Last month we visited one of our favourite places, to do one of our favourite things - Noosa (which is sentimental to us because it's where we got married) to go to the Noosa International Food Festival. What a great weekend. We often go up to Brisbane for Mothers Day and I'm always envious when I see the ads for the Food festival the following weekend, so this time, we decided to move Mothers Day and take my Mother in Law for a weekend away. We started off the weekend on Thursday evening with a fun, light hearted, food themed concert. The QLD Virtuosi orchestra, along with special guests were a great source of entertainment, and this was almost the highlight of the weekend. It certainly kicked the festival off to a great start.On Friday morning we breakfasted at our wedding reception spot, Berardo's on the Beach. It was a great experience as usual with amazing service, delicious food and what a view! It is a fave of ours, but also, being in one of the most stunning locations, a fave of some of the weekend guests to Noosa, the Chefs. Not only did we spot Neil Perry walking into the restaurant and sitting down at a table when we were outside chatting on the boardwalk admiring the beach, but we even featured in his Instagram snap of the occasion! (See us in the foreground with Noosa beach and National Park in the background!)
Saturday was our day to hit the festival and the rain that had sprinkled on Friday afternoon cleared up, leaving the only memory of it as the squelchy mud beneath our feet! We spent a lot of time glued to the main stage with chef after chef showing off their beautiful dishes. David Thompson from Nahm restaurant, which we were lucky enough to visit on our trip last year to Thailand, prepared a spicy stir fry, and Guy Grossi and Jacques Reymond also demonstrated some fascinating techniques.
Another highlight of the festival was High Tea by the River. In a sun drenched marquee with views of the Eric Pernoud (a local patissier) and Adriano Zumbo. What a delicious spread! We had different flavoured eclairs from Pernoud, ranging from traditional flavours to some distinct and unexpected ones; Cheesy bites from Ian Curley and then Zumbo's macarons and a pineapple and popping candy verrine that popped and tingled in our mouths. We certainly enjoyed everything that we were served and the Chefs were very gracious coming round to visit the guests at the table. I think Zumbo probably had his photo taken with every guest that attended!river, we were treated to some great sweets and savouries from Ian Curley,
All in all, Noosa gave us another fabulous weekend and we left with more memories of a great festival and town!
