Noosa Food & Wine once again drew a strong crowd this year, as chefs, producers and foodies descended on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast from 18-21 May. Macadamias were out in force and we leveraged the event extensively on our domestic social media platforms, delivering outstanding reach of more than 230,000.
More than 60 kilos of macadamia support
Australian macadamia growers sponsored the event for the sixth consecutive year, by suppling locally grown product for use throughout the festival.
More than 60 kilograms of freshly harvested macadamias, along with 4 litres of macadamia oil, 7 litres of macadamia milk, and 2 kilograms of macadamia butter were supplied for Australia’s best chefs to create unique savoury and sweet taste sensations.
Social media smashes previous records
Our extensive social media coverage of the event delivered significantly greater reach across all platforms than in previous years.
Highlights included:
- Overall reach of 232,000, up 175% on 2016
- Twitter reach of 209,300, Instagram reach of 18,000, Facebook reach of 4,500
- 21 tweets and 21 Instagram posts over the festival period
- Retweet from @queensland with 134,000 followers
- Regram from @VisitNoosa with 66,500 followers
- Radio interview by ABC Sunshine Coast with a local macadamia producer
The value of live events
Events such as Noosa Food & Wine are an important element of the Australian Macadamias marketing mix. They compliment our online activity, and afford us an opportunity to tell our brand story ‘in real life’. They’re also a fantastic opportunity to show our support for those chefs and communities that support our industry – particularly in macadamia growing regions.
The Glass House Mountain – Gympie region is the third-largest macadamia producing region in Australia, producing around 10% of Australia’s macadamias. This region is the ancestral home of macadamias, so it is fitting that they featured so highly at a signature event like Noosa Food & Wine.
There are over half a million macadamia trees in the region, 150 macadamia growers and the industry is proud to be one of the major horticultural contributors to the local towns.
Macadamias inspire innovative cuisine
The event’s chefs embraced macadamias wholeheartedly again this year, with our premium nut featuring in over 20 food events throughout the festival.
Some of the standout macadamia dishes included macadamia rolled goats’ cheese with warrigal greens and quinoa, an amuse bouche of scallops, fresh seaweed, finger lime and grated macadamias, and Frank Camorra’s special Spanish dessert with candied macadamias.
Acclaimed chefs Ian Curley, Brad Web, Shane Bailey, Peter Kuravita, Jo Barrett, Adriano Zumbo, Elena Duggan, Clayton Donovan and Matt Golinski all featured locally grown macadamias in their inspired dishes.
Sunshine Coast-based Golinski grew up on a macadamia farm, and his appetite for the precious native nut is well known. At this year’s ‘Sunday Lunch in the Groves’ event Matt spoiled guests with a long lunch at Maravista Farm, a picturesque 250-hectare working macadamia farm in the Noosa hinterland, featuring lots of the Sunshine Coast’s abundant local produce, including local macadamias.
Macadamia products on show
Over at the popular ‘The Woods’ event – a pop-up food and wine village overlooking the Noosa River – local macadamia growers Jodie and Michael Cameron showcased their locally grown and made Barenuts macadamia products . ‘The Woods’ showcased Australia’s best local wine and produce and provided a chance for visitors to meet growers first hand and share their love of food.
“We love the chilled-out vibe of Noosa Food & Wine and the festival attracts real foodies who not only love their fresh produce, but also have a genuine interest in where their food comes from and the local producers who grow it,” said Jodie.
As the sun went down over the river in the evening, ‘The Woods’ was the place to be. Festival goers sampled fine wine and snacked on Noosa Boathouse chef Shane Bailey’s corn topped with butter and macadamia pieces, while relaxing to the tunes of some of Australia’s best DJs.
Sweet sensations
Macadamias were equally on show in several of the event’s sweet treats with highlights including a macadamia snap with orange blossom meringue & honey saffron mascarpone at Sirocco, Noosa Beach House’s ‘Wattalapam’ Sri Lankan dessert with macadamia crumb and Adriano Zumbo’s irresistible macadamia, lemon, honey and banana dessert.
Congratulations to the organisers, producers and chefs on yet another standout event. The Australian macadamia industry was delighted to once again be part of this premier food event.
