Visit Noosa for the four-day Noosa Eat and Drink festival. Photo / Tourism and Events Queensland
Visit Noosa for the four-day Noosa Eat and Drink festival. Photo / Tourism and Events Queensland
If your idea of a holiday in sunny Queensland doesn’t necessarily involve surfing, snorkelling, or theme parks, chances are you’re there for the food and drink, writes Bethany Reitsma
The Sunshine State is known for its seafood and tropical fruit, but there’s plenty more on offer, as a visit to the Noosa Eat and Drink festival shows.
The four-day event is held in the coastal town each year, having recently rebranded from the Noosa Food and Wine Festival to Noosa Eat and Drink.
This year, the event ran from May 29 to June 1 and the programme was packed with cooking demonstrations from celebrity chefs, live music, and countless local producers offering festivalgoers a taste of the region.
From seasonings to organic teas to spirits you won’t find in a liquor store, here are a few standouts to try next time you visit Queensland.
Noosa Eat and Drink is a four-day celebration of all things eating and drinking, held in the coastal town each year. Photo / Tourism and Events Queensland
Olssons Salt
Olssons is the oldest family owned sea salt manufacturer in Australia, sourcing from Port Alma in Queensland and Whyalla in South Australia.
As demonstrated during a masterclass featuring Ora King salmon at the festival, the flaky sea salt can be used for seasoning, curing, or simply adding flavour - a pinch goes a long way.
It’s not just regular sea salt they’re known for - there are also Smokin’ Chilli or Native Citrus cocktail salts to add some spice to your next margarita, and even a black truffle salt soon to join the line-up.
Founded by Noosa local Hayden Weir, Seabourne has received awards for its bottle design as well as the gins inside, from the Coastal Dry gin to Sunset Bitter and Berry Blush flavours.
Book yourself a distillery tour if your visit falls on a weekend and see the craft in action in the lab, the distillery itself, and the in-house bar to sample a cocktail menu that changes with the seasons.
A far cry from your regular gin and tonic, you’ll find creations like the Rosella - Berry Blush gin, Pacific gin, locally grown citrus, fizz and a Geraldton wax garnish, and the Pineapple #2 - Coastal Dry gin, Oloroso cask gin, cinnamon myrtle, sage, fermented pineapple and fizz.
Founded by Noosa local Hayden Weir, Seabourne is the most-awarded distillery on the Sunshine Coast. Photo / Seabourne
Heart Therapeutics
Brewing a cup of tea is a ritual - one that many of us struggle to find time for these days.
Qualified naturopath Misha Moran founded Heart Therapeutics to offer just that - organic teas made in Noosa from local ingredients , alongside the tools to create a relaxing brewing routine for yourself, from teapots to ceramic mugs.
A taste of the All Heart blend, with tastes of soothing hawthorn, rose and cinnamon, and designed for stress support, was a welcome pause during a busy day at Noosa Eat and Drink.
Heart Therapeutics blended teas can be enjoyed at Makepeace Island, a few minutes upstream from Queensland's cosmopolitan Noosa Heads.
Noosa Black Garlic
Contrary to what you might think, black garlic isn’t a type of garlic - it’s regular garlic that has been smoked or roasted, changing its colour and flavour completely. The best part? It doesn’t give you garlic breath.
Noosa Black Garlic uses organic elephant garlic grown in the Noosa Hinterland to create its range of award-winning black garlic products, from infused salts to olive oil to white balsamic vinegar.
What stood out the most was a caramelised black garlic paste and a black garlic honey I can see myself adding to everything from a humble cheese toastie to a fancy charcuterie board.
Mead isn’t something you typically find at your regular liquor store, but Amrita Park Meadery in the Noosa Hinterland is on a mission to revive the lost art of “mazing” - making mead. It’s the first meadery in Queensland and also offers guided tastings at its cellar door.
Mead is a tipple traditionally made with honey, yeast and water. Despite the honey, not every mead is sweet - they range from syrupy to dry.
The mazers at Amrita Park use raw honey and local seasonal fruits to create a range of different flavours, from ginger and lime or pink grapefruit to a sparkling variety and even a semillon payment.
Amrita Park Meadery in the Noosa Hinterland is the first meadery in Queensland. Photo / Tourism and Events Queensland
Checklist
NOOSA
GETTING THERE
Fly non-stop from Auckland to Brisbane Airport in about 3 hours, 50 minutes with Air NZ, Jetstar and China Airlines. From Brisbane Airport, the drive time to Noosa is 1 hour, 40 minutes.
Air New Zealand offers non-stop flights between Auckland and the Sunshine Coast (Maroochydore) seasonally between July and October.
