australia’s most scrumptious sightseeing adventures.
From the breathtaking beauty of the Blue Mountains to the depths of the Nullabor, this cross-country rail journey is as unforgettable as they come. But this expedition is far more than just a feast for the eyes. Guests of the Indian Pacific wine and dine in sumptuous style, in the train’s very own Queen Adelaide Restaurant car.
Admiring the window-framed wonderment of the local countryside, diners are treated to a menu of fresh and local fare; but the finery doesn’t end with the mouth-watering saltwater barramundi.
At the outback stop of Rawlinna, guests are invited to disembark for a traditional Outback lamb roast dinner beneath the star-kissed Nullarbor skies. Additional foodie field trips include a tour of Beerenberg Family Farm (famous for its artisan jams), cheese tours at Adelaide Hill’s Udder Delights, and chocolate immersions at Chocolate @ No. 5—just to name a few. With the Indian Pacific rail, train travel never tasted so good.
Menu highlights: Saltwater barramundi, grilled kangaroo fillet, artisan jams, premium wines, boutique beers, gourmet cheeses, handmade chocolates.
Six stops, six courses, and countless photo ops, the Bruny Island Traveller is your ticket to Tasmania’s finest local produce.
Led by a local guide, you and your tastebuds will become well acquainted with the homes and producers of Bruny Island’s cheese, oysters, fudge, berries, wine, and whiskey.
On this tour each pit stop and every mouthful tells a story, as you sit back to enjoy the tales behind the harvest. Because sometimes you need more than just an entrée, main and dessert, this six-course sojourn will satiate the most ravenous of appetites.
Menu highlights: Gourmet cheeses, fresh oysters, locally grown berries, premium wines, handmade chocolates, and single malt whiskies.
Less food tour more restaurant retreat; Brae is nestled amid 30 acres of bountiful farmland, on a hillside in Victoria’s Otway hinterland.
The vision of chef and owner Dan Hunter, Brae is a place to interact with nature and eat from the land, one nectarous nibble at a time. Designed to accommodate both dining and downtime, the restaurant offers six spacious guest suites; each featuring artisanal, handcrafted finishes in a comfortable space, reflecting the restaurant’s breathtaking surrounds.
Soaking up the serenity, visitors can enjoy blissful breakfasts in bed—homemade organic, wood-fired sourdough breads, luscious pastries, preserves, and seasonal produce harvested by Brae and other properties nearby. But the deliciousness doesn’t end there.
Each day, the highest quality, freshest ingredients are selected from Brae’s on-site organic fruit and vegetable garden, local farms, and ethical, sustainable producers from Victoria and beyond. With the greatest respect, all these elements are then transformed into meals that are as moral as they are mouth watering. A delicious display of Victoria’s finest produce and culinary skill, Brae is a reminder of the fruitfulness of our land that is abounds in nature’s gifts.
Menu highlights (for spring): first asparagus, golden turnips, Italian purple garlic, green kossack kale, Tasmanian butter swede, Moroccan mint, aquadulce broad bean.
Departing from Port Douglas, this daylong tour shows off the very best of the Atherton Tablelands’ culinary corners.
As you traipse from the region’s lush rainforests to its sweeping farmlands, across its ochre savannah plains, your knowledgeable guide will educate you on the richness of the area’s volcanic soil, and the diversity of the land’s crops—ranging from bananas and coffee, to macadamia nuts and more.
Feasting on the food bowl as you go, this tasting adventure will take you to the likes of the Mount Uncle Distillery, Gallo Dairyland, and Coffee Works, to name only a few. Including opportunities to feed native turtles and wave to kangaroos, this outback tour is a feast for the eyes, the stomach, and the soul.
Menu highlights: Gourmet cheeses, locally grown coffees, tropical fruit wines, freshly baked damper, indigenous jams, award winning liqueurs.
Characterised by dense forests, bone-white sands and turquoise waters, Kangaroo Island is one of Australia’s most picturesque destinations. But it’s the small-scale producers found hidden amid the panorama that make this island so worth seeing. To make sure you experience (and taste) it all, this tour runs expert guided walks from an elegant base of luxurious lodges, where your host will prepare all sorts of deliciousness for breakfast, dinner, and lunch out on the trail.
Menu highlights: Fresh goat’s cheese, free-range eggs, native jams, smoked fish, and honey from Ligurian Bees.
