The Shoalhaven region produces a range of food, from fresh fruit and vegetables to world-class seafood, meats, cheeses and wines. Photo: Katie Rivers.
A seven-week festival on the NSW South Coast is aiming to both tickle the taste buds of visitors and help highlight the need for more trained professionals in the hospitality industry.
The Shoalhaven Food Network is putting on the festival up and down the coast for the group’s Autumn Celebration of Food. In an industry struggling for staff, the hospitality community is also hoping to use the annual event to encourage young people to see themselves making a career in local food.
Network president and founder Di Laver worked as a chef, caterer and educator for many years before deciding to do something for the region’s hospitality scene during her retirement.
“I’ve trained half the chefs in the Shoalhaven region!” she told Region.
“When COVID hit this region, we had so many people leave the hospitality industry to do other jobs, and many of them haven’t come back … So this year we’re looking at the faces behind the places to create relationships in the industry and showcase the talent in our region.”
Chef Matt Upson from Gwylo will be collaborating with local Aboriginal educators Noel and Trish Butler on a long-lunch event as part of the Autumn Celebration of Food. Photo: Tammie Seidel – Take Five Photography.
The Autumn Celebration of Food will be held between 1 May and 15 June, with events running all over the Shoalhaven region. A long list of highlights is on the Shoalhaven Food Network’s website, with more events being added every week in the lead-up to the event.
In addition to all the foodie fun for locals and visitors, Shoalhaven students will have the opportunity to launch their hospitality careers during the festival.
“Every year, we take 100 young adults from years 10 and 11 to meet our members and to hear about some of the journeys they’ve been on,” Di said.
”We then upskill them at TAFE and they get the opportunity with an industry mentor to work at the events for Autumn Celebration.
“We’re giving them skills they can use throughout their life but also opportunities to work in hospitality in the Shoalhaven so they don’t have to leave the area to follow a career path.”
The Gaining Through Training program aims to break down barriers and show young people the number of opportunities available to them in the Shoalhaven region.
Shoalhaven Food Network president Di Laver is passionate about the Gaining Through Training program, which gives Shoalhaven students a pathway to hospitality careers. Photo: Katie Rivers.
The Shoalhaven Food Network creates networking opportunities and highlights the great work being done by its Shoalhaven Hospitality Heroes and Homegrown Heroes. These are people who have grown up in the Shoalhaven and made their careers here, some who have gone away and come home, and others who have chosen to settle in this beautiful part of the world.
“I’m really proud of our Homegrown Heroes,” Di said. ”Some of them have worked all over the world with people like Gordon Ramsay, at Michelin-star restaurants in Bangkok or Qualia: one of the best luxury resorts in the Southern Hemisphere. And now they’ve come back to work in the Shoalhaven. So we have some world-class dining experiences right here!”
While food and fun are big parts of the Autumn Celebration of Food, Di said it was also about providing opportunities for people within the community to network, creating new relationships and showcasing the wealth of skills in the region.
“We have amazing people in our industry, and this is a chance for both locals and visitors to find out some of our hidden hospitality gems.”
The Autumn Celebration of Food will run from 1 May 1 to 15 June at venues around the Shoalhaven region. Learn more on the Shoalhaven Food Network website, where you can also find events year round.
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