Discover Farming, a month long festival celebrating food, fibre and agricultural excellence from Goondiwindi and region, was held across four weekends from Thursday 3 to Sunday 27 May.
Locals and visitors participated in farm tours, agricultural expo’s, food trails, tastings and educational school events, spanning the colourful region with the event’s major sponsor Goondiwindi Cotton, iconic for its cotton apparel, also played host to more than 120 dinner guests at the creation of the festivals signature event, Gather.
Gather was designed to showcase a selection of Goondiwindi’s finest producers and the diversity of agriculture from the region, invited local and national media, local government and key food and hospitality suppliers to dine at the heritage Customs House Museum on Saturday 19 May.
Goondiwindi Cotton Managing Director Sam Coulton said the region has so much to offer, it was paramount for Discover Farming to connect city and country. “I wanted Goondiwindi Cotton to get behind this initiative to help local producers expand their presence domestically and internationally alongside building further awareness of our region and the depth of product and agriculture coming from the area,” said Sam.
The black tie dinner held under the stars left a lasting impression. Goondiwindi Cotton and local producers including Gooralie Free Range Pork, Human Bean Co, Smithfield Cattle Co, Barambah Organics, SunPork, Yagaburne Beef, Karbullah Lamb, Macintyre Brook Extra Virgin Olive Oil and more, spared no expense to showcase the quality of produce from the region and talk about the changing landscape of marketing in regional Australia. On the menu were the seasonally designed delights of renowned caterer and Ballymalloo Cookery School alumna, Katrina O’Brien (Relish Catering). As guests arrived, Queensland wines from Morgan and Gill were offered alongside, Crispy Chinese Pork Bau and Smoked Trout Tartlets with local homemade Mamma’s Beetroot Relish.
As the evening settled, guests took their place at three stylish long tables for a shared entrée featuring local hero’s Yagaburne Beef, Karbullah Lamb and Sunpork. Onto mains, guests were treated to Wagyu Scotch Fillet from world renowned beef specialist Jacks Creek courtesy of local supplier, Smithfield Cattle Co and crispy Tuscan loin rack of pork as supplied by free-range specialists, Gooralie Free-Range Pork. Dessert was a casual stand up affair featuring leading Inglewood organic diary producer, Barambah Organics and guests took home a piece of Goondiwindi and Region with their very own bottle of Macintyre Brook Olive Oil.
Entertaining guests on the night creative agency Red Handed Managing Director Lachlan Drummond made the trip from Melbourne to share his work on the renaissance of rural areas as a place for people to live and work amidst the rising costs of inner city living. He also touched on the continued growth of provenance and the desire from consumers in the city to connect with the country and where their food is coming from.
Eager for 2019, the Discover Farming committee is planning next year’s event.
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