When Christian and Sandra Vaughan first met while working for Emirates, they could not have imagined their life together sharing Portuguese food with Gold Coast diners through their food truck Barraca. But there’s been a lot of life experience in between: twenty-five years in the hospitality and wine industries for Christian, a lot of time...

Tumbulgum. What a top spot! We’re sitting on the veranda of the ‘Tumby Pub’, as the Tumbulgum Tavern is affectionately known, looking out at the Tweed River as we order our lunch. To me, the place holds memories of water ski heaven; very early weekend mornings when, just out of my teens, I would skim...

When we’re going away for the weekend, Emerald Lakes Market is one of those quiet little markets you can pop into on the way home, pick up a few fruit and veg to tide you over and grab a quick meal for a tenner each and we’re on our way! With delicious French cheese for...

NOTE: The Richards family sold Social Brew early in 2017. “Everything the Richards family touches works really well,” a friend once confided. From what we’ve seen it’s certainly true. We’ve followed the Richards family (a family team of parents and three adult children) in awe as they opened and operated a string of successful ventures:...

It’s the case of ‘the girl least likely’ marrying royalty; a fairly pedestrian café in an outer suburban shopping centre scoring seasoned hotel and restaurant owners Graham and Kate Bennett (ex Helm Bar) as its new owners. Mudgeeraba should be so lucky! But we didn’t know about the hometown queen when, after hearing really good...

Gelato. I’m sitting looking into the tubs. This is one of those foods, I’m thinking, where the visual representation has very little to do with the taste. In front of me is an ordinary looking mass of light brown gelato; a bit non-descript, really. Unenticing. Except that I’ve just tasted it. Which changes everything. Gelato...

Tucked in between the Gold Coast and Byron Bay, the Tweed Coast is a foodie destination all its own. The Tweed Fusion Festival, held annually in October, invites us away from our all-too-comfortable armchairs to explore and experience the environs just beyond our back door. Tweed Fusion is a two-day celebration of arts, music, food...

Touted as a ‘destination’ farm, a ‘community of growers, producers, eateries, educators and more’, The Farm at Byron Bay is an 86 acre property owned by Tony and Emma Lane, heirs to the Oroton empire. Turn off the Pacific Highway to Byron Bay, and The Farm’s most visible signpost is a full carpark. With a...

Kingscliff always reminds me of holidays: days when you can amble past a few shops, grab a chair in the sun or an armchair just inside the door of a café, catch up with friends for an all-too-rare chat as you wistfully imagine that you lived in this sleepy town! Although less than two years...

It’s rare for me to be completely ecstatic about a dining experience. Despite extensive research about where we’ll dine, more often I’m quietly enthralled with some parts of the experience or people we’ve met, pleased with the overall meal, sometimes hopeful and occasionally disappointed. But our trip to Mavis’s Kitchen is stellar. It’s a rare...