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100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

Ten mouth-watering foods adding new flavour to the Sunshine Coast

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Meet the Sunshine Coast’s rising foodie stars who are giving the region a delicious new flavour.

From decadent dairy-free ice-cream, to the finest European-style chocolate and hearty burgers with no meat, the Coast has become a petri dish of exciting food ventures.

Around 80 local makers and producers showcased their products at Meet the Makers, the region’s largest independent food and beverage trade event held on Monday.

Many of the products are synonymous with the Sunshine Coast’s reputation for nature and sustainable food choices, meaning you can enjoy them without feeling guilty.

Presented by the Food and Agribusiness Network (FAN) and supported by Sunshine Coast Airport and Sunshine Coast Council, Meet the Makers was designed to link local producers with retailers and distributors to expand sales and export opportunities.

The food and agribusiness industry is a growing part of the Coast’s economy and was valued at $700 million in 2018, with more than 900 businesses located in our region.

Here are 10 of the Sunshine Coast’s most exciting food products that are worth sinking your teeth into.

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KOKOPOD Chocolate

Luke Beecham with tasty samples of Kokopod’s scoop and mix selection. Picture: Warren Lynam

As a girl, KOKOPOD founder Brigid Woolnough was so obsessed with European chocolate that she returned home from a student exchange to Germany with 16kg of it in her suitcase.

Her journey to creating KOKOPOD began years later in 2012 when she was on maternity leave from her primary school teaching position and took up a six-week course in chocolate making.

After another four years of intensive study and experimentation she and her family took the plunge and relocated to a purpose-designed chocolate manufacturing space on the Sunshine Coast.

Brigid says her process combines the best of European chocolate-making technique with the exactitude of science.

Chocolate lovers can snap off chunks from stunning sweet slabs decorated with colourful toppings of honeycomb and dried fruits, or select from a scoop-and-mix range which includes chocolate macadamias and freeze-dried strawberries.

Drool at www.kokopod.com.au

FENN foods

A Fenn Foods burger made with no meat.

A celebrated chef who worked at one of Queensland’s top restaurants is becoming the king of faux meats in his quest to produce sustainable and healthy foods.

Alejandro Cancino was a Michelin-starred chef at three-hatted restaurant Urbane, in Brisbane, when he conceived the idea for FENN Foods and moved to the Sunshine Coast.

The FENN Foods family business has grown rapidly with its vEEF range of meat-like products such as burger patties, chicken strips and bacon bits made entirely from plant-based ingredients.

The vEEF retail brand was stocked at Woolworths within a year of launching, with its first product the Smoky BBQ burger patties, and in 2020 Alejandro launched what was believed to be the world’s first carbon-neutral plant-based beef.

Alejandro and wife Paola.

“Although it started off as a small family business, in less than only two years FENN Foods is now competing nationally with the huge well-known brands that were previously dominating the market,” the company says.

“Considering it has been an entirely self-funded business so far, the team are extremely proud of how far we have come and are now raising capital to take the company to the next level.”

FENN foods has its own research and development department focused solely on the innovation of new plant-based meats and will be launching several new products in the coming months.

More information at www.fennfoods.com

The Steamed Bun Co.

Megan Dean steams up a tasty Asian bun. Picture: Warren Lynam

Who doesn’t love biting into a pillowy white steamed bun to discover the moreish filling hidden within?

With a unique dough and only the best fresh local produce used, The Steamed Bun Co. combines quality Australian ingredients with authentic Asian techniques.

The buns are handmade in small batches in Noosa and they reckon they’re the best buns you’ll ever taste.

Check out their Facebook page for the latest news, including these out-there chocolate steam buns (pictured).

www.thesteamedbunco.com

Hakoora Foods

Joseph Yusuf founder of Hakoora. Picture: Warren Lynam

Growing up in Jerusalem, Joseph Shaich Yusuf’s mother made big falafel batches by hand which his father would take to the streets, cooking up hot, fragrant falafels from his cart.

Joseph recalls people would come from all over Israel, saying they could feel the love his parents poured into every bite.

After moving to Australia in 2005, Joseph missed his Yama’s homemade falafel and started making his own, following the traditional method of roasting spices and blending chickpeas.

Then in 2016 he moved to the Sunshine Coast from Sydney and decided the time was right to start his own venture.

The family business run by Joseph and his wife makes easy-to-use, healthy plant-based foods drawing on Middle Eastern recipes and using fresh ingredients from Sunshine Coast farmers – including falafels and a range of dips and treats such as baklawa (pictured).

They are available at a number of cafes and food stores on the Coast. To learn more visit hakoorafoods.com

Amrita Meadery

The 2021 Valentine Mead

In ancient times throughout Europe, Africa and Asia mead – or honey wine – was an alcoholic drink made by fermenting honey and water, sometimes with fruits, spices, grains or hops.

Today, Andy Coates has brought the ancient tradition to life in Pomona at Amrita Park, a small, boutique meadery specialising in hand-crafted, small batch meads.

Amrita Park’s meads have an alcohol content of between 13% and 16% ABV and varieties can be still, carbonated, or naturally sparkling; dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.

A former aircraft engineer, Andy continues the family tradition of his recently-deceased grandfather Dennis ‘Poppo’ Coates who made first-class mead and entered competitions in Europe and Australia from the early 1940s.

Amrita Park sources local raw honey, along with local in-season fruits, and claims to be Queensland’s only dedicated meadery and cellar door/tasting room.

The tasting room is open Saturdays between 11am and 5pm and by private appointment.

Visit amritaparkmeadery.com.au

Black Lemonade Bakery

Choc caramel sandwich

Who would have thought vegan treats could look so sinful? From the choc chip raspberry sandwich to the rocky road cookie, Black Lemonade Bakery blows away any preconceived notion that no-butter, no-chocolate biscuits are bland.

Born on the Sunshine Coast, Black Lemonade Bakery says it uses only the best “real” ingredients to make extraordinary vegan food.

Picture: Black Lemonade Instagram

“We have veganised the most traditional recipes to produce the most decadent vegan
cookies and now bake at home packs,” says founder Zoe Wombell.

“Vegan and gluten-free food no longer has to be bland, ordinary and tasteless; it can be rich, decadent and delicious and that is exactly what we stand for – bringing you the ultimate vegan treats.”

Zoe’s Instagram photos are also a real treat to view as she showcases her latest creations like the Lamington Cookie (pictured).

More information at www.blacklemonade.com.au

The Fermentier

Some of the most popular traditional foods around the world are fermented – think German sauerkraut and Korean kimchi, but the Australian diet is lacking in these so-called “living foods” or probiotics.

So Sunshine Coast dietician Tanya Wiesmayr-Freeman, affectionately nicknamed the ‘demented fermenter’ and ‘dietician geek’, decided to create her own range.

Dietician Tanya Wiesmayr-Freeman

Concerned about rising rates of diabetes and obesity, and knowing about the benefits of a healthy gut, Tanya started making fermented foods in 2017.

Today her business, The Fermentier, supplies nine products including the drinks jun, water kefir and three kombuchas plus three types of sauerkraut and traditional kimchi.

“Sure, I know my gut stuff but my passion for everyone finding good health is my driver,” says Tanya.

“I love helping people choose food and drinks to best suit their needs.”

Products are available online at thefermentier.com

Pomodoras Fine Foods

Chris Bond, owner and chef at Pomodoras Fine Foods, creates his own range of balsamic dressings that can “turn a normal salad into a dish fit for royalty”.

As an 18-year-old commis chef at the exclusive Goring Hotel, London, directly behind Buckingham Palace, he first discovered exquisite 25-year-old aged balsamic vinegar.

“A far cry from the Sarsons vinegar I splashed over my food as a child,” he recalls.

“In my mid twenties, and now a sous chef in a hotel in Cornwall, I began experimenting with my own dressings as I didn’t have access to the stunning aged balsamics I had at the Goring Hotel. Not quite the same budget.

“One of my first creations was a straight caramelised balsamic, sweet and rich, the acidity and sweetness enhancing the flavour of a slice of tomato or grilled eggplant, making the simple, sublime.”

Now based in Maleny, Chris hand crafts balsamic dressings which come in cute mini bottles or family kitchen size, with flavours ranging from ginger and lime to orange vincotto.

Discover more at www.pomodoras.com.au

Mooloo

Don’t be fooled by the name, because this ice-cream has no “moo” (dairy). Founded in Mooloolaba, Mooloo produces what has been dubbed a ‘nice cream’ because it contains zero dairy, eggs or refined sugar.

And unlike commercial ice-cream brands which can be up to 50 per cent air, Mooloo is premium.

Mooloo was inspired by founder Millie Mae’s trip to an ice cream parlour in San Francisco.

Sensitive to dairy, she started tasting all the plant-based options but was unable to find a brand that tasted as good as traditional ice cream.

So it became her mission to create a dairy free, high-quality ice cream that was both delicious and good for you.

Mooloo uses coconut as its base and comes in such flavours as salty caramel coffee, wild berry, peanut butter cookie dough and coco nana.

www.mooloo.com.au

Suncoast Limes

A family farm in the foothills of Mt Boulder near Kin Kin began with 2,000 lime trees to supply local markets and stores.

But as fruit production grew, they had to find another use for the citrus and began making what is now their signature product, 100% natural fresh lime cordial.

Suncoast Limes produces a range of lime-based products including two staple lines – snap-frozen lime zest and unpasteurised lime juice.

They have a drinks range of Lime reFresher, Sugar Free Lime reFresher (with xylitol), Lime soda and Scurvy Dog – a lime chilli soda.

They also have lime salt (made from zest) and lime and chilli salt to utilise the whole fruit.

Find out more at www.suncoastlimes.com.au

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