Cooking up Christmas lunch can be daunting, so Sunshine Coast celebrity cook Kim McCosker, of 4 Ingredients fame, has shared some recipe tips to help you out. She had her eye on some delicious local produce to create sumptuous Christmas dishes at the Flavours of the Sunshine Coast store at The Wharf Mooloolaba.
“Take the stress out of preparing your festive feast this year by keeping it simple. That’s what all my recipes are about, making cooking accessible and achievable for everyone and being able to use the ingredients you have in your cupboard or to purchase delicious local products, and with only four ingredients it won’t cost you the Earth,” Mrs McCosker said.
“You can avoid slaving in the kitchen for hours with some easy, budget-friendly and delicious recipes and still capture the Christmas cheer while you have more time to focus on the things that really matter, spending time with your loved ones.
“I love all of our amazing local products in this region and we have some great local businesses here so it is wonderful when I can collaborate and use these flavours of our Sunshine Coast – especially in a store of the same name!”
There are plenty of Christmas activities and culinary delights for everyone at the local business co-op store these holidays. Bring the kids to make a Christmas hamper or get along to the cooking classes for adults or children. There are events, workshops, markets and so much more.
Hard day at work and not sure what to make for dinner? Stop off at Flavours of the Sunshine Coast local co-op store at The Wharf Mooloolaba and grab some fresh organic local pre-made Thai meals to enjoy from Buderim’s Farm Rak – meaning Farm of love, in Thai.
And if you’ve been dreaming of the kids helping to make the Christmas lunch this year, Bli Bli farmer and Thai chef Nat (Nattapon Chumchujan) has you covered there too. He is running cooking classes for adults, but also for kids, so you can have a night off every now and then.
Chef Nat creates healthy fresh Thai meals from the aquaponics grown and produced on his organic farm – using fish, chicken, eggs and vegetables from his land and surrounding farmers. In true paddock to plate style, the ingredients are harvested fresh from the farm daily and driven only 15 minutes to the kitchen for preparation.
“I love the idea of Flavours of the Sunshine Coast. It has so many local producers all working together and we can really experiment and use the space to engage with residents and tourists and show what great ideas and products and skills we have,” chef Nat said.
“I am excited to help foster the love for healthy fresh food in our future Sunshine Coast generations and get kids thinking about where their food comes from and about supporting local farmers.”
Economic Development Portfolio Councillor Stephen Robinson said Flavours of the Sunshine Coast is the perfect opportunity for local businesses to see what others are doing and to test new ideas and collaborate on new projects together.
“There is nothing like this in Australia supporting local producers to grow local jobs and learn about different ways to support their marketing with the guidance of international experts – Flavours is not your standard retail space. This project sends a message beyond the region of the artisan offerings we have here – and our unique supportive business and consumer community. It is really exciting,” he said.
The Flavours of the Sunshine Coast local community co-op store at The Wharf Mooloolaba is open Thursday-Sunday, 11am-4pm.
Sign up for store event information and specials and follow Flavours of the Sunshine Coast on facebook to keep up to date with all the new products each month.
Learn, create, taste and take home delicious flavours of Thailand
Chef Nat prepares his pre-packaged meals in Buderim that can be either collected on-site or delivered to your door. Orders can be placed online or on the Farm RAK app.
After running the renowned Brisbane restaurant That Thai, Nat started the takeaway meals here on the Sunshine Coast as he wanted to bring the healthiest and tastiest food to customers while being kind to the environment.
At his Flavours of the Sunshine Coast cooking classes, you can not only learn how to cook, and try the food cooked in-store, but also take home meal-prep kits to enjoy later.
“Farm RAK is offering convenient eating experience, providing customers a new way of enjoying fresh Thai food at home,” chef Nat says.
“A new way to enjoy healthy pre-made Thai meals at home. Simply keep in the fridge and reheat – saving you time, stress and& money. Meals made daily using our farm-fresh produce.
Sunshine Coast Council’s Flavours of the Sunshine Coast project manager Halinka just loves chef Nat’s meals and as a mother herself, can’t wait to get kids involved in using delicious local produce to create healthy organic meals.
“Nat is amazing! His meals are so easy and full of flavours and his meals prep kits make cooking child’s play,” she said.
“In the cooking classes everything is supplied and kids can learn from other kids as well as Nat and will really grow to love cooking and have a better understanding of buying local, organic and farming.
“For the adults we have some great creative events where you can create a beautiful resin and wood cheese board with our local artist SeaJay and then enjoy a meal by Nat before taking home a meal-prep kit for a meal another night.”
Cooking events:
December 14: Kids cooking demonstrations with extended opening hours (10am-8pm) and a boat parade at The Wharf Mooloolaba.
December 15-17, 5-6pm: Kids cooking classes with take-home meal packs, all local produce $25/pp.
December 16-18 – Make an ocean-inspired cheese board with local artists Seajay Art (3-5pm) and then from 5pm watch a cooking demonstration and try some delicious food, before taking your meal pack home to enjoy. Places limited, eight people per session, $165/pp.
January 9-10, 5-6pm: Kids cooking classes with take-home meal packs, all local produce $25/pp.
Bookings: John on
