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Next Asian Banquet
In Kingaroy: Saturday 21st August
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 31st July 2004: I've had cause to write about Kingaroy's
Burning Beats Cafe several times in this column. This isn't because
I'm related to owners Paul Stoddart and Kerry Cotter but simply
because they seem to be doing more to push the envelope than any other restaurant
in our area at the present time. Unlike some establishments (no names
named!) who've had the same menu since Noah built his ark, Burning Beats
change at least a few items on their menu every week. They also run cooking
schools from time to time where you can learn how to prepare Indian and
Asian foods just the way they do. They operate a little deli on the side
where you can get the hard-to-find ingredients they use in their recipes.
They run an opt-in email list where you can get each week's menu mailed
to your in-box as soon as it's prepared (handy if you want to order take-aways!).
And every month they run a Banquet Night or when the weather gets
warmer, a music afternoon in their rear courtyard. With so much interaction
with their customers - coupled with a consistency that's hard to fault -
it's not difficult to understand why this little hole-in-the-wall cafe has
grown so steadily over the last two years. It's also easy to see why it's
one of only three restaurants in our region to win a top rating in
the Good Life Restaurant Guide. So if you're a fan of the Beats you'll
be pleased to know that after an initial trial in June, they'll be running
another Asian Banquet on Saturday 21st August. For $35 per
head (BYO) you can tuck into 11 prepared courses and eat as much as you want.
Burning Beats are also running a Thai Cooking Class on the 24th August but
if you're reading this you're already too late: the class was booked out
within days of it being announced. If you want to find out when the next
one is and/or go onto the Beats' mailing list, phone the Cafe on (07)
4162-3932 or
email them.
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Kingaroy Big W Annual
Charity Fundraising Dinner Is On Again!
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 28th July 2004: Readers of this web site may recall a story
this time last year about Big W's special fundraising dinner and charity
auction to help newborns in the South Burnett. The 2003 Big W dinner raised
$7000 and helped buy a humidicrib oxygen regulator for Kingaroy Hospital.
Well if you enjoyed that function or were disappointed if you missed out,
I'm happy to report that it's on again! Right now the generous
folk at Kingaroy's Big W retail store are hard at work planning the next
dinner which will be held on Saturday night, September 4th at Kingaroy
Town Hall. For the second year in a row Nanango's Copper Country
Restaurant will provide the catering - this time however, the restaurant's
new owner Frans Staats will be at the helm. And if the food served
at Copper Country is anything to go by, the Big W function will be a bit
of a gastronomic extravaganza. An alternate drop menu of Baked Fillet of
Barramundi or Grilled Tenderloin of Beef will be served-up for mains, followed
by a selection of mouth-watering desserts like traditional Apple Strudel,
Banana Bread and Butter Pudding and Apricot Crème Brulee - YUM! Event
organiser Darhnell Bywaters told me that Big W supports major children's
hospitals nationally and in rural areas they try particularly hard to support
the community at a local level. That's why the children's ward at Kingaroy
Hospital are going to be this year's beneficiaries too. Tickets to the dinner
are on sale right now for $35.00 (that's a steal!) and they can be purchased
be phoning Darhnell on (07) 4162-3935.
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Pub Grub: The Quiet
Revolution
-
 25th July 2004: Over the last 18 months there's been a quiet
revolution going on in our region's hotel industry. Without much fanfare,
several of our hotels (such as the Kingaroy Hotel, Carrollee Hotel
and Club Hotel in Kingaroy; the Royal Hotel in Murgon;
the Tingoora Hotel at Tingoora; Yarraman's Royal Hotel and
Nanango's Palace Hotel) have either reopened their dining rooms as
serious eating enterprises or poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into
refurbishments that just happen to include greatly expanded and improved
eating areas. Hotels were once centres of social life in rural areas - often
the only centres of social life - but this concept slipped
went out of vogue several decades ago and their focus narrowed to liquor
and gambling. Now, thanks in part to strict drink-driving laws and in part
to a new breed of hoteliers keen to plug into trends already so evident in
the cities, we're starting to see the concept of a hotel as an "all-in-one"
family entertainment area return to our region. To their credit, a number
of our hoteliers are doing quite an excellent job of bringing good quality
eateries under their roof. I've already written about the Red Earth
Restaurant at the Kingaroy Hotel and hope to write about several of our
other hotel eateries in the future. In the meantime - if you've not considered
pub grub as "real food" - I can only suggest it may be worth taking a peek
at these new eateries at some time in the future. If your concept of hotel
food is tough steak and greasy chips, I think you may be pleasantly
surprised!
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New Operators At
The Bell Tower Restaurant
-
 22nd July 2004: It may have come as a shock to many South
Burnett locals to find the doors shut at the Bell Tower Restaurant since
last Sunday. But I can assure all of the restaurant's loyal fans that this
is only temporary. As of Saturday 31st July the doors will re-open
with a change of management, an exciting new menu and a re-vamped premises.
The restaurant is now under lease to the restaurateur team of Brad and
Megan Clark (pictured at right) and they're bringing a wealth
of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry with them. I recently
met with the duo and was quite staggered by their work history. Brad is coming
to the Bell Tower fresh from the Marriott Hotel chain were he was Sous Chef
at their luxurious Gold Coast resort. He's also cooked in wide range
establishments from Hayman Island to the ski slopes of New South Wales. Megan
(originally from the South Burnett) has an equally impressive CV and has
worked in luxury resorts and hotels throughout Australia. What can you expect
at the new Bell Tower? Brad said "Our new all-day café menu and the
a-la-carte dinner menu will make good use of our region's abundant quality
produce. You can also expect to see South Burnett wines having a strong presence
on our wine list". They apologised for any inconvenience caused by the brief
closure but said they were looking forward to meeting all their patrons when
the doors swing open again next week. The Bell Tower Restaurant is located
at the corner of Shellbachs and Haydens Road at Booie (just outside Kingaroy).
Bookings can be made by phoning (07) 4162-7000 or
via email.
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Barrels To Breakers
Goes Off Like A Rocket!
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Photo
above: I met famous food writer Kate McGhie at Dusty Hill on Friday
night. By pure coincidence, Kate was one of the judges who awarded gold to
Kingaroy Cheese at the Australian Specialist Cheesemaker Awards in Melbourne
recently. She took the opportunity to visit the factory in person while she
was here!
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19th July
2004: On Friday night - like a number of other people - I attended the
launch of the South Burnett Wine Industry Association's inaugural Barrels
to Breakers promotion at
Dusty Hill. The function
was the prelude to the gala official launch of our region's new season wines
at Noosa's Relish Restaurant on Saturday (see story 4th July)
and for a first-up event I must say it went very well indeed!
Eight highly
respected food and wine journalists from various media outlets were taken
on whirlwind tour of several South Burnett cellar doors and wineries before
they attended the Dusty Hill dinner where I took the opportunity to speak
to most of them.
The general consensus
around the journalist's table was very encouraging. Many of those who came
up for the promotion had never even heard of our region before, much less
set foot in it, and they were astonished at the beauty and charm of
what we do here. Many of the night's guests attended the follow-up breakfast
at
Bridgeman Downs Cellars
the following morning before making their way to Noosa, where a crowd of
60 people wined and dined until the small hours of the morning.
Although I was
unable to attend the Saturday function myself, those who did told me that
the food was superb; the wines were demolished in short order; and compere
Peter Howard did a wonderful job keeping everything running smoothly.
I think everyone involved in Barrels to Breakers should be applauded for
a really outstanding effort. And if you start to see South Burnett stories
erupt in the capital city broadsheets and glossy travel, food and wine magazines
over the next few months you'll know where it's come from.
Photo at
bottom right: Peter Howard and friends cutting loose at Saturday night's
Barrels to Breakers dinner at Noosa's Relish Restaurant. A righteous good
time was had by all, I hear...
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A Cellar Door's Best
Friend...
-
 16th July 2004: If you've been to
Captains Paddock Vineyard and
Cafe at Booie in the last year you've probably already met
Merlot. She's the fifteen-month-old Red Kelpie-cross (and resident
pup) at the cellar door. Merlot was born on Valentine's Day 2003 and has
has entertained thousands of tourist and locals alike with her wonderfully
good-natured antics ever since. Now it looks like she could even become a
national celebrity when the second edition of the best selling book Wine
Dogs is published around Christmas this year. Wine Dogs is a unique 144-page
full colour book about the dogs that are so often part of Australia's rural
wineries. Merlot's owners Maryanne Pidcock (pictured at right with
Merlot) and Peter Eaton recently had a photo shoot for the book's
publishers. So Merlot seems set to become Queensland's first official wine
dog in a few months. Last weekend I went to Captains Paddock with my wife's
family. There were six young children in our party and Merlot was hard at
work keeping the kids occupied right through our visit. This happy puppy
enthusiastically welcomed us in the car park and her energy seemed infinite
as she chased her favourite torn-up ball around the lawns and amused the
children. This allowed the adults to relax and take in the scenery while
we enjoyed the cellar door's café menu and award winning wines (including
a drop of the Paddock's own bottled merlot and - wait for it! - Merlo
coffee from Brisbane). When I read through the Paddock's visitor's book I
wasn't all that surprised to find that Merlot was praised just as often as
the owners. Dogs of Australian vineyards stand up on all fours and rejoice…
maybe its time for a pay rise?
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Kingaroy Cheese Wins
Golds In Melbourne
-
 13th July 2004:
Kingaroy Cheese added to its impressive tally of medals over the weekend
by walking away with golds for its Brie and Camembert at the
Australian Specialist Cheesemakers Awards. The awards were held at
Melbourne's Sofitel and attracted a highly competitive 280 entries from all
over Australia. In the white-moulded cheese category, more than 50 "name"
entrants faced the scrutiny of some of Australia's most renowned cheese judges
and the competition really couldn't have been any tougher. In fact only two
other white mould cheeses won gold at this year's event: King Island's Black
Label Triple Cream Brie and Milawa Goats Camembert. Kingaroy Cheese's master
cheesemaker Christopher Ganzer (pictured at right with some of
the company's products) said he was overwhelmed with excitement at the
latest gongs. "I can't believe we won a gold medal at such an important event.
The white mould category is so busy. You simply couldn't ask for a better
result for a little company like ours. Most of our product is used in Queensland
restaurants and they're very demanding of high quality, so an award like
this helps confirm that Queensland really is starting to lead the way in
producing great food". The cheese factory is based at the Stuart Range winery
in Kingaroy and tastings of their great cheeses are available at the cellar
door. You can also order Kingaroy Cheese by phoning them direct on (07)
4162 5990.
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Stop
Press: How To Celebrate Barrels To Breakers In The South Burnett
-
 10th July 2004: Readers who've been following my column this
last month know that the South Burnett Wine Industry Association had originally
planned to hold a two-ended Barrels to Breakers promotion this year:
a gala function in the South Burnett for locals and the big degustation dinner
at Noosa for non-locals (see story 4th July). The South Burnett end,
unfortunately, fell over when the Kingaroy Rotary Club found they were unable
to organise a Vintage Wine Dinner in time (see story 11th June). And
that seemed to be that. But at the SBWIA's most recent meeting on Thursday
night it was decided that this simply wasn't good enough. So I'm pleased
to announce - admittedly, at short notice - that there are now two
South Burnett functions you can take advantage of if you want to join in
the fun. The first will be an informal $25 per head dinner at the
Dusty Hill Vineyard in
Moffatdale this coming Friday night 16th July at 7:00pm. You
can get to enjoy the Hill's legendary hospitality and all the wine you can
drink for the price. The second is a slap-up $15 breakfast at Bridgeman
Downs Cellars in Moffatdale this coming Saturday morning 17th July
at 9:00am. Again, it's a great value affair and - like the dinner
at the Hill - is open to anyone with an interest in our region's great wines
and foods. Attendees at either function will also be getting to rub shoulders
with many of the renowned wine and food journalists who are coming to the
region to cover Barrels to Breakers. And if you're a die-hard foodie this
could be reward enough! To get into either event you'll need to book and
be pretty sharp about it, though: Dusty Hill for the dinner on (07)
4168-4700 or Bridgeman Downs for the breakfast on (07) 4168-4784.
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SBWIA Creating A
South Burnett Wine Industry Code Of Conduct
-
 7th July 2004: In addition to the inaugural Barrels to
Breakers promotion (see story below), the South Burnett Wine Industry
Association is about to reach another milestone in its development. Right
now the SBWIA is circulating a draft Code Of Conduct to all its wine
industry members. When adopted, the Code will regulate not only how the industry
will conduct itself with the general public but also how industry operators
will work together as a united group to promote South Burnett wines
(and the South Burnett region) as a tourist destination. The Code
stipulates that the SBWIA and all its members will use our new regional
logo on every bit of media they produce; that the group will work in
tandem with the
South Burnett Tourism
Association and the
Fraser Coast-South Burnett Regional
Tourism Board on promotion and development; and that the industry
will work in closely with local accommodation, hospitality and tour operators
to help spread the benefits of wine tourism as far as possible through our
communities. All the big wineries have already signed up and the Code is
expected to get virtually universal agreement this week. Why is this
news? Because I think it marks the smartest and most
progressive thinking the SBWIA has come up with yet. The simple fact
is that the South Burnett wine industry isn't in competition
with itself: it's in competition with every other wine region in
Australia. So the SBWIA is turning its back on pointless internal competition
and going for gung-ho co-operation instead. Our savvier tourist operators
came to the same view several years ago. And the year-on-year growth of our
local tourism industry is hard proof that this approach generates
real results. This s an initiative that deserves to be applauded and supported.
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The Noosa Degustation
Dinner: 6 Courses, $65..... Fabulous!
-
 4th
July 2004: Regular readers of my site will probably be aware that the
South Burnett Wine Industry Association's inaugural Barrels to Breakers
promotion is going to be held at the Relish Restaurant in Noosa on
Saturday 17th July. The purpose of Barrels to Breakers is to showcase just
how wonderful our region's wines actually are - to capital city and national
journalists, foodies and the general public. And the way the SBWIA have chosen
to do it is to hold a lavish 6-course degustation dinner at a top
Noosa restaurant where South Burnett wines will be matched with individual
courses that highlight regional produce. The reasoning behind holding the
event in Noosa is twofold. Firstly, the capital city media tend to pay more
attention to stories that have a Noosa tagline. And secondly, to highlight
just how close the South Burnett actually is to the Sunshine Coast. The evening
will kick off with tastings of all the region's wines and guests will be
free to talk with the winemakers about any or all of them. This will be followed
by the dinner at 7:00pm which will be hosted by famous foodie Peter
Howard. Today I received a copy of the menu planned for the evening and
it looks mouthwatering! I've made a quick PDF of it that
you can view here. While
I realise that Noosa may be just a tad too far for some people to drive to
- especially considering the state they're likely to be in by the time the
dinner is over - I can thoroughly recommend this event to anyone who's planning
a weekend away. Providing you're quick, you can book tickets to the $65
per head dinner by phoning Noosa Springs on (07) 5440-3333. I've
also been told that Australis Noosa Lakes Resort are offering special Barrels
to Breakers accommodation packages for the weekend. You can find out
more about these by giving them a call on (07) 5447-1400.
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South Burnett Winter
Dessert Round-Up
-
 1st July 2004: July is the heart of Winter and the big chill
is well and truly upon us. It's the time of year when restaurants all around
our region start to throw on Christmas In July functions and/or whip
out the big guns on their dessert menus to tempt diners out into the cold.
What can you find on regional dessert trays right now? Here's a quick
overview:
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Burning
Beats BYO Café are offering a delicious Steamed Fig Pudding with
Butterscotch Sauce and Whipped Cream
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The Left
Bank in Kilkivan are satisfying their frostbitten customers with a
traditional Bread and Butter Pudding, Warm Vanilla Custard and Cream from
Kingaroy Cheese.
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Nanango's Copper
Country Restaurant are serving up a trendy Chocolate Fondue made of melted
Toblerone and accompanied by seasonal fruit dippers.
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Explorers
Restaurant at Kingaroy's Burke and Wills Motor Inn are offering Sticky
Date Pudding with Toffee Sauce and Crème Fraiche. And for Cuisine
readers, Steve Gudzinski has whipped out another special item: Warm Chocolate
Tart with Raspberry Caramel Sauce and Kingaroy Cheese Cream.
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Various other
establishments are also dishing up another old Aussie favourite: Hot Plum
Pudding and Custard (I don't think it should ever be taken off the menu!).
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