A new four-day destination food festival will launch on the Sunshine Coast from 8 to 11 August, 2019. The Curated Plate will celebrate the tight knit relationships between chef and producer that have come to define Australia’s restaurant industry.
The Sunshine Coast’s acclaimed produce and producers, sustainable practices, artisan culture, and health and wellness, will form key themes of the festival, with local experiences — from food trails to farms tours — also featuring on the program.
While the full festival line-up won’t be revealed until March 2019, it has been confirmed Tokyo’s Zaiyu Hasegawa, from two Michelin Star restaurant Den, is set to headline the festival, joining Sunshine Coast chef Daniel Jarrett for a special collaboration at this one-hatted venue The Tamarind. Hasegawa took home the Highest Climber Award at 2018’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants celebrations, with Den named Best Restaurant in Japan and ranked second on Asia’s 50 Best list.
Fairfax Events & Entertainment, Visit Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast Council, and The Queensland Government, via Tourism and Events Queensland are behind the new event, which also features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.
“The Sunshine Coast is one of Australia’s premier regions for quality produce — it has more than 740 restaurants, 400 food tourism experiences, six dining precincts, 13 new craft breweries, some of the best farmers markets in the country and provides much of Queensland’s fish, seafood, fruit, vegetables and poultry exports,” says Simon Latchford, CEO of Visit Sunshine Coast.
“While our beaches and year-round attractive climate might be the primary reasons for visitors choosing the Sunshine Coast for their holiday, the fact that we can deliver such high-quality food from paddock to plate is becoming an increasingly significant attraction for discerning travellers.”
Image: Zaiyu Hasegawa Credit: Fine Dining Lovers