Hidden away in the lush hinterland of the Sunshine Coast is a burgeoning artisan food industry. Helped by some insider knowledge, Rebecca Fox discovers a great alternative to a day at the beach.
Creamy gelatos, firm cheeses, syrupy dressings, dark chocolate and spicy condiments.
These are just some of the products being made in the hills of the Sunshine Coast by small producers.
Helping us uncover some of these gems is the enthusiastic Lynn Fallon from Food Tale Tours.
She packs us into a luxurious people-mover and we head off as she explains the diversity of the food produced in the region.
First stop is Colin James Fine Foods to taste test its award-winning gelato. It might be 10am but it is impolite to refuse.
Thank goodness we don't.
Churned by hand in small quantities, the gelato is more like an ice cream in its smoothness.
Businessman Norman Scott recently took over the business from its original owners, as well as their passion for its products and the region.
"The interesting thing about the Sunshine Coast is scratch the surface and you find these new producers you don't know about, even me.''
It is a good time for artisan products as more and more people want to know about the origins of what they are eating and what is in their food.
His aim is to remain an artisan producer and, he says, it is encouraging that some of the region's bigger producers are starting to recognise the positives of having smaller producers bringing people to the region.
Originally a large dairy farming area, farm numbers have decreased due to deregulation but they are slowly growing again to meet the demand of the artisan industry.
Colin James uses only local milk to make its ice creams and gelatos.
"If we had to buy mass-produced blended milk, it could never be as good as going to the farm at 7am. The cows are milked at 4am, it's in the tank, it hasn't been touched and probably by noon it's gelati.''
Maleny Cheese is also a great case in point, he says.
It buys milk from local farms and has even bought dairy farms to ensure quality and supply to produce its cheeses, yoghurts and butter.
"He [Ross Hopper] goes to local farms and gives them a decent price so they have a sustainable income.''
We visit Maleny Dairies, a farm and dairy run by the fourth generation of the Hopper family.
It prides itself on producing good old-fashioned milks, yoghurts and even a custard, as well as educating the next generation with farm tours for school groups.
Another locally made product is Pomadoras special balsamic dressings made from an old family recipe, which is a trade secret.
It is an example of another family business diversifying to be successful, as the dressings are made in the kitchen of the Pomadoras Restaurant, which uses as much local produce as possible, alongside Maleny's Obi Obi River.
The couple in charge, Jodi and Chris Bond, have a young family and also run luxury cabin accommodation next to the restaurant.
"In small business, you need to have fingers in a lot of different pies to make it work,'' Mrs Bond says.
"Hubby says it's his retirement fund.''
Tucked away in another corner of the district is what South African immigrant Matilda Scarfe calls her "little bit of Africa in Australia''.
It is here that she cooks up tasty African and Malay-flavoured condiments between hosting guests in her themed accommodation built around a 500-year-old fig tree.
Only a small number of her products are traditional, although most are created based on her knowledge of spices and desire to experiment and develop products.
She recently came up with two new dukkahs: a summer mix of dried apples, cranberries, orange rind and cinnamon - a sweetish dukkah to sprinkle over muesli - while the other more savoury version involves citrus, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and lime rind.
Some products have become firm favourites, such as a mango chilli mayonnaise developed for prawn cocktails in her restaurant days.
However, her kalahari curry paste, inspired by the curry tree in her yard, is overtaking it in popularity.
"It makes the best curry and not just curry. Mix sour cream with it for a dip, stir it through macaroni cheese or fish pie. My granddaughter will eat it out of the bottle.''
Ms Fallon also let us in on a secret - Secrets on the Lake - a restaurant and accommodation venue with a difference tucked away on the shores of Lake Baroon.
The difference is the handcrafted nature of the self-contained "tree houses'', the carved wood furniture and woodland animals carved into posts and balustrades.
The restaurant makes you feel as if you are in the tree-tops gazing out on to the lake.
The final stop in our journey around the district is a French delicatessen, Thierry and Cindy's Le Relais Bressan Cafe and Deli, tucked away on a rural property at Flaxton.
The venue is also home to his son Sebastien Clerc's business, Cocorico.
Sebastien makes chocolates of all varieties from French chocolate.
• Rebecca Fox was hosted by Visit Sunshine Coast
If you go
• Air New Zealand and Virgin fly to Brisbane direct and it is also possible to fly direct to the Sunshine Coast from Auckland.
Further information
• www.mysticmountaintours.com.au
• noosafoodwinefestival.com.au
