A convivial Chefs’ Table celebration led by Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley and The Escarpment Group’s Darleys restaurant, will headline this year’s Leura Harvest Festival.
 
Honouring sustainable living in the Blue Mountains, the festival on 5 May 2019, the Chefs’ Table event by Plate Up Blue Mountains will showcase the region’s acclaimed executive chefs and their signature dishes.
 
The all-day event features executive chefs, Roy McVeigh from The Escarpment Group’s Darleys restaurant, Nancy Kinchela from Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley, and Petrina Kerr from Palette Dining.
 
Visitors can also experience wine and cheese tasting by Dryridge Estate and the Carrington Cellars & Deli, as well as an indulgent dessert by internationally acclaimed chocolatier, Jodie Van Der Velden of Josophan’s Fine Chocolates.
 
Plate Up Blue Mountains Chair, Pam Seaborn, said the Leura Harvest Festival presented the community with a unique opportunity to engage with some of the best chefs in Australia from our region.
 
“Our best chefs are attracting visitors from around the world to the Blue Mountains and now everyone has a remarkable opportunity to experience their signature dishes and food philosophy,” Ms Seaborn said.
 
Organised by the Leura Village Association, the 6th annual event has local wine and apple cider, herbs and spices, and organic produce across 70 stalls.
 
The festival will again culminate in a cake procession down Leura Mall followed by a free feast from the entries judged at Josophan’s Great Australian Chocolate Cake Competition.
 
Sponsored by The Escarpment Group, the festival also features the Great Blue Mountains Jam Competition, solar-powered vehicles, repurposed clothing, art, homewares, and organic beauty products.
 
 For more information visit www.leuravillage.com.au.
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​Muse, nurturer, creative force and “feminine dominant” Rose Lindsay to be honoured in a monthly artistic theatre lunch event at Echoes Restaurant from May to October.
 
The event will be part of the new Art of Lunch series to be held simultaneously at five Blue Mountains restaurants every last Sunday from May 26 and October 27, featuring a different theme, exhibition and performance at each venue.
  
The works of Norman Lindsay will be showcased at Escarpment Group-owned Echoes Restaurant in Katoomba by Norman Lindsay Gallery under the theme Blue Mountains Bohemia, during which his wife and muse Rose will make a theatrical appearance in period costume to deliver a series of vignettes drawn from her memoir, Model Wife, evoking the Lindsay’s artistic bohemian lifestyle.
 
Escarpment Group head chef Saran Sasikumar will dream up an exotic menu with a mysterious Magic Pudding.
 
After the sumptuous meal there will be a 30-minute concert with a musician, varying each month starting the season with jazz giant James Greening and concluding with classical composer/musician Me-Lee Hay.
 
Norman Lindsay has a lasting reputation as the Blue Mountains’ most luminary and controversial artist, although he does not overshadow his second wife Rose – his muse, model, wife and mother of their two daughters.

​Rose was also an exceptional printmaker and archivist who editioned Norman’s etchings, as well as an astute business manager.
 
The couple’s granddaughter Helen Glad wrote: “Rose Lindsay’s commanding personality assured she would never be overwhelmed by her husband’s genius or that of anyone else.
 
“A forthright individual all her life, she personified Norman's concept of the `feminine dominant’ - woman as nurturer and creative force.
 
“Rose was essential to his continuing and prodigious creative output. Rose stood in no one’s shadow – during her long life she made sure she was acknowledged. She survived many things, all without loss of dignity or style.”
 
The Art of Lunch project was created by Earthly Delights Events and has received funding from the Federal Government’s Building Better Regions Fund, as well as support from local enterprises such as Scenic World and BMR Accounting. Details: artoflunch.com.au.

The Art of Lunch will be held at Echoes Restaurant & Bar, Lilianfels Ave, Katoomba, the last Sunday of each month from May to October 2019.
Bookings: [email protected] or 4782 1966.

The Source Bulk Foods haven for shoppers wanting to slash waste and boost the quality of their grocery shopping has arrived in Katoomba, broadening the number of local “conscious shopping’’ options.

Long-time locals, Kerrie Roberts and Kristy Bainbridge opened the 50th branch of Australian wholefoods retailer The Source Bulk Foods in the Town Centre Arcade outside Katoomba Coles in March.

Committed to supporting Australian suppliers and sustainable, ethical production, The Source stocked more than 500 whole foods and household goods, with a focus on organic, vegan, gluten free and paleo friendly products sold in bulk at competitive prices.

As well as a wide range of granolas and mueslis, the store had three varieties of kombucha on tap; cooking oils; dish washing detergent, soap and shampoo; different salts; organic nuts; veggie chips; organic teas; 100 per cent nut butters made onsite; dried fruits and berries; polenta, rice, food proteins, aluminium-free baking powder and various flours; gluten-free vegetable pastas among its range of more than 500 products.

There was even a “naughty corner’’ with stashes of sugar-free lollies, dark chocolate-covered nuts and organic berries, with a vegan chocolate Easter special on the way.

Founded in Mullumbimby on the NSW Far North Coast in 2012 by husband and wife Paul Medeiros and Emma Smith, who left corporate Sydney life in 2007 to start a family and operate a fruit and veg shop, The Source Bulk Foods focused on zero waste and sustainable consumption.

In the past two years, it had sourced a fully compostable coffee bag (including the zip lock and air valve), saved more than 50 million plastic bags from circulation, kept 300,000kg of packaging waste from landfill, planted 75,000 trees and helped employ hundreds of people in Madagascar, donated more than $75,000 to ocean conservation organisations through reusable water bottles sales and supported children of the Outback.

The Source Bulk Foods was “a business with heart’’, Mr Medeiros said.

“Our whole mantra is about going back to basics. We know our customers are very savvy and want to know where their food is from, which is something we really focus on delivering.’’

The Blue Mountains mother/daughter team said they “loved the concept: the aisles brimming with healthy foods and the zero-waste mission’’.

The Source provided an alternate shopping outlet for people with allergies, food intolerance and dietary requirements as well as anyone who wanted to make more conscious shopping choices.

“It’s about going back to basics, eating the rainbow of food and being interested in where your food comes from,’’ Kerrie said.

The “conscious shopping’’ retailer’s “package-it-yourself’’ shopping concept meant that customers could scoop produce into brown paper and calico bags, containers from home or bought in-store, meaning less packaging going to landfill.

“It’s all about providing good old-fashioned grocery shopping, the modern way,’’ Kristy said. “It’s a style of grocery shopping your grandparents would be comfortable and familiar with.’’

She and Kerry also wanted to help reduce waste and were encouraged by the local community, which had long been receptive to healthy eating, zero waste concepts and conservation principals.

Rather than considering similar shops as competitors, they viewed them as like-minded colleagues which complemented each other and offered customers something different.

Kerrie and Kristy dispelled the perception that bulk food shopping was more expensive than mainstream supermarket shopping.

“It's not,’’ Kristy said. “You buy as much or as little as you actually need.

“For instance, if you need a certain unique ingredient for a recipe and go to the supermarket, you might have to buy a 200 gram bag of it but only use 40 grams. The leftover sits in your pantry and eventually gets thrown out, whereas you can shop in the store and purchase the exact amount you need, which may only cost you 40 cents and you have nothing left or wasted.’’
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The duo looked forward to expanding their knowledge about wholefoods by learning from customers, researching products and sharing their knowledge about products and their uses.

Kristy and Kerrie will also soon hold regular workshops in the adjoining community centre covering topics such as zero-waste practices, health and wellbeing, essential oils and cooking classes.

The Source Bulk Foods, The Town Centre Arcade, Katoomba St, Katoomba, is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm Sunday. Further information: thesourcebulkfoods.com.au.