Maleny calls itself a hinterland town though, by Australian standards, it’s only a skip from the big smoke.
Perched on the Blackall Range, about 40 minutes from Sunshine Coast beaches, the area catches day trippers on Queensland’s hinterland tourist drive.
The value of food tourism appears to be growing in the area despite subdivision for lifestyle lots making land ever more expensive.
The flip side is farmers and small block holders can retail their produce to a new market within kilometres of home.
Food tourism is the real deal here.
Tourism Australia research on 15 of the country’s main tourism markets shows great food, wine and local cuisine is a now a major factor in holiday decision-making, ranking third at 38%, ahead of world-class beauty and natural environments at 37%.
In New Zealand a 2018 report on food tourism by ANZ found more than 60% of travellers buy food and drinks at home they first had on a trip.
That is important for NZ, where the three largest tourism markets of Australia, China and the United States are also its largest food and beverage export markets.
Tourists tend to be inquisitive. They’re also among the first to take up new food trends.
Queensland urban culture website, Urban List, bemoans some of the crazier food, like Nutella-stuffed doughnuts and soy pumpkin spiced turmeric lattes but senses demand for food that helps both the environment and waistlines.
“More and more local eateries are adopting the paddock-to-plate mentality, either growing produce on their own farms or sourcing their ingredients from local growers. Farm-to-table dining takes the middle man out of the equation so your meal is as fresh and as delicious as possible.”
The Sunshine Coast is leading Australia with that trend with more and more farm-to-table restaurants and cafes popping up throughout the coast and the hinterland, the site says.
Milk retailer Maleny Dairies founders Ross and Sally Hopper built a factory and started daily public tours of the plant just off the main road to the coast. They run tours featuring cow-milking and feeding as well as a close-up look at milk production and bottling. Naturally, they also offer samples and sell products.
The Hoppers ran a supply-only farm until the deregulation of the Australian dairy industry in 2000.
In Queensland and New South Wales the end of regulated sourcing and pricing of drinking milk spelled disaster for hundreds of dairy producers.
Hoppers had been milking in Maleny since 1948 and they decided to fight back against an industry meltdown by their own factory. The business grew, supported by a family dairy farm next door and supply from other farmers on the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
Maleny Dairies is the principal backer of the inaugural Spring Showcase in September.
The company describes the event as a collaboration of local producers and farmers bringing their produce to the table in an authentic, five-course degustation farm feast paired with five beverages in the luscious green paddocks on the farm.
Guests will be escorted to a secret location on the farm on the back of a tractor and mingle with Maleny Dairies’ golden Guernseys.
The event partners Maleny Black Angus Beef, Maleny Cheese Factory, Maleny Food Co, Brouhaha Brewery and Spicers Tamarind Retreat will introduce guests to the farmers and producers behind the produce.
“Warm fires will glow around the edge of the location with rustic farm seating while canapes are served and champagne glasses are filled to the brim, event advertising says.
Tickets on a Queensland events website as priced at A$195 each.
Maleny Cheese has been operating its boutique cheese and yoghurt since 2004. The business was formed by two local families, Markus and Sara Bucher and third-generation local farmers David and Heather Simpson.
Markus Bucher is a Swiss master cheese maker who saw a chance to make products from the first-class milk available in the area, including buffalo and camel milks.
Together, the Simpsons and Buchers started a purpose-built cheesery with panoramic viewing windows allowing cafe visitors to look down to the production floor.
Nearby, sixth-generation dairy farmers the Cochrane family recently bought the Kenilworth cheese factory.
The original business was established in 1950 by Kraft to make bulk cheese. The factory was closed in the 1980s when Kraft centralised production, leaving many locals unemployed.
With the support of a local businessman several of the factory’s employees bought the factory and re-opened it 1990. Today Kenilworth Dairies gets milk from three farms in the Mary Valley, not far from the Cochranes’ farm.
