My husband and I are LOVING our little jaunt up the west coast of Australia sampling the fine produce on offer, but I have to say that the food available for easy consumption is pretty dismal and in most places, you have to really hunt out the local produce.
We were pretty disappointed when we pulled off the highway to go to the World’s Best Beer Garden (pretty big claim, but it got us!) to find YEP one of the most spectacular views we have every seen looking out over the ocean, witnessing lobster pot hauling…then to be served deep fried fisherman’s basket from packets pulled from the freezer, not fresh from the ocean. This kind of laziness really boils my blood. I am prepared to pay for quality and would have been more than prepared to pay a premium for produce pulled from the ocean we were watching…most people would be, its part of the experience, isn’t it? I found the same frustration in NZ last year, we searched the entire north island for a decent fish and chips and never found it (apart from the ones we caught and cooked), all out of the packet frozen stuff…so annoying!
I was the total opposite of disappointed when we arrived, pretty weary, at Morell’s in Carnarvon where we were presented with an incredible array of the freshet of fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits as well as pure fruit ice creams and dried fruit
leathers…unbelievably good and so worth the distance driven to get there! Now that is what I am talking about!
But I don’t always want to cook and I do still want my food experiences to reflect the places I am staying and I think that is where my frustration lies, in the fact that so many food outlets are letting themselves and their local growers down by not sharing their products with the travelling public.
If you’ve got it, flaunt it and tell people about it!
There are plenty of foodies like me out there that want that experience!