Weave your way towards the Agricultural Hall until you spot a vibrant display of cordylines, orchids, and bromeliads, and you’ll find yourself in the wake of the Garden Platform. Here green experts will share tips on how to eat from your own backyard veggie patch, garden-to-kitchen cooking demonstrations and a scarecrow making activity for kids.

Over in the Gourmet Harvest hub, the best of Queensland’s local produce will be on show, with the Gourmet Harvest Grill serving up restaurant-quality cuisine to those looking to treat their tastebuds with more than a hot dog this Ekka visit.

At the Royal Queensland Steakhouse Restaurant, indulge your tastebuds with a menu built on medal-winning steaks, rich cheeses and fresh local produce. Sample the likes of Queensland grass-fed beef carpaccio with wild rocket salad, Grana Pandano and truffle oil, followed by Central Queensland grass-fed eye fillet served with shiraz jus and chargrilled tomato.

A new initiative of the Ekka this year is Regional Harvest – showcasing the bounty of what’s just down the road in Queensland’s regional food bowl. Driven by Alison Alexander and the Scenic Rim, Southern Downs and Lockyer Valley regional councils, Regional Harvest will see punters attend talks from regional producers, pick up preserves, honey, wine or cheese to take home, or settle in at the Regional Harvest Cafe to enjoy an array of soups, salads and sweet treats crafted by co-owner of Three Girls Skipping Caroline Jones.

And a trip to the Ekka wouldn’t be complete without sampling at least one of the show’s notorious strawberry sundaes. Around 10 tonnes of strawberries are used to make the Ekka Strawberry Sundaes, with more than 145,000 of the ice-creams usually sold each year. The famed sundaes are made from locally sourced ingredients, including sweet chopped strawberries from Wamura, scoops of LICK gourmet strawberry ice-cream and swirls of fresh cream from Queensland dairies. Profits from the sales of sundaes are donated to medical research funds.