“Know your food, know your farmers, and know your kitchen” ~ Joel Salatin
When we first started out in the B & B world we never thought that local produce would be one of the main reasons people seek out a destination when looking for a weekend away. During the past 6 years or so we are commonly asked how did we start our B & B business and this is often followed by “and the food was fantastic – is it all local?” Soon after first opening we found it quite hard to source good quality local produce and often had to travel outside our region to provide produce for our guests. One of the biggest developments we have seen during the past few years is the availability of very good quality local produce that we are proud of and can happily supply to our guests.
We are proud to say that we love our local produce and growers and love to tell the story to our guests. Regularly our guests are very interested in where the produce is sourced from and the whole foodie story, and often the next question is “where can I get some?” We also love to experiment with our local produce and base all of our menus and specials around the seasonally available produce. And having such good-looking produce we use this in photos to promote our business and the diversity of our region.
Initially in the design of our accommodation we allowed for full cooking facilities so our guests could source produce from markets and growers close by and return to their accommodation and enjoy cooking with locally sourced fresh produce. We love to encourage our guests to source locally and learn about our local produce and in turn economically support our local growers and producers.
So, if you are staying with us and your are a little unsure where to start, just ask and we will send you down the right garden path…..
Some of our favourite local producers include:
- Farmer and Sun – Gympie Southside (local fruit veg and deli items)
- Hinterland Feijoas – Belli Park (glazes, balsamic, jams and everything feijoa)
- CC’s Kitchen – Wolvi (jams, chutney and pickles)
- Fat Hen Farm – Kilkivan (olives, oil and dukkah)
- Suncoast Limes – Tandur (refreshers, cordial and lime salt)
- Dagun Growers Market (the freshest seasonal fruit and veg)
- Noosa Farmers Markets (a large selection of regional produce)
- Yandina Markets (a large selection of region produce and plants)
- Purity Essential Oils (beautiful natural products)
- Imbil Butchery (local beef & chicken)
- Kandanga Country Meats (local beef, chicken and smoked goods)
- Kenilworth Cheese Factory (cheese and yoghurt)
- Cooloola Milk – Mary Valley (local milk and cream)
The list continues…
We are always looking for good quality seasonal produce from local farmers and producers to add to our favourites.
Also, check out our Foodie Links via our website.