SYDNEY, 2016-Mar-03 — /Travel PR News/ — Last night, fifty international food journalists, celebrity chefs and influencers experienced dinner at Noma Australia, as part of a week-long media program showcasing the best of Australian produce and wine, hosted by Tourism Australia.
From foraging through the Southern Highlands of NSW and meeting with local artisan producers to enjoying the best of Australia’s fine dining restaurants and food festivals, their itinerary has followed in the footsteps of influential chef René Redzepi’s research and inspiration trips around the country for Noma Australia.
Last night’s dinner coincided with the release of latest tourism figures showing that spending on food and wine by international visitors in Australia has increased by 21.1% to $886 million in the two years since the start of Tourism Australia’s Restaurant Australia campaign. This exceeds the original spending two-year campaign target of $500 million. Since Noma Australia was announced in July 2015, over 1,400 articles have been published with an audience reaching more than 400 million globally, generating widespread publicity for Australia’s food and wine offering.
Over the 10 week Noma residency, Tourism Australia has hosted over 70 journalists from Asia, Europe and the Americas writing for the world’s most esteemed titles including, The Telegraph (UK), Vanity Fair (Italy), Le Magazine du Monde (France), The Peak Gourmet (Singapore), Irish Times (Ireland), Conde Nast Traveller (USA), TIME Magazine (USA), Newsweek (USA) and Saveur Magazine (USA).
The group have experienced an unforgettable food and wine trip to Australia, sampling produce and innovative menus, finding inspiration in native Australian ingredients and dining in some of Australia’s world-class restaurants such as Attica, Quay, Brae and Sepia.
John O’Sullivan, Managing Director, Tourism Australia said: “Having scoured the country on numerous research trips, meeting producers and farmers, witnessing various traditional cooking techniques and tasting some of Australia’s most interesting wines, René and his team have created something truly special at Noma Australia and we’re thrilled that we could share it with an esteemed list of international media, as part of our Restaurant Australia campaign.”
Earlier this week, ten journalists joined Redzepi and Biota Dining chef James Viles on a foraging trip of the NSW South Coast and Southern Highlands. They travelled to the coast looking at types of seaweed and clams, before heading to Robertson’s Pecora Dairy to sample their award-winning sheep’s milk cheeses, picking wild blackberries and ending on the banks of a trout river where Viles created a lunch of wild ingredients.
The Noma Australia residency is a partnership between Noma, Tourism Australia and Lendlease and will run until 2 April.
For press and media enquiries, interviews and images please contact:
The Cru Media + Communications
Jeanine Bribosia, Director, The Cru Media + Communications
+61 407 061 658
jeanine@thecrumedia.com
Shannon Blanchard, The Cru Media + Communications
+61 432 543 377
shannon@thecrumedia.com
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Photo from left: James Viles, René Redzepi, Elijah Holland