Held over the weekend of May 6-7 this year, with a special taster event on Friday 5th, the NRF Harvest Food Trail is guaranteed to be a very Northern Rivers experience, reflecting on and celebrating the distinctive provenance of our region’s food.

The Harvest Food Trail offers a unique opportunity for you to meet with local farmers, producers, growers, distillers and chefs to celebrate and experience all the incredible food & beverage the Northern Rivers has to offer. It includes farm tours, behind the scene insights, free tastings, chef workshops, fine dining, BBQ lunches, distillery and brewery tastings and so much more!

So what is on offer over the weekend 6-7 May 2023?

The Oyster Shed overlooking Birds Bay is offering the freshest of oysters with local finger lime paired with a drink. Multi-award-winning Potager restaurant is offering a lazy Sunday lunch with a three-course menu. Enjoy garden views, great food and good old-fashioned hospitality. 

Sunshine Sugar is opening up five of its sugar cane farms across the Northern Rivers. Enjoy a first-hand introduction to the NSW sugar industry which has been a thriving agricultural sector in the Northern Rivers for over 150 years.

At the amazing Tweed River House, you can enjoy an afternoon soiree on the riverside lawns taking in the river and hinterland views. The Gin Experience is featuring handcrafted cocktails along with a tapas-style menu and gin masterclass at Eungella. 

More award-winning restaurants with Pipit offering a special Coastal Fine Dining menu over the weekend where guests can glimpse the whole cooking process and Mavis's Kitchen at Uki has a family fun and BBQ day with garden tours, BBQ breakfast and lunch from the smoker, chef talks and cocktail bar.

Over to Lismore LGA the Café at Nimbin Bush Theatre has curated a special Harvest Food Trail three-course lunch, featuring produce from their garden, with members of their food community providing insight into food production and a local musician entertaining guests.

Nimbin Valley Dairy is offering a tasting of their cheese range, along with a talk and farm tour and an explanation of the Australian artisan cheese industry. Kids can enjoy a sausage sandwich, yoghurt and fruit on the farm tour. 

Stockpot Kitchen in Lismore City has a WHOLE HOG HO DOWN; a whole pig sourced from local farmer Cromwell farms will be smoked on site with a feast of sides and a dessert sourced from their farm garden and locally. The event will be a buffet-style family backyard BBQ with local Lismore rockabilly band “The Linelockers” playing and a full cocktail bar. 

Misty Creek Agroforestry in Booyong have a curated picnic BBQ of farm-grown chicken and produce, a farm tour and a discussion on regenerative agriculture while all weekend Dhezi Deli in Bexhill will showcase an endless waterfall of exquisite cheeses and gourmet delights from the local area.

For more farming action Marquis Macadamias and Avilla Farm in Alstonville have a macadamia tour experience, where you can learn about the cultivation and harvesting of this amazing nut, while enjoying the natural beauty of Avilla Farm. 

Five Sixty Farms in South Gundurimba have an organic experience on their microgreen property and will be creating lunch with Secret Chef utilising their produce, with an informative look at microgreens hosted by their director who will advise on the benefits of organic food and the scientifically proven studies of potency that microgreens offer for inner wellbeing. 

Byron Shire is jammed packed! This year the Harvest Food Trail launches on Friday with a special taster event and bush tucker food experience. You will be able to learn all about foraging, cooking and growing Australian Native Foods with three of the most formidable and talented local women as well as experience the famous Mullumbimby Farmers Market – which showcases the region’s finest local producers and artisan products. 

Santos Organics in Mullum and Byron have a farm-to-plate experience with an organic seasonal sample plate while showcasing their favourite local producers and artisans offerings. Australia’s Manuka in Tyagarah are opening their honey farm where you can learn about natures antibiotic and superfood; Manuka Honey. 

Over at The Farm in Ewingsdale, a collaboration with Three Blue Ducks offers a unique behind-the-scenes tour to learn about sustainable farming practices and a walk through their syntropic farming system, along with a tasting of seasonal produce from the food forest, pastries from Bread Social and coffee.

Ready for a relaxing beverage, Stone and Wood and 100 Mile Table invite you to their Beers and Bites experience. Enjoy a tapas-style menu full of juicy, local ingredients matched perfectly with fresh and fabulous beers, while Barrio are doing what Barrio does best with a special barbecue event featuring local pork from Bangalow Sweet Pork.. Enjoy BBQ pork neck and coleslaw rolls and Pork ribs with Oomite glaze while nearby at Lord Byron Distillery you can drop in to visit the family owned distillery and taste their world-class rums with a special food pop-up. 

Brookfarm at McLeod’s Shoot is opening their orchards with founders the Brooks offering a farm tour and talk on the regenerative transformation of the family farm. Witness the flourishing local biodiversity and the positive impact it has had on the production of nutritious gourmet muesli, granola, premium nuts and snacks, in an environmentally responsible way. While there you should visit Cape Byron Distillery to enjoy an afternoon of spirits, music, friends, and food. Explore the rainforest with a Brookie’s G&T in hand, they will also be slinging delicious burgers.

For those enjoying a fine-dining experience, Forest has a long, lazy lunch. This special event will hero the mouth-watering Bangalow Sweet Pork with each of the three courses will be paired with a curated range of wines. 

In Bangalow, Common People Brewing Co has a specially designed Harvest Food Trail set menu. You can enjoy a thoughtfully curated menu of three delicious courses with perfectly paired beers or wines. 

Harvest in Newrybar has a special Sunday lunch overlooking the gardens with some of the finest food, Australian wine and cocktails in the region. At Zentveld’s Coffee Farm you can start your busy day with a coffee on an actual coffee farm. Enjoy full Barista service with pastries on the deck and a guided walk through the coffee rows also in Newrybar Duck Creek Macadamias are offering free tastings with their farm gate open.

In Richmond Valley, you could begin at the Casino Farmers Market to experience all of the fabulous foods, flowers and fun that the Richmond Valley has to offer. There will be chats with farmers and artisans while sampling a range of their products as local musicians showcase their talents. At Gracemere Farmstead in Yorklea you can tour the property to gain and understanding of the benefits of regularly moving of their different animals. There is so much to see and do with farm produce available for sale at the end of the farm tour. 

At Mongogarie Olives you can visit the family-owned olive grove, with 1,300 olive trees producing extra virgin olive oil, table olives and olive tapenade and Richmond Mushrooms in Evans Head are opening their doors with a tour of a commercial mushroom farm, nestled on the edge of the Bundjalung National Park. 

This year there is a special finale event at Sugar Beach Ranch in Ballina with a fun-filled afternoon with a special performance by ‘The Buckley’s’. Tickets include access to the ranch, a delicious plate and welcome drink with bar service available.. BYO picnic rug, umbrella and chairs.

Visit the NRF Harvest Food Trail website at northernriversfood.org for more detailed information and to download the brochure.