Makers and meal creators: Meet the chefs of the Scenic Rim

In the Scenic Rim, food doesn’t just reflect the landscape, it’s shaped by it. Chefs here work closely with the rhythm of the seasons, drawing directly from local farms, producers and small-scale growers to create menus that are deeply connected to place.

It’s a region where the story behind each plate often starts just down the road. Across kitchens, cooking classes and restaurants, a handful of chefs are helping define that story in their own way.

Scenic Rim cooking classes

For Caz, good food starts with understanding where it comes from. Through her cooking classes in Mt Alford, she takes a hands-on approach that connects people directly with local ingredients and the growers behind them, helping her students cook with both confidence and purpose.

Her menus are shaped entirely by what’s growing nearby, reflecting her deep ties to the Boonah and Mount Alford community.

A standout on her menu is the gently poached Joyce’s Gold chicken salad in broth, a dish that lets exceptional local produce speak for itself.

With Eat Local Month celebrating everything that makes the Scenic Rim’s chefs and food culture so special, Caz’s classes are a great way to get hands-on with the region’s finest ingredients.

If you’re looking to extend the experience, chef Caz recommends a casual drink or long lunch at Blume Restaurant, a natural next stop for anyone who appreciates good food, impeccably served.

North Stores & Picnic Real Food Bar

Few people have shaped the way Australians think about organic food quite like Brenda.

The co-founder of Australia’s first licensed organic restaurant, Mondo Organics (1999-2015), she has spent decades advocating for real food, local growers and the chefs behind the plates. Accordingly, she’s a natural fit as a Scenic Rim food ambassador.

Now living on Tamborine Mountain, where she tends her own organic orchard and kitchen garden, Brenda’s relationship with food remains as hands-on as ever.

Eat Local Month is the perfect excuse to visit Picnic Real Food Bar and try the local avocado on house-made focaccia, or the chocolate brownie made with Cravve chocolate from Currumbin.

For dinner, Brenda recommends Mana Souvlaki on Main Street Tamborine Mountain, a local favourite worth seeking out.

Blume Restaurant

Jack Stuart has cooked at some of the most highly rated kitchens, including L’Enclume and Rogan & Co in the UK, but it’s the Scenic Rim where his vision turned reality.

At Blume Restaurant in Boonah, Jack channels his fine dining pedigree into something deeply local, letting hyperlocal ingredients lead and technique do the heavy lifting.

Some of Blume’s produce comes from as close as next door at Aunt Jen’s garden, while the rest is sourced from the region’s exceptional small-scale growers. The result is a seasonal menu that feels both refined and rooted in place.

A meal of Blume’s to keep an eye out for on their seasonal menu? The red claw yabby dish, sourced from Beaudesert, with a pil pil sauce made from the shells themselves.

When he’s not in the kitchen, Jack recommends Fox Hill Grove for a stay in the region, and the scenic walks that make the Scenic Rim so hard to leave.

Of course, celebrating the Scenic Rim’s incredible produce and chefs goes beyond just Eat Local Month. Throughout the year, the region’s farmers markets bring the best of each season straight to your basket. For everyday finds, the Scenic Rim Farm Shop in Kalbar and Oppy’s Fruit and Veg in Boonah, and Joseph the Greengrocer on Tamborine Mountain are local favourites stocking produce grown just down the road. However you choose to eat locally, whether fine dining with meals made by one of the Scenic Rim’s best chefs or with local produce taken home to be enjoyed later, the Scenic Rim makes it easy, and delicious.