Shore Leave Festival 2024: Four days celebrating local Mid West produce and culture

One of the region’s most notable events, Shore Leave, has celebrated yet another year of success after the four-day festival came to a close on Sunday. Marquee events including the Abrolhos Long Table Lunch and Mid West Paddock to Plate are staples in the calendar for many people across the country. Guests travelling from New South Wales, Broome, Perth and Mandurah for the festival were the proof in the pudding that the Mid West is best. Pop-up headquarters The Helm at the Geraldton Foreshore was the venue for the opening last Thursday, with a steady stream of people for the four-day festival. About 25,000 attended during the four days for events which ran across Greater Geraldton, from Dongara up to Kalbarri. More than 200 guests descended on East Wallabi Island on Friday for the Abrolhos Long Table Lunch, captained by chef and restaurateur, Scott Bridger. Putting Mid West seafood as the hero for the event, Mr Bridger said the lunch was a bucket list item. It required days of preparation from Mr Bridger and his team, including digging trenches to fashion a makeshift grill on the island. It was all worth the effort the following day when hundreds of chargrilled western rock lobster were placed on the tables of lucky guests in pristine conditions with little wind. WA grown Sunrise host, Natalie Barr, was in attendance at the Abrolhos Long Table Lunch, in conjunction with Tourism Australia. She said the Abrolhos was one of the State’s best hidden gems and was there to promote the region to east coast travellers. “This is a place you may not have heard of. The Abrolhos Islands,” Barr told her Instagram followers. “Once a year they hold the Abrolhos Long Table Lunch ... no shoes required, freshly caught western rock lobster cooked in hot coals right on the beach ... there are only two ways to lunch: by boat or by air. But when you arrive, it’s simply incredible.” On Friday evening, dinner and drinks under the stars were hosted in Kalbarri, for the Skywalk Sundowner. Saturday morning saw the Beach Price Markets hosted at Fisherman’s Wharf, giving guests the chance to purchase seafood straight off the boat from local suppliers. Tutorials on how to cook the western rock lobster were hosted at the markets. Each evening at The Helm bar was accompanied by live music, as well as stores from local venues such as the Burnt Barrel and Skeetas. Yanget Farm in Kojarena hosted the fourth edition of the famed Paddock to Plate dinner, with guest chef and sustainability guru Matt Stone taking the lead. It was Fleur Bainger’s second time, and she said the event had somehow improved despite having set an extremely high bar. The Byron Bay-based chef used lamb and beef from the farm to curate a menu celebrating local produce at the event, with a turnout of more than 300 people. Matt Stone is one of Australia’s leaders in sustainable cooking, an approach dedicated to minimising waste and encouraging practices which are beneficial to the environment. Mr Stone was at Geraldton’s Central Regional TAFE on Friday morning, hosting a Q&A sessions for culinary students and the general public. He said at the session Australia was beginning to form its own identity with food. “We’re looking at Indigenous ingredients with a lot more respect and acknowledgement through bringing it into our kitchens,” he said. “We’re a fruitful land full of abundance, and we have a culture of tens of thousands of years of food.” Fremantle-based chef and restaurateur Melissa Palinkas schooled guests on the joys of Mid West cucumbers at the Rigters IGA in store cook off. Food producers in the Mid West are set to receive a boost, following investment from the State Government during the festival. On Sunday at the Mid West WA Food Marketplace, Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis announced more than $200,000 has been put towards the Mid West Food Industries Alliance, as part of a two-year deal. The funding will help connect producers in the region with buyers, and has helped produce the Mid West Food and Beverage Capability Guide, which aims to show off to the industry the best of what the region has to offer.