Capers Restaurant crowned best in State two years in a row
Mark Bell speaks about win
Posted: 3:00pm, Mon 07 Nov 2011 The Airlie Beach Hotel has added to its impressive list of industry awards, after winning the top gong at the Queensland Tourism Awards in Brisbane on Friday night.
Capers Bar n Grill Restaurant was crowned Queensland’s Best Restaurant in 2010 and again this year in 2011, against an impressive list of notable restaurants up and down the Queensland seaboard.
Airlie Beach Hotel general manager Mark Bell said it was a great achievement for the hotel to have its signature restaurant recognised for a second year in a row at a State level. Capers will now compete on the national stage at the Australian Tourism Awards, which are being held in Cairns on the 28th May 2012.
“Locals can take pride in knowing their town is home to one of the state’s best restaurants.
“We believe our success can be attributed to our unique formula of sourcing and showcasing our local produce which feature daily on our menus. Last year we spent in excess of $200,000 directly with local farmers buying their produce, thereby stimulating local markets.
“Unlike many other restaurants, the majority of our produce comes from the paddock to the plate and doesn’t sit in warehouses or travel hundreds of kilometers before it even hits the kitchen. Our executive chef visits around five farms each week to select and collect the best of their produce.
“We have now directly sourced over 100 ingredients from local farms which include free range eggs, seafood, meats, vegetables, salad, herbs, honey and so much more.
“We have seen one chicken farmer start with a few free range chickens and as a result of our custom, he now has several hundred chickens and we buy everything we can from him.”
Localvore is the term given to growing and eating locally grown food, and the Airlie Beach Hotel has capitalised on this new movement, creating a Localvore Whitsundays brand that promotes to their patrons specialized menus that are made exclusively just from local produce, and the introduction of monthly farm tours in May 2010.
“The farm tours have been incredibly successful and as of May 2012 we will be taking the tours weekly due to demand”.
The Localvore Dinner Tour includes visits to several farms, afternoon tea, 2-course Localvore Meal, glass of Queensland wine, and a host and coach tour.
