Why Australia is one of the world’s great food and drink destinations
Australia's food and drink culture reflects the country's vibrancy, creativity and diversity. A love of great food permeates across the states, enriching your travel experience – and your taste buds – wherever you go, writes David Whitley
When it comes to food and drink, Australia’s strength lies both in tradition and lack of tradition. Waves of immigration have brought in culinary expertise and customs from around the world. But, crucially, they have mixed, with a widespread interchange of ideas.
In Australia’s restaurants, vineyards, distilleries, farms and plantations there is a magic recipe of experience and innovation that repeatedly shines through. It’s also something Australians are keen to share, whether in multi-dish platters on an al fresco table by the sea, or during a tasting flight at a winery cellar door.
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Indigenous ingredients
Australian chefs know they are lucky. Nick Holloway, head chef at beachside restaurant Nu Nu in Palm Cove, Queensland, says: “Australian chefs have access to the vast seas, reefs, rainforests, mountains and lush green pastures, giving rise to a cuisine that is both exciting, youthful and delicious. Australia presents prestigious growing conditions and a wealth of Indigenous ingredients.”
Those Indigenous ingredients, such as vitamin C-rich Kakadu plums and finger limes, are about to become better known in the UK thanks to the recent trade deal with Australia.
One of these is Jarrah honey. Katie Fewster from Forest Fresh Honey in Perth says: “The floral diversity of the remote Western Australian forests helps to create a uniquely Australian ‘healing honey’. Jarrah honey has a smooth, caramel-like flavour and is packed with beneficial properties.”
However, in Aussie restaurants, there has been a decade-long trend towards incorporating the long-overlooked Indigenous foods.
Nu Nu serves up the best in modern Australian cuisine daily
Forest Fresh Honey produce some of the best honey in Western Australia
Torres Strait Islander chef Nornie Bero has put native foods front and centre at Big Esso, the new centrepiece restaurant in Melbourne’s Federation Square. Charred molasses emu fillet and saltbush and pepperberry crocodile make it onto a menu that proudly celebrates Australia.
It’s a theme that has been embraced by fine-dining joints such as Wildflower in Perth and laid-back café-restaurants such as Karkalla in New South Wales holiday town Byron Bay.
In Adelaide, the hugely ambitious Restaurant Botanic is soon likely to embed itself in the world’s best restaurants lists. It not only embraces native ingredients, but forages for them in the surrounding Adelaide Botanic Gardens. One day, that might mean serving quandongs fresh off the tree, another it might be serving ice lollies frozen around the branch of a Bunya pine. Executive chef James Justin says: “I see a lot of guests the next day, walking through, looking at the plants they’ve eaten.”
Restaurant Botanic is located in the stunning 51-hectare Adelaide Botanic Garden
At Charlies of Darwin in the Northern Territory capital, the trend for foraging native ingredients meets another big movement in Australia – urban distilleries.
Owner Rebecca Bullen runs ‘blend your own’ gin masterclasses, where guests can experiment with flavours such as Kakadu plum, lemon myrtle, turkey bush and water lily.
Other urban distilleries aren’t quite so intrepid, but aim to create a visitor experience nonetheless. The Archie Rose distillery in Sydney runs behind-the-scenes tours and tasting flights of its gins, rums and whiskies. Meanwhile, the Four Pillars distillery in Victoria’s Yarra Valley brings in food trucks, offers cocktail making classes and meet-the-maker sessions.
Elsewhere among Australia’s distilleries, there is a relentless pursuit of quality. In 2019, Sullivans Cove French Oak Single Cask was named – for the second time – as the best single malt whisky in the world. It was a magnificent piece of scene-stealing for Tasmania’s whisky makers, which have led Australia’s increasingly revered spirits industry in making waves on the global stage.
Hayley Palmer of the Illegal Tender Rum Co in Dongara, on Western Australia’s Coral Coast, sums up the mentality. “We make our products from scratch,” she explains. “We actually ferment onsite at the distillery, so we have complete control of the product from start to finish. We use soft purified rainwater, quality Australian dark brown sugar and our own yeast strain to get flavours only found from our way of doing things.”
Dynamic distillers
Sullivans Cove is home to the world's best single malt whisky
Charlie's of Darwin was built around the idea of having a locally produced gin that uses native ingredients
Expect a barrel-aged gin, sweet, smooth and super sippable from Four Pillars
Find Archie Rose experiences in Rosebery, Sydney
Experiential eating
It’s not always just about the food in Australia. Sometimes, it’s about the experience surrounding it.
Former Masterchef winner Rhys Badcock is the head chef on True North’s expedition cruises along the remote Kimberley coast of north-western Western Australia.
He says:
In Sydney, meanwhile, star chef Luke Mangan has created Luke’s Table. This seats 20 guests on a long communal table for a three-course dinner. The twist is that it’s at the top of the Pylon Lookout on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
In Canberra, truffles are a big deal – but you can do more than just shave them on your pasta. The Truffle Farm takes visitors on truffle hunts with the faithful dogs, then serves up mighty degustation lunches.
Dine on the finest fish sourced fresh from the Kimberley coast
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“Our guests will go fishing and bring back all sorts of treats: barramundi, golden snapper, fingermark bream, Spanish mackerel, mud crabs…”
Sean then gets to work with what the guests have hauled in. “I have the delight of creating dishes that showcase just how spectacular the seafood is,” he adds.
Taste local food infused with the distinct and exquisite flavours of fresh truffle
The Truffle Farm specialise in professionally run truffle hunts
Truffle hunting is a winter highlight in Canberra
The rise of native ingredients is also changing how Indigenous tours are conducted. In the past, many have just described the bush foods. Now, they’re incorporated in bigger dining experiences.
In Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Saltwater Eco Tours runs cruises along the waterways in a historic sailing boat, while serving up bush tucker-inspired meals.
From Cairns, meanwhile, Mandingalbay Ancient Indigenous Tours takes a boat out to the Wet Tropics World Heritage-listed rainforest at the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Once there, there’s a four-course outdoor dinner, including traditional dance, music and stories.
Evolving wine tourism
Wine-tasting in Australia is also becoming significantly more experiential, with 105 activities that go beyond the standard cellar-door experience gathered together under the Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia banner.
A trailblazer is d’Arenberg in South Australia’s McLaren Vale, where eccentric winemaker Chester Osborn has created a deeply bizarre five-storey cube of sensory experiences and cartoonish toilets.
“I feel I’ve never worked a day in my life; I’m still having too much fun meeting people and telling stories,” he says of his bold passion project.
Other projects are not quite so whimsical, but are still highly engaging. At Glenarty Road in Western Australia’s Margaret River region, visitors are encouraged to pick and eat grapes from the vines, while tastings are a roaming affair conducted between a series of recycled wooden bars amid the vines.
In South Australia’s Clare Valley, the walks are considerably longer. Life’s An Adventure is now running pack-free three-day guided walks between the region’s wineries and restaurants, stopping for tastings along the way.
d'Arenberg Cube is situated within the d'Arenberg vineyards in the McLaren Vale of South Australia
Trendwatch 1: Upmarket pub food hits the regions
The slick Merivale group has bought Lynch’s Hotel in Narooma on the NSW South Coast, and farm-to-table pioneer Matt Moran is now working magic at the Rockley Pub in the small Central Tablelands town of Rockley.
Trendwatch 2: Celeb chefs with new ventures
TV star Karen Martini is offering locally sourced, seasonal food at Thyme inside the newly-opened Alba Thermal Springs & Spa on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
Lennox Hastie – famed for Sydney’s Firedoor restaurant – has opened Gildas, devoted to the Basque region – in inner-city dining hotspot Surry Hills.
And Masterchef star Minoli de Silva is marrying Northern Territory produce with Sri Lankan heritage at Ella By Minoli.
Trendwatch 3: Dine and stay – cool hotel restaurants
Kiln revels in wood-fired cooking on the rooftop of Sydney’s Ace Hotel, while Lollo at Melbourne’s W Hotel is all about the light-filled dining room and Victorian produce.
Yorkshire-born chef Sean Connolly is at the helm of regional ingredients-centric Sean’s Kitchen in Eos by Skycity, Adelaide, while T’Ang Court is offering top-grade Cantonese cuisine at the Langham Gold Coast.
Great food and drink across Australia
Western Australia
Eat: Tackle the six-course tasting menu at Manuka Woodfire Kitchen in Fremantle.
Drink: Walk through the vines and watch the fermentation at Blind Corner in Margaret River.
Experience: Hit the Swan Valley for bush tucker walks and talks with Dale Tilbrook Experiences.
Australia is well-known for producing some of the finest wines in the world
The wine-making tradition in Australia is a lot older than many expect. When the First Fleet of British settlers arrived in 1788, they brought with them vine clippings from the Cape of Good Hope.
Many Australian wine-regions, such as the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, the Swan Valley in Western Australia and the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, have been producing excellent wines since the early 19th century.
Though a New World wine country, Australia is also home to some of the oldest vines – particularly of the Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre varietals.
Anastasia Nishnianidze, Trade and Investment Commissioner for the Australian Trade & Investment Commission, says: “During the 1830s and 1840s, pioneers began importing many types of grapevine cuttings from Europe to begin Australia’s wine community. These early vines arrived in Australia before phylloxera struck and destroyed many European vineyards.”
Australia’s size and range of climates plays a major part, too. Pick a great wine-growing region from around the world, and you’ll usually find that there’s somewhere in Australia with very similar conditions.
Hotter regions such as South Australia’s Barossa Valley are famed for big, beefy reds, but other areas focus on delicate, cool climate wines. Tasmania’s pinot noirs are a case in point.
Charles Simons, managing director of the Mayfield Vineyard in Orange, New South Wales, says: “With more than 100 grape varieties grown across 65 distinct wine regions, we have the freedom to make exceptional wine, and to do it our own way. We’re not beholden to tradition, but continue to push the boundaries in the pursuit of the most diverse, thrilling wines in the world. That’s just our way. Mayfield Vineyard is no different and we make wines that are uniquely us.
Australia’s grape expectations – what makes Aussie wines so good?
With diverse geography, huge grape variety and forward-thinking producers, it’s no wonder the Land Down Under produces such spectacular wines
Don’t however, get wines from the Orange region mixed up with Australia’s big new wine obsession – orange wines. Sometimes called skin-on, skin contact, amber or skinsy wines, these are white wines where the juice is left in contact with the grape skins during fermentation.
Paul Scorpo, vigneron at Scorpo Wines on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, says: “It’s the way my father was making white wine in the garage from 1957 to 1996. “Their growing popularity is, I think, due to their versatility and complex structure,” he adds. “So, they can be matched with fish, are great with white meat, legumes, pasta or noodle dishes and really complement spicy dishes.”
Visitable wineries making these skin-contact wines include Vinden Wines in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley and Koerner in South Australia’s Clare Valley.
The future is orange?
Koerner produce wine from the Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills
Enjoy a glass of wine overlooking the lush grounds of Vinden Wines
Scorpo Vineyard & Wines combines old world practices with new world flavour
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Wake up and smell the coffee
As with the wine, coffee came to Australia with the First Fleet – the settlers picked up beans in Rio De Janeiro along the way.
But the birth of Australia’s coffee culture really started with the arrival of southern Italian immigrants after the Second World War. They came in numbers, and they brought their coffee machines with them.
Good coffee soon became ubiquitous in heavily Italian neighbourhoods such as Carlton in Melbourne and Leichhardt in Sydney. Many of the cafés from this first wave, such as the University Café in Carlton still stand.
Over time, immigrant neighbourhoods became hipster neighbourhoods. Good coffee in buzzy cafés became synonymous with cool. Big coffee shop chains have struggled to get a foothold in Australia – Starbucks bombed – because Australians have been conditioned to get their coffee from little independent cafés.
Australia was free to carve out its own coffee culture, and adapted to tastes rather than sticking to dogma. The origins of the now globally famous flat white are hotly disputed – but it was born from a preference for the velvety milk made by Australian cows over the dry froth of a cappuccino. Coffee is served and roasted all over Australia, but it is also grown in the country.
The country’s coffee capital is Mareeba in the Atherton Tableland near Cairns, Queensland. Nearby, Skybury and the Jaques Coffee Plantation march to their own tune.
Jaques uses traditional drum-roasting methods and takes a “tree to cup” approach, roasting in small batches to give full control over tweaking the flavour profile.
At family-run Skybury, the pride is in its notably smooth single origin coffees. General manager Candy McLaughlin says:
With diverse geography, huge grape variety and forward-thinking producers, it’s no wonder the Land Down Under produces such spectacular wines
“Our approach to farming is focused clearly on innovation, sustainability and our people, who share the MacLaughlin family commitment to growing a great tasting product.”
Skybury Farms boasts Australia's oldest coffee plantation
It fits the running theme of the Australian coffee scene – small and independent, with a big flavour and impact.
Head to Grampians Grape Escape for a weekend of regional wine, food and music
Australia’s best food and drink festivals
Tasting Australia
Adelaide, South Australia,
27 April – 8 May
The nation’s longest-running eating and drinking festival is centred on the Town Square, where food vendors huddle. Tastings and drinks masterclasses also take place here, while other opportunities include the Chef’s Table where you can watch dishes take shape.
Grampians Great Escape
Grampians, Victoria, 5 – 7 May
With the backdrop of the rumpled Grampians mountains, this three-day food, drink and music festival brings together hundreds of stalls, laying on cooking demos and free-to-attend masterclasses in-between the guided wine tastings.
Taste of Kakadu
Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, 13 – 21 May
Spread across the vast Kakadu National Park, this festival celebrates native bush foods and Indigenous culture, with tastings, ceremonies and pop-up dinners. The cultural and culinary are deliberately interwoven.
Scenic Rim Eat Local Month
Scenic Rim, Queensland, June
The Scenic Rim in the Gold Coast hinterland is a massive food-producing region. Eat Local Month culminates with a massive long table lunch, but before then, visitors can meet cheese and chocolate makers, tour farms and watch bush tucker cooking demos.
Canberra Truffle Festival
Australian Capital Territory and surrounds, mid-June to mid-August
Truffle and wine pairings, cooking classes, chef demonstrations and – of course – truffle hunts turn the winter months into a truffle extravaganza.
Cabin Fever
Margaret River region, Western Australia, 14 – 23 July
There’s a musical element to Cabin Fever, too, but what this festival does best is special, long, chef-hosted degustation meals in spectacular settings. Several top Margaret River wineries take part.
Tasmanian Whisky Week
Across Tasmania, 7 – 13 August
Tasmania’s world class boutique whisky industry takes its turn in the spotlight with a raft of events including whisky-matched dinners, meet-the-maker experiences and special tastings. Comedy and music gigs are incorporated in the programme.
Mudgee Food and Wine Month
Mudgee, New South Wales, 2 – 29 September
What started as a week-long festival in NSW’s hugely underrated Mudgee wine region has now spread over a month. Wineries offer special tastings, platters and masterclasses, while big communal wine and produce tastings take over the historic town centre.
Produced by Telegraph Media Group
Project Manager: Tom Gadd, Commissioning Editor: Hannah Hopkins, Sub-editor: Tim Cumming, Video and Photography Manager: Cat Costelloe, Lead Designer: Victoria Griffiths, Web Editor: Katherine Scott
It’s been a while since you last took a holiday; head Down Under to a place where the water’s warm and the welcome even warmer. So come on, we’re waiting for you to come and say G’day.
Plan your trip at Australia.com
Every great adventure begins with G’day
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New South Wales
Eat: Hop between hawker-style joints in Burwood, Sydney’s emerging Chinatown.
Drink: Delve into non-alcoholic spirits at the Seadrift Distillery bar in Brookvale, Sydney.
Experience: Try in-water oyster tasting in Broken Bay with Sydney Oyster Farm Tours.
Australian Capital Territory
Eat: Go modern Asian at newly opened Dada.
Drink: Learn about the sustainable approach to craft brewing at Capital Brewing Co.
Experience: Flit between Spanish dining, the garden bar and live music at multi-floor Saint Malo.
Northern Territory
Eat: Discover Darwin’s South-East Asian influence at Hanuman.
Drink: Try NT spirits at the Willing Distillery cellar door and cocktail bar in Darwin.
Experience: Learn about the night skies during the Sounds of Silence dune-top dinner at Uluru.
Queensland
Eat: Keep it intimate at 10-seater modern Australian restaurant joy in Brisbane.
Drink: Taste the unusual varietals of Queensland’s Granite Belt at the Balancing Heart Vineyard.
Experience: Link the Sunshine Coast cheese-makers, chocolate factories and breweries with Mystic Mountain Tours.
South Australia
Eat: Feast as a group at buzzy New York-inspired Italian hotspot Fugazzi.
Drink: Try mulberry gin and see the botanicals in the garden at Kangaroo Island Spirits.
Experience: Elevate the senses in the McLaren Vale with an in-the-dark tasting at Hardy’s Tintara.
Tasmania
Eat: Revel in the top Tasmanian produce at Fico in Hobart.
Drink: Seated flights at Stoney Ridge overlooking Tasmania’s Tamar River come with fireplace chats.
Experience: Be guided around the vineyard and underground wine bunker at Moorilla in Berriedale.
Victoria
Eat: Browse 7,000 square metres of delis, coffee roasters and cafés at Richmond Traders.
Drink: Have a go at wine-blending at the De Bortoli Yarra Valley Estate.
Experience: Combine foraging for your lunch and structured wine tasting at Brown Brothers in the King Valley.
Book your Australia adventure with the tailor-made holiday specialists at Flight Centre and enjoy the expertise, peace of mind and friendly service you deserve.
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Book your Australia adventure with the tailor-made holiday specialists at Flight Centre and enjoy the expertise, peace of mind and friendly service you deserve.
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Find a store
Produced by Telegraph Media Group
Project Manager: Tom Gadd, Commissioning Editor: Hannah Hopkins, Sub-editor: Tim Cumming, Video and Photography Manager: Alex Kelly and Cat Costelloe, Lead Designer: Victoria Griffiths, Web Editor: Katherine Scott
It’s been a while since you last took a holiday; head Down Under to a place where the water’s warm and the welcome even warmer. So come on, we’re waiting for you to come and say G’day.
Plan your trip at Australia.com
Every great adventure begins with G’day
Start planning your perfect Australia adventure with the help of a dedicated Audley specialist and experience their award-winning expertise and trusted service
Visit website
Visit website
Order a brochure
Order a brochure
Make an enquiry
Make an enquiry
Start planning your perfect Australia adventure with the help of a dedicated Audley specialist and experience their award-winning expertise and trusted service
Visit website
Visit website
Order a brochure
Order a brochure
Make an enquiry
Make an enquiry
Start planning your perfect Australia adventure with the help of a dedicated Audley specialist and experience their award-winning expertise and trusted service
Visit website
Visit website
Order a brochure
Order a brochure
Make an enquiry
Make an enquiry
Start planning your perfect Australia adventure with the help of a dedicated Audley specialist and experience their award-winning expertise and trusted service
Visit website
Order a brochure
Make an enquiry
Start planning your perfect Australia adventure with the help of a dedicated Audley specialist and experience their award-winning expertise and trusted service
Visit website
Order a brochure
Make an enquiry
Start planning your perfect Australia adventure with the help of a dedicated Audley specialist and experience their award-winning expertise and trusted service
Visit website
Order a brochure
Make an enquiry
Book your Australia adventure with the tailor-made holiday specialists at Flight Centre and enjoy the expertise, peace of mind and friendly service you deserve.
Visit website
Order a brochure
Find a store
Start planning your perfect Australia adventure with the help of a dedicated Audley specialist and experience their award-winning expertise and trusted service
Visit website
Order a brochure
Make an enquiry