The
Good Life
Taste of Provence in Byron By S Haslam Sometimes being groomed to inherit the family business can seem like both a burden and a privilege. But Antoine Quezel, who had first ‘helped out’ as a kid, was quite looking forward to taking over his parents’ famous market stall in Provence. However, a trip to Australia derailed his destiny, when he felt an immediate connection to his first stop, Byron. Whilst Antoine jokes that surfing is interrupting his business’s growth, it didn’t take long before he’d set up his own market stall here at Bangalow monthly market. Using his family recipes, and skills in brining, marinating and spicing food to make dips and tapenades he learned in Provence, Antoine found Byron Bay Olives were a huge hit from day one. ‘It just felt really natural to me, I’ve grown up perfecting the recipes’, says Antoine, now sitting a few years later in his delightful shopfront on the roundabout opposite Bunnings in the A&I Estate. There you can get authentic and hard-to-source French cheeses. ‘We try to keep the quality really high, we are a specialist showcase of French cheeses and if customers want something, we can order it through our suppliers,’ he says.
They also have unique local produce (free from preservatives and chemicals) such as his olives, an olive tapenade that is truly sensational, olive oil that comes from a NSW organic farmer, and if you feel like combining them with a locally baked ciabatta, you can eat a wonderful takeaway lunch there with a coffee from the grocer next door. ‘I try to make everything myself, just working with the famers I want’, says Antoine, ‘in particular I use a very traditional, in fact ancient Mediterranean, way of brining the olives.’ The olive tapenade (which is vegan) has a very warm and full flavour, and it goes well on bread, pasta, as a vinaigrette, with parmesan, in scrambled egg or omelets for example! They do sometimes make a traditional anchovy tapenade just for the shop as well. A truly exceptional product is the ‘sweet garlic’. Made by a process of pickling and fermenting, the sharpness of the Spanish garlic is removed. ‘It was just an experiment at first’, says Antoine, ‘but after the first week we were blowing people’s minds. I was not expecting at all such feedback. ‘We are getting people from Melbourne and Sydney who have never tried a product like this.
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In fact we are now employing quite a few people, and shipping product from our factory out the back of the Byron shopfront, throughout the Northern Rivers, and now with our distributors we are spreading to all over Australia.’ ‘We use very traditional and ancient methods of preparing our food, and both locals and visitors enjoy this organic, healthy and unique nature of our food. I’m really pleased to be here in Byron because I love it here, and we are loving the feedback.’ Byron Bay Olive Co. 2/29 Brigantine St, Byron Bay. www.byronbayolivescompany.com
Good Taste BYRON BAY 1 Grant St, Ballina 6681 9500 www.ballinarsl.com.au Open 7 Days Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks
Wharf Bar & Restaurant
Open 7.30am daily, till late every night Coffee, breakfast, lunch & dinner, functions & weddings. 12-24 Fawcett St, Ballina 6686 5259 / 6685 6011
Blake’s Table
Endless Summer Seafood Feast Friday 29 March from 6.30pm Level 1 Spinnakers Function Room Shared style menu - Tickets $69 Several courses plus dessert. Non seafood available on request.
TAKEAWAY ONE STOP SHOP Feed your family with a choice of pizza, pezzo pockets, burgers or fish & chips. OPEN 7 DAYS TILL 8.30pm counter orders only www.WharfBarBallina.com.au
Green Room Byron Bay Open daily from 3pm 1 Bay Lane, Byron Bay 6685 6402
St Elmo Dining Room & Bar Mon-Sat: 5pm till late. Sun: 5pm till 10pm. Cnr Fletcher St and Lawson Lane, Byron Bay 6680 7426
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Treehouse on Belongil Full Cocktail & Wine Bar. Extensive Menu Includes Tapas, Mains, Desserts and Famous Woodfired Pizzas. 25 Childe St, Byron Bay 6680 9452
All your favourites every lunch and dinner Experienced Thai chefs cooking fresh delicious Thai food for you. BYO only Welcome for lunch, dinner and takeaway. Menus available on Facebook
The Italian Byron Bay Open 7 days from 6pm Next to the Beach Hotel Bay Street 6680 7055 italianatthepacific.com.au
Opening hours Tuesday - Sunday 11.30am–3pm lunch 5–9pm Dinner 6680 8703
Targa Modern European Cafe • Restaurant • Bar 11 Marvell Street
Share plates, mains, desserts and famous Treehouse wood-fired pizza. Our kitchen is open all day and night. Presenting incredible original music in Byron’s most intimate atmosphere. Check our website or Facebook for the gig guide. facebook.com/treehouse.belongil treehouseonbelongil.com
The Italian Byron Bay provides a bustling atmospheric restaurant, dishing up contemporary inspired Italian cuisine and some of Byron’s finest cocktails and wines.
www.echo.net.au/byron-echo Byron Shire Echo archives
New bar and bites at Beach Hotel using the best local produce Sunset Specials 3pm – 6pm daily $12 Signature Cocktails $2 Oysters
St Elmo is a place where you can enjoy great company, first-class food, sophisticated cocktails and an extensive wine list. St Elmo is plating up modern Spanish cuisine to be enjoyed amongst friends and family. Our menus change regularly and feature daily specials.
www.stelmodining.com
at Club Byron Bowlo Mon-Fri lunch & dinner closed Sundays Dinner from 5pm. 3/31 Lawson St, Byron Bay
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Flying Fox Bistro
BYRON BAY
Success Thai
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Benefits include free promotion, signage & resources. Plus, we will always be on hand to help you.
Byron Bay 6680 9960 targabyronbay.com targabyronbay@gmail.com
Lord Byron Distillery
MON-SAT 10AM–6PM Closed Fri Arvo 7, 4 Banksia Drive, Byron Bay 8646 4901
Grab your friends and family This rustic Bistro has all the classics and loads of delicious specials every day and desserts to die for. Take advantage of the large al fresco area which can be booked for a casual Aussie BBQ or private function, great for mates and families. The little foxes are well catered for with our $10 kids menu – Chilled out Byron vibe and the best bar prices in town! See our website for our function menu
OPEN - 7 days breakfast & lunch Dinner Tuesday to Saturday 3 courses $60 All day menus, licensed bar Happy hour AFTERNOONS 4–6pm daily $12 Cocktails, $7 beers, $8 wines, $12 Moet
CELLAR DOOR – TASTINGS & TOURS Handcrafted spirits using locally sourced ingredients.
Naturally Better! No artificial flavours, colours or preservatives.
GIN MAKING AND COCKTAIL MASTERCLASS
- book online. Gin Making Gift Vouchers available. LORDBYRON.COM.AU LordByronDistillery
www.echo.net.au/good-taste lëſĈIJ ǩǧǽ ǩǧǨǰ The Byron Shire Echo 39