Shore Leave festival reveals dining events showcasing Mid West produce from sea to the farm

Organisers of the third annual Shore Leave Festival next year have given an insight into the menus for the two main dining events which promise to showcase high-quality Mid West produce by the sea and in the countryside. Abrolhos seafood will be celebrated at a long table event, while Yanget Farm’s lamb, beef and vegetables will take centre stage at the Midwest Paddock to Plate on the traditional homestead, 25 minutes drive from Geraldton. The premium dining events will be curated by Australian chefs Brendan Pratt, of Vasse Felix Wines, and food icon Matt Moran, with wine critic Erin Larkin and WA Good Food Guide founder Georgia Moore as hosts. Larkin will present the Long Table Lunch on the Abrolhos, where Pratt will be cooking seafood delicacies along the beach for the third time. She said she was most excited to see the 2021 WA regional chef of the year cooking lobster, crayfish, octopus and scallops over a fire pit and having a try of Neptune’s Weed Abrolhos Island seaweed. “I think the highlight for me is going to be the western rock lobster, but I’m also interested in the seaweed that is local to the Abrolhos. I think that’s going to be a game changer,” she said. Larkin said the Mid West’s quality produce was seriously underrated outside the region. “I think when you go to an event like this, your eyes are opened to the premium produce on offer, and if you aren’t local to the area it can definitely pass you by, which is why events like this are so important,” she said. Accompanying the meal by the sea will be local WA wines and Abrolhos Island gin. “Its really a big deal to have such quality wines on show and we’re really excited to have Vasse Felix’s premium Heytesbury Chardonnay,” Larkin said. Moran will deliver a rustic experience at Yanget Farm in Kojarena for the Midwest Paddock to Plate event, cooking lamb shoulders and rump steaks from the farm’s livestock, with Chris Collier & Sons Avocados and Baston Grove Olives also on show. There will also be Daisy Valley chicken from Dandaragan, accompanied by chardonnay from the award-winning Xanadu winery. The event is going rural next year after two years of being on Geraldton’s foreshore. Celebrity chef Moran said he wanted to provide an authentic, seasonal taste of what the Mid West provides. “Sourcing local produce makes sense on so many levels, including taste, freshness and eating things when they’re ripe,” he said. “The whole point of seasonality — maybe it’s the romantic in me — is having asparagus for the season and being excited when we’ve got it. When we don’t have it, you miss it but you’ll get excited to get it back again. “We’ve used seasonal produce in our Midwest Paddock to Plate menu and championed the little guys in the Mid West region.” Yanget farm is a homestead and station that has been rearing cattle since the early 1900s. Farm owner Rod O’Bree said he was excited to have the opportunity to show the produce his farm has on offer. “It’s so important for people to connect with the land that their food comes from,” he said. “Here on Yanget Farm we’ve worked hard to create a bio-diverse and healthy chemical free landscape. “A farm where the cattle and lambs have a great life, stress free and you can really taste the difference.” The Shore Leave Festival is in its third year and will have 30 events over four days featuring dining, music and art. Other opportunities to enjoy a meal include a back-of-the-boat lobster BBQ and a long table lunch at Skeeta’s. The 2023 Shore Leave festival will be held from April 27 to 30. For more information about the festival and its events, visit shoreleave.com.au.