Final-community Guide 03 04

OUR FAMOUS
                                       CUISINE
                                               F    rom breakfast to dinner and through many a                local       food
                                                    lunch, brunch (and perhaps a cocktail hour                industry and
                                               in between) Noosa’s food industry breaks diets but             restauranteur
                                               not bank balances for visitors and residents alike.            L e o n i e
                                               In our local café society you can live (and eat) like          Palmer wrote in her Noosa Cook Book of August
                                               a king, prince, lord or pauper and enjoy every                 1996, recalling the early Seventies :
           “… behind the beach-
                                               minute of it.                                                  “I used to spend time scouting around the hills and
           front tourist strip lay a
                                               With more award-winning restaurants per capita                 valleys for local suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables,
  lush and fertile hinterland ideal                                                                           and on these journeys often ran into true locals who
                                               than any other place in Australia, Noosa chefs are
  for growing produce, but at that             a treasured breed at the forefront of creativity -             had never been down to ‘The Heads’ … there was
                                               many of them having served with honour in                      also quite a bit of black market dealing (known to us
  time much of the land was
                                               superb establishments across the country and                   as ‘blackfish’) with characters who talked out of the
  under cane and the only items of                                                                            sides of their mouths, did the deal off the back of the
                                               across the globe.
  local produce that seemed to find                                                                           ute and disappeared with the cash …
                                               The Noosa restaurant scene has produced and
  their way to the table were those            housed remarkable characters over the years, from              “As time went by and more restaurants became
                                               early pioneers Eliza Donovan and Maisie                        established in Noosa … the land began to yield a
  subtropical perennials, bananas,
                                               Monsour to the French flavoured influx of the                  bounty as diverse as any available anywhere in the
  paw paws and pineapples.                                                                                    world, and our Noosa food began to take on a style of
                                               Seventies who introduced outlandish customs like
                                               outdoor dining - despite the concerns of a then                its own.”
                                               Councillor that drivers would not
                                               be able to open their car doors. He
                                               was wrong, they were right and                                      Sunshine Beach
                                               Noosa led the way, popping tables
                                               under the stars, and occasionally
                                                                                                                   Surf Lifesaving Club
                                               the clouds of passing fruit bats.                   A great place to relax, enjoy
                                               To support this thriving industry,                         and entertain!
                                               local growers now produce huge
  Opposite page: Beach fishing.
                                               variety of delectables, thereby
  This page: Restauranteur Leonie              creating their own very successful
  Palmer                                       niche market. The era of tinned or
                                               processed ingredients has most
                                               thankfully passed, as doyen of the


Leonie Palmer & Steven Fisher
    Partners in Hospitality
                                                                                                   ✸ Alfresco Dining
                                                                                           ✸ Extensive wine selection
                                                                                                        ✸ Live Music
                                                                                                                                                    Open 7 Days – Lunch & Dinner
                                       River Bar and Restaurant                                ✸ Smoke-free interior                                    – Brunch on Sundays

                                                                                            No longer the best kept secret on the Coast
         Phone 07 5447 2455 Fax 07 5448 0063                                                           P H O N E                 5447 5491
                                                                                                                 OPEN FROM 10am DAILY
Email [email protected] www.rickyricardos.com.au
                                                                                                 w w w. s u n s h i n e b e a c h s l s c . c o m . a u
  Noosa Wharf, Quamby Place, Noosa Heads Qld 4567                                              Information for members, reciprocal members, their guests and bona fide visitors.

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