Food & Beverages

While the Riverland wine industry is battling through some of its darkest days, a local vineyard has offered a glimmer of light with a prestigious award win. Starrs Reach Vineyard, based at New Residence, won Innovative Vineyard of the Year at the Young Gun of Wine Annual Vineyard of the Year Awards last week, returning the trophy back to the Riverland after Ricca Terra won it in 2020.

The iconic Club Hotel, renowned for its feature on Selling Houses Australia in 2019 with its striking Porky Hawker beer garden mural, has once again changed hands. This time, it’s under the local ownership of husband and wife team, Steve and Michelle Martin.

CWA Narrandera Evening Branch is celebrating another huge success with their International Food Fair on Saturday ... "There were over 30 food and market stalls on offer, again a further increase on last year’s stall numbers": CWA President Beryl Brain ... Free children’s activities included a jumping castle, face painting and fun activities provided by Fusion.

At 25 years old Marne Petherbridge has her own cafe – she has bought Espresso Edge on Summerland Way, Kyogle ... Saturday, June 9 was Marne’s first day of trading at Espresso Edge ... And while she is keen to bring new items to the menu she is also aware of keeping some of the favourites the regular customers like.

Kristina Nhen is almost crying as she talks about the support she’s had from the Casino community after a fire destroyed the Mun Tien restaurant on April 29. The fire started in the early hours of the morning at the laundry and haberdashery next door to the Chinese Restaurant.

For 20 years publican Daniel Simpson has wanted to brew his own beer at the Rod n Reel Hotel in Woodburn. That dream is close to becoming a reality. After the floods, Daniel bought the pub building and has put in a Development Application for a microbrewery.

A group of local beef producers has banded together to re-open Corryong’s butcher shop, with a focus on sourcing meat from local farms. Upper Murray Beef (UMB) is a community-driven initiative that was born from the Upper Murray 2030 Plan with an emphaisis on ‘value adding’ to local production.

All 12 of South Australia’s tourism regions welcomed an influx of foodies and festivalgoers thanks to this year’s Tasting Australia presented by RAA Travel. More than 150 events delivered a deliciously diverse program of eating and drinking experiences, helping drive visitation and expenditure across South Australia.

The weather gods were pleased with the sacrifices for Barham’s inaugural Feast! 21 degrees at 9pm in April is a miracle, and the patrons rejoiced, delighting in local produce and live music! Over 100 people filled the beautifully arranged setting from event company Mack and Mills on the boardwalk.

Meet John and Reina, as they prepare to open Lyrics Restaurant, and bring fine food to the Commercial Hotel, Kaniva. After fifty years of working all around the world in hospitality, John decided that "now was the time to run things his way" and create a new venture.

Last Friday, after six long years and several challenges, Neville Holt received his Certificate III in Meat Processing and Meat Retail. His certificate was presented by William Angliss trainer Trevor Edon, with IGA Store Manager Angus Harrison in attendance, along with some of Neville’s apprenticeship supporters.

South Australia’s world-class shiraz is currently being showcased on the global stage as part of the ‘Via Sensoria’ exhibition, running until November at the iconic world wine museum, La Cité du Vin in Bordeaux, France. This partnership ensures South Australian wines can be showcased to thousands of visitors to the centre each year, as well creating a platform for producers to conduct wine tastings...

Author Jill Griffiths describes her debut book, 'What's For Dinner?' as “an exploration of the food on the table and the farming that puts it there and what it all means for people who grow food and those who eat it”. Australian Regional & Rural News reporter, Serena Kirby, spoke with Jill recently to learn more about her background, how the book came about and some of the fascinating things she discovered in the process.

On Thursday last week the Mount Alexander Falcons Women’s Sports Club launched a ginger beer made in collaboration with Shedshaker Brewing as a fundraiser to support the club and their community programs, which includes the outreach program at Tarrengower prison.

May the fourth beer with you! The Cairns Craft Beer Festival is back in 2024, with a frothing good lineup of ales from six of North Queensland’s craft breweries, delicious pub grub, lively entertainment, and competitions from noon until late...

Australian dairy products from Southern Queensland and northern New South Wales are on their way to Japan, marking the first international shipment from Norco’s Lismore dairy operations since before the Northern Rivers floods in 2022.

Naracoorte’s former Morris Bakery has been sold to a local buyer. The value of the sale was not disclosed to The [Naracoorte Community] News because of legal agreements ... Good news for food lovers, as the new owner intends to run the business as a “food place”.

Reto and Heike Bodenburg have been through a lot to get to the point where they are stable, have a thriving cafe, and are part of the Coraki community ... All that is on hold, with an immigration tribunal looming and the threat of Heike being forced to return to Switzerland and leave all they have built behind.

I’ve read a number of books that delve into issues surrounding Australian food production and it’s fair to say that I found Jill Griffiths’ book What’s For Dinner? the easiest one to digest (pun intended). Jill is a biologist and journalist who’s been writing about the environment and agriculture for more than three decades and her book is a blend of science, history and lived experience.

Sarah Herrmann. Moonta was hit by a particularly unfortunate power outage on Easter Monday ... while a large part of northern Yorke Peninsula was also off the grid ... with small hospitality businesses taking a hit ... Pasky Grab & Go Deli owner Sheree Moroney said the outage created ‘absolute chaos’ for her business.

Pia Funch & Trina Shepherd. Congratulation to Love Lord Howe for winning Gold at the Australian Tourism Awards! ... The Destination North Coast Board (DNC) visited Lord Howe Island ... for the first time to hold their annual Board meeting and to meet and discuss tourism with local businesses and stakeholders.

The Harcourt Applefest sets out to showcase local produce – in particular, with a name like Applefest (DRUM ROLL)... yes, apples ... At the recent Applefest, one of Maldon’s-own was also showcased … The award-winning Gluten-free Poached Apple Tea Cake will be available at Maldon Rose over Easter.