For so long rural communities have been isolated from the food culture and diversity that our cities are teeming with…but something has shifted…a movement, a returning to roots, an awaking of rural food culture beyond its traditional ‘bread-basket’ persona – rural towns are stepping up their game. And none more so than Goonoo Goonoo Station near my old stomping ground of Tamworth in North-West New South Wales.

Goonoo Goonoo Station is one of the oldest properties in the region, in its original buildings there is an honesty, a resoluteness of survival in an environment that can be harsh and unrelenting. These buildings have been re-born, collectively given a new life beyond the agricultural – one now houses the delightful and modern Glasshouse Restaurant.  The interior does this amazing dance between raw materials and sleek metals. And the bar design would not look out of place in a sleek Sydney harbour-side restaurant.

The menu goes to great lengths to feature local and regional produce – showcasing the produce from this slice of Australia. The mains were beautifully executed and the staff were amazing with the kids (yep we took the kids with us! #nutjobs). But I am ALWAYS here for dessert – and the retro inspired salted caramel bombe alaska did NOT let me down. The coma inducing meringue was knocked over with just the right amount of salt in the caramel and a dessert which should have been so sweet it would be intolerable, somehow managed to walk the pitch and succeed in creating a memory.

So if you are ever heading down the New England Highway south of Tamworth, please stop. Take a moment and appreciate the deliciousness of the region. You will not regret it.  Next time we will be booking one of the cottages, leaving the kids at home with the Grandparents and taking our time to enjoy every part of the experience.