Mark your calendar with our top ten picks for The Curated Plate festival
We’re impatiently counting down the days until The Curated Plate kicks off on July 26. The epicurean extravaganza celebrates all things culinary and turns a spotlight on the Sunshine Coast’s exquisite local produce and producers. With The Curated Plate 2024 promising to be the festival’s most ambitious outing yet, it’s an absolute must-not-miss. But with over 90 delicious events packed into ten days, you might be feeling the FOMO or paralysed by some serious choice anxiety. Fear not; we’ve put together our top ten picks from the prolific program to help get you started on planning your perfect plate experience…
Queensland’s Sunshine Pantry
Explore the breadth of the Sunshine Coast’s culinary scene in one family-friendly outing with Queensland’s Sunshine Pantry live at The Station SC. At this vibrant and bustling marketplace you can sample your way through more than 70 stalls showcasing spectacular local products and gourmet specialties including handcrafted cheeses, artisanal breads and pastries, boutique chocolates, grass-fed beef and lamb, local honey, artisanal coffee and much more. Be entertained while you eat with live cooking demonstrations on the main stage from celebrity chefs and local experts like Hayden Quinn and Peter Kuravita. This highly anticipated event is the perfect opportunity to take home a little bit of that special Sunshine Coast magic for your own pantry.
Stillmaker & Son’s Whisky Pre-Launch Tasting Event
Meet the makers behind the Sunshine Coast’s newest, and only whiskey-focused distillery, at this exclusive tasting session. Sit back with Mike and Sandy of Stillmaker & Son’s Distillery, hear their stories, learn about their refined and patient distillation process and be the first to try some truly delicious drams– not yet available to the public. Sip on a sample of small batch single malt whisky, made and aged in Montville, where cold south-westerly winds and summer ocean breezes meet in the rolling green hills. If you like what you’re tasting, attendees will have an exclusive opportunity to pre-order and be the first in Australia to get their mitts on a bottle.
Maleny Botanic Gardens and Jinibara Bush Tucker Experience
Curated in partnership with the Jinibara Peoples Aboriginal Corporation and Brush Turkey Enterprises, this special bush tucker experience will take you through the breath-taking views and beautiful gardens of the Maleny Botanic Gardens while talking to local rangers and producers about an array of bush tucker foods and their uses. This fun and educational family experience is rewarding for blooming botanists and curious cooks of all ages. Once you’ve tuckered yourself out with some light learning, you can enjoy an Australian-native inspired Devonshire Tea with Wattle Seed, Lemon Myrtle and Davidson Plum scones served with Bush Tucker-infused tea or cordial.
From Land to Sea – A culinary cruise of Native flavours with Saltwater Eco Tours
Set sail on a two-hour culinary cruise through the sparkling waterways of Mooloolaba on board a beautifully restored, heritage-listed vessel with Saltwater Eco Tours. Indulge onboard with a five-course contemporary menu that incorporates fresh produce, sustainable seafoods and native ingredients from local institutions like Beachtree Distillery, My Dilly Bag, Green Valley Finger Limes, Buderim Ginger, Kenilworth Dairies, Fable Co. and Kawana Farmer’s Market. Feed your mind alongside your stomach as the experience also offers the opportunity to learn about local ecology, sustainability and culture.
Sunset Whales, Ales & Prawn Tails
Take part in an unforgettable evening with this magical sunset adventure which invites you to share a tasty brew and some fresh seafood while hanging out with majestic migratory whales. Departing from the heart of the coast, the cruise takes you out on a luxury vessel to meet whales in their natural habitat. While you marvel at the beautiful beasts, backdropped by a stunning sunset view, you can savour the crisp, refreshing taste of a Whale Ale, expertly crafted by the renowned Black Flag Brewing. These sips perfectly complement the freshly caught, succulent Mooloolaba Prawns served onboard. It’s guaranteed to be a whale of a time!
Matso’s from Brewery to Plate
Matso’s Sunshine Coast is serving up a sensational five-course feast for The Curated Plate that explores the flavours of the hinterland and the brewery’s signature sips. Head chef Ji Zheng Gu and head brewer and distiller Lachlan McIntyre have teamed up to create a luxurious long lunch with each delicious dish paired with the perfect pour. Both Ji and Loc will be on hand to walk you through your meal starting with ginger beer-cured kingfish paired with Matso’s ginger beer, Mooloolaba prawn rolls with Hit the Toad Australian lager, beer-battered fish and chips with Matso’s tropical pale, Yanjala pork chop with a limited cider and finish off a mint and lime Maleny dairy panna cotta and a Matso’s Mango Mojito.
Smoke & Charcoal BBQ Under the Stars
The Curated Plate’s opening night celebrations kick off with Smoke & Charcoal BBQ Under the Stars. Held at Ironbark Paddock, the event venue of Australia Zoo’s The Crocodile Hunter Lodge, the evening’s surroundings are vast moody bushland and starry skies. Within this spectacular vista, the Warrior Restaurant & Bar team with special guest chef, Peter Kuruvita, will deliver live demonstrations as well as a delightful selection of smoked, charred, roasted and fired canapés showcasing the best of the Sunshine Coast’s producers and artisans. The curated menu will be accompanied by premium beverages from local Sunshine & Sons Distillery.
Seasonal Tastings – Winter Farm Open Day
Spend a day at The Falls Farm wandering through its extensive gardens and orchards, ferreting out its picturesque dams, watercourses, secret gardens, forests and picnic areas, and enjoying tastings of its fresh organic produce. Though it may be winter, the farm is blooming with seasonal offerings from cauliflower and carrots to celtuce and citrus. Bring your own picnic blanket and bask in the beautiful landscape or enjoy walking tours around the farm led by the head gardeners. Whether you’re an interested home gardener or just a lover of fine food, the day has something for everyone.
Spirit House Chef’s Table Experience
Australian Young Chef of the Year, Tom Hitchcock, joins the Spirit House to create a culinary adventure journeying through some of the Sunshine Coast’s best local produce and producers. Set in lush tropical gardens over a shared table served by Tom, experience a showcase of creatively elevated culinary experimentation and a range of unique dishes that blend global techniques with Asian flavours and inspirations. That’s about all we can reveal though. The actual content of the menu, all eight courses and 15 dishes (plus optional wine pairings) is top secret, only to be revealed on the night. The only way to know is to go!
Canefields Distillery and Farm Tour
Canefields is a small family-owned and operated artisan distillery focused on quality single-origin rums. Based on the family farm, where sugar cane has been grown for four generations, the family motto is ‘Farm First, Distillery Second’. Canefields operates on a whole-of-life cycle approach by growing, harvesting, crushing, fermenting, distilling, bottling and selling all from the same farm shed. This exclusive The Curated Plate event offers the opportunity to tour the farm and distillery as well as a tasting of some of its sweet, signature sugar cane spirits.
To find out more about what’s on in the Gold Coast, head to our Event Guide.