Taste Port Douglas wraps up
Huge boost for Douglas
The sixth Taste Port Douglas outdid itself this year and is being hailed as the best ever. It’s estimated that an extra 10,000 visitors made their way to FNQ to enjoy the festival.
Australia’s top chefs and hospitality talent certainly excelled themselves. Master classes, signature dinners and delicious dining experiences, beverage experts, local producers and suppliers showcasing the best of the region's tropical produce across Port Douglas.
Even Nu Nu’s at Palm Cove got into the swing of things and tempted chef George Calombaris to navigate the Captain Cook Highway to cook up a storm at their restaurant. Reports back from some of those who attended, suggest the meals were sublime. Taste Port Douglas event founder and culinary director, Spencer Patrick told Newsport “Once again the festival is about community and when you work as a team, extraordinary things happen and we were witness to that happening in 2022”.
Chefs dream team
When you have the likes of Manu Feildel (My Kitchen Rules), Adrian Richardson (Good Chef Bad Chef), Adam D’Sylva (Lollo, Coda, Tonka), Jerry Mai (Pho Nom, Bia Hoi), Colin Fassnidge (Kitchen Nightmares) and so many more of the great chefs of Oz, how could you go wrong? The sight of Colin Fassnidge at Harrisons serving up his salt baked lamb shoulder at the table was priceless and that’s what this festival is about, meeting the people you see on all those cooking programs and realising they, like us mere mortals, like nothing more than preparing and eating good tucker and having a bit of fun along the way.
Sheraton sharing the love
While the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort was the host, they shared the festival outside their magnificent property. Local restaurants were invited to cook in our parks and travel to other areas to show off their culinary skills. GM Steve Molnar should be very proud of his teams’ efforts this year. The ‘Sunset Session’ held on Saturday night was exceptional. So much food taken around that no one went home hungry and while there was a drinks and seafood line-up, it moved very quickly. Café del Mar Sydney DJ, Jusjoe delivered the best house music on the planet. The guy alongside him on the saxophone was fantastic. When was the last time you saw a DJ and a saxophone player do a gig together? Well done to everyone involved with Taste Port Douglas. We needed something like this to shake off those Covid blues. Mission accomplished.