It was a great night in the Noosa hinterland with Slow Food Noosa welcoming two producers to the Snail of Approval program for their attitude in doing business in a good, clean and fair manner.
Noosa Hinterland Brewing hosted the evening at their Cooran premises, while fellow Snail recipient Woombye Cheese Company provided some of their product for guests to enjoy.
The evening also saw the launch of SevGen Saison – a Davidson plum-flavoured beer made from fruit provided by Galeru Native Foods Orchard at Cooroy.
“It was a fantastic night,” Slow Food Noosa president Jason Lewis said.
“This was a demonstration of small-scale producers in action, and working together to promote local produce.
“John and Cara Tynan of Noosa Hinterland Brewing spoke passionately about what they do, why they do it and where they come from.
“It was a dream and an idea they had after being to a farm in the area six years ago.
“They found inspiration to do something similar – turn local produce into something unique.
“John and Cara spoke about sharing ideas, and this is what the Snail of Approval program is all about.”
It was the first Noosa Hinterland Brewing event to be hosted by Slow Food Noosa.
The brewing company as well as Woombye Cheese are now officially members of what John called “a wonderful network.”
He said it was great to have Jessica Lamb and Terri Waller of Galeru Native Foods Orchard along for the evening.
“Jessica and Terri showcased their @deadlybushtuckertime and helped us launch our SevGen Saison.
“This delectable beer was made with Davidson plums from their native food orchard in Cooroy.”
Beth and Simon O’Leary of Woombye Cheese Co were “really excited” to be welcomed into the Snail of Approval program.
“Our vision for Woombye Cheese is to see it become front of mind again on the Sunshine Coast and surrounding regions,” Beth said.
“It’s a product that beautifully reflects the quality of our dairy industry and we relish the opportunity to shine a light on our region by further building our distribution across the country.
“While we are not going to change anything fundamental, we have launched a new size – mini cheese – which is the perfect single portion.
“This is as well as doing a collaboration with local distillers, Sunshine & Sons, utilising their botanicals on our cheddar.
“In this way we create ‘not your garden variety cheddar.’
“There’s a definite feeling of momentum and support for small business that inspires us to keep innovating and improving the way we do business.”
All eyes at Slow Food Noosa now turn to two special screenings of Rachel Ward’s acclaimed movie Rachel’s Farm, to be screened at Pomona’s Majestic Theatre of Friday, August 24, and Noosa Cinema on Saturday, August 25.
Both screenings will feature a panel discussion with Rachel Ward about the benefits of regenerative farming.
