Tasty touring through the Tweed Valley
It has been the locals’ best-kept secret for some time: Farm & Co Restaurant, nestled on an organic family farm in Cudgen, in the lush Tweed Valley.
It is just one delicious stop on a road trip in a region that is burgeoning with homegrown food and beverage businesses.
Just 30 minutes from the Gold Coast and 90 minutes from Brisbane’s south, Cudgen, or Goodjing, in the Northern Rivers region of NSW, is a Bundjalung word meaning red – a nod to the rich red volcanic soils of the Cudgen plateau.
The farm supplies eggs, potatoes, cauliflowers, salad greens, avocadoes, macadamia nuts, citrus fruit, herbs and honey, among other things to the restaurant, which is leased by a star-studded hospitality crew.
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Farm and Co offers a genuine paddock-to-plate dining experience.
They come from some of the country’s biggest restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania and Byron Bay, serendipitously finding themselves in this spectacular region at the same time.
Farm & Co Restaurant offers a true paddock-to-plate experience and views of sunflower paddocks, avocado groves and a majestic macadamia orchard.
Banquet-style dining from Thursday to Sunday showcases a collection of beautifully curated dishes of seasonal produce.
A Thursday coal barbecue menu and Sunday brunch and picnic boxes are also available.
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A view from Farm and Co. Restaurant.
About 80% of the menu is dairy-free and gluten-free. Vegans and vegetarians are well-catered for.
Bread, jams, aromatic oils and pickles are all housemade. Daily supplies of mandarins, oranges and other citrus and herbs infuse syrups for sodas which are carbonated and batched in-house.
An extensive wine list features small-batch, sustainable, minimal intervention wines, with selections from Australia, New Zealand and further afield.
Veggie scraps fuel the worm farm and help feed the farm’s chickens and rescue pigs, Hank and Pepe.
Guests can soak up the farm views while dining, or purchase a farm pass and venture into the paddocks to pick sunflowers, collect macadamia nuts and visit the beloved rescue pigs.
On the last Sunday of every month, the restaurant hosts a family-friendly Day on the Lawn event, with a barbecue, live music, lawn games and pop-up bar.
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Outdoor dining options at Farm and Co.
The theme changes monthly but the concept is the same: relax on a picnic rug and soak up the tunes, views and amazingly good food.
Among the stunning natural backdrop of this under-the-radar region, other local family-owned businesses are serving up ethically made, low-impact, high-flavour local fare in breathtakingly scenic locations.
Further along the road from Farm & Co Restaurant is Earth Beer Company, which brews small-batch, low-impact craft beers onsite.
Brewery tours are available and there is a taproom and beer garden where guests can taste any of the 10 artisanal brews on tap while soaking up the tranquil ambience of the surrounding farmland, with a view out to Mount Warning.
Bar snacks and baked goodies are also on offer or guests can pre-order brewery platters. Stock up and take a pack of your favourite beers home.
A smorgasboard of fruit at Tropical Fruit World. Photo Destination NSW.
It’s just five-minute drive to family-owned Tropical Fruit World, a working farm and tourism attraction rolled into one.
From its lush rainforest setting over 500 fruits are cultivated from around the world.
Choose your adventure, from family-friendly farm tours and experiences including fruit tasting, tractor tours, boat cruises and farm animal fun, or indulge at the farm café and farm fruit ice creamery.
A weekly Farmer’s Market is held onsite at Tropical Fruit World every Saturday morning from 8am, showcasing the region’s finest produce from local growers, art, baked goods, live music by local artists and kids’ entertainment.
Sampling the the product at Husk Farm Distillery. Photo Destination NSW
Another gastronomic road stop is Husk Farm Distillery in Tumbulgum, about a 15-minue drive away.
The family makes hand-crafted, multi-award-winning Husk Rum and Ink Gin in small batches.
Enjoy behind-the-scenes tours and tastings, book a restaurant table for a long lunch, or relax and snack on a picnic rug as cattle quietly graze in the nearby paddock.
Set the GPS and pack an appetite, because a Tweed Valley road trip offers a hitlist of local businesses serving up amazing gastronomic and family-friendly experiences.
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