April is the month for Tasting the Tropics

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) is bringing the destination’s unique food story to life in April with the launch of Tasting the Tropics.

TTNQ Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said Tasting the Tropics is a celebration of Tropical North Queensland food and drink experiences highlighting the incredible chefs, producers and agritourism stories behind the region’s dining and eating culture.

“Restaurants, cafes, farms, hotels and tour operators have joined the month-long celebration by dishing up their best tropical creations and throwing in some great entertainment to complete the experience,” he said.

“Try a river dining experience, a chef’s masterclass, barrel painting with live music, local spirits and cheese, and discover that smoked green papaya is the new smoked salmon.

“We are so excited about Tasting the Tropics in April that we are kicking it off a few days early at Feast of the Senses in Innisfail, an annual festival now in its 23rd year that brings food lovers to the Cassowary Coast for a smorgasbord of exotic farm produce and tropical tastes.

“Tropical North Queensland’s unique food story has grown from a proud farming history steered by a multicultural population and finessed by creative chefs wanting a sea change.

“Ochre Restaurant owner and chef Craig Squire is among the pioneers who incorporated native Australian ingredients into modern cuisine and his team will be showcasing the Ooray plum in both food and drinks at Ochre during April.”

Ochre Sous Chef Mikayla Senn said Ooray is a versatile ingredient suitable for savoury and sweet dishes as well as drinks and was traditionally used to boost the immune system as it is rich in Vitamins C and E, potassium, zinc and antioxidants.

“At Ochre we infuse its unique flavour and vibrant colour into sugar syrups, stocks for sauces, wine reductions and puree for cocktails to use throughout our lunch and dinner menus,” she said.

Feast of the Senses spokesperson Dave Jensen said the four-day festival included food trails and a River Feast with rare fruit tastings, cooking demonstrations, food vans and market stalls.

“More than 150 varieties of fruit are grown in Tropical North Queensland and at Feast of the Senses you can try mangosteen and durian or stick to the traditional banana that elevated Innisfail into the Guinness Book of Records in 2017 for the world’s longest banana split stretching 8.04km along the highway,” he said.

Discover many more Tasting the Tropics events at: tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au/tasting-the-tropics/

ENDS

TTNQ Contact: Liz Inglis | liz.inglis@ttnq.org.au| 0419 643 494