n m u t Au
IN THE REGION
S
ummer gets a pretty good wrap in our Aussie minds. It’s all beaches, mangoes, backyard cricket and icy
cold beers. But autumn is really the season we should be grateful for. The days are still long and sunny, but we can attend an outdoor event without much chance of being struck by lightning, pummelled by hail or fried to a crisp. The mozzies and midgies tend to go back to wherever it is they go once it cools down, and we don’t have to mow the lawn every three days. And to top it all off, local food is much easier to acquire. The summer rain that’s filled dams
DAZE
across the coast becomes the lifeblood of all the sun-vulnerable leafy brassicas and classic autumn fruits like figs, strawberries, persimmons and feijoas. Citrus orchards blush shades of yellow, orange and pink, and the early season varieties of avocadoes are harvested and shipped off to cafés ready for smashing. Fishing boats enjoy calmer seas to haul in their catches and livestock thrive on grassy pastures through the more comfortable cooler days and nights. All over Queensland every region produces its specialties that define it; apples, pears and grapes in the Granite Belt; pumpkins and watermelons from the South Burnett; macadamias in Wide Bay; or fish and shellfish out of the Fraser Coast waters.
Rolling pumpkins down Policeman’s Hill in Goomeri; melon skiing in Chinchilla; or mullet throwing in Tin Can Bay are all drawcards that bring travellers flocking to country towns for a bit of fun, but they also play a role in creating a sense of regional provenance - the ingredient we relate to a place that makes it special. In Italy every region boasts its own pasta types, its own cheeses, smallgoods and wine styles – local food culture thousands of years in the making. In Australia we’re just getting started in comparison, but we have all the tools to develop that same culture – thousands of different microclimates and soil types, a melting pot of different nationalities all bringing their own ideas and energy, and a public which is increasingly interested in knowing where their food comes from. On the Sunshine Coast we tend to take for granted how lucky we are to have so
COFFEE • LUNCH • DINNER • SUNSET BAR • FISH & CHIPS • EVENTS NOOSABOATHOUSE.COM.AU • 07 5440 5070 • 194 GYMPIE TERRACE NOOSAVILLE
IN Noosa Magazine
40
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Matt Golinski welcomes the change in season and celebrates the power of provenance!
Each has a fierce pride in what they bring to the table, many towns building cult-like food festivals (usually involving a typically-Australian quirky event) around their main food production.