Like Mum Used to Make and Bar H Grazing work with Taste of Australia to show the nation around Emerald and Comet

Central Queensland businesses Like Mum Used to Make and Bar H Grazing will feature on an upcoming episode of Taste Australia that was filmed in Emerald and Comet. FULL DETAILS HERE.

Two Central Queensland family businesses with a passion for top-notch local food and produce will be in the national spotlight in June as Taste of Australia with Hayden Quinn highlights the Central Highlands.

Emerald businesses Like Mum Use to Make and Bar H Grazing will both take a leading role on the Australian cooking show hosted by Hayden Quinn, which travels around the country meeting, interviewing and cooking with locals.

When the show visited Emerald and other parts of the Central Highlands earlier this year, Like Mum Used to Make owners Sally Burnard and Edwina Litchfield leapt at the chance to showcase their culinary delights.

Their artisan food business, which was founded in 2017 with the help of Mrs Burnard’s husband, creates both sweet and savory meals, including their popular Kingston biscuits and family-sized beef and Guinness pies.

The Kingston biscuits that are a popular product of Like Mum Used To Make.

They also make their own sauces, preserves, mustards, relishes, and jams.

Mrs Burnard said when it came to both food and community, the Central Highlands was underestimated.

“We have so much to offer in this region and to Australia,” she said.

“We have one of the largest citrus farms and macadamia farms anywhere but we also produce grapes, figs, garlic, finger limes avocados not to mention our beef industry.

“Emerald is such a wonderful town when it comes to the people. We have lived in a lot of places, and I can honestly say if you immerse yourself in the town and people you will always be welcomed and rewarded.

“It is such an amazing entrepreneurial town.”

Since launching five years ago, Like Mum Used to Make has grown into a food empire, with products stocked at the Science Centre Emerald, the Emerald Information Centre, the local IGA, and Highland Meats and selected retailers in Charters Towers, Longreach, and Gracemere.

And there are plans to potentially expand with stockists in Yeppoon and Rockhampton.

Currently orders can be placed on Facebook, but a business website is being created for customer use that will be available in the next couple of months.

Like Mum Used to Make has sold orders for as far away as Adelaide, Canberra, Tasmania, and New South Wales.

Mrs Burnard loves to see people’s response to the business’ food and making something unique through experimenting in the kitchen.

Like Mum Used To Make uses as much local produce for its catering and packaged goods as possible because the fresh taste adds to the quality of the products, and it helps the local farmers and economy.

Bar H Grazing is another local business that is family owned and operated that will feature on the Taste of Australia Emerald episode.

The business is located in Comet and is a grazing company that breeds and sells Wagyu cattle.

Bar H Grazing begun in 1991 after Percy and Sandra Hornery started with a livestock trading model and then began breeding Bos Indicus cows and Angus and Murray Grey bulls.

A livestock trading model is a short term business model where cattle are bought at a certain weight, feed to a certain weight, and then are sold.

Percy Hornery and Wally Rea tried breeding Wagyu in 1991 and haven’t looked back since.

The company is now a breeding-focused operation.

“While producing excellent Wagyu beef and sustainable profitable breeders, on River Lea, Comet, my team, and I are focused on providing a high level of customer assistance to those who invest in our brand,” Bar H Grazing managing director Que Hornery explained.

“We are incredibly passionate about not only the wagyu breed, but the success and longevity of the beef industry.

“With that in mind, we are focused on sharing our collective knowledge to help fast track the success of other businesses through both genetics and intellectual property.”

Mr Hornery said places like Comet and Emerald were not often featured on reality TV, so when they were, it was great for shows to involve local businesses to give people from bigger towns and cities the chance to see what these places were like.

“Being involved in Taste of Australia was a huge privilege, Wagyu is renowned as a premium product around the world and to be able to showcase the dedication and meticulous attention to detail that it takes to produce this type of product was important for the breed (and industry) as a whole,” he said.

“We pride ourselves in the quality of our location, facilities and cattle and the team at Taste of Australia worked very hard to showcase this.

“We think it is important to bring the outside world to our doorstep because it gives people an opportunity to see what our nation is made of.

“Inland Australia often gets forgotten and Taste of Australia meant we could bring awareness to our somewhat isolated demographic.

“We hope that the episode showcases the opportunities, industries, and lifestyles that the Central Highlands has to offer.”

Bar H Grazing practices sustainable agriculture which is a style of grazing that for them means looking after the country, the animals, and the staff for the long term.

They are a “locals, helping locals” venture.

“Bar H Grazing is not just another business, we are a family that enjoys bringing the community together. We sponsor local events and strive to help the community achieve their goals and do our best to put our beautiful local town on the map,” Mr Hornery said.

“Growing our local economy and building local relationships allows the next generation to take our passions forward and expand, this is how we are going to be recognised. By having opportunities like Taste of Australia, we are an advocate for our continually improving community.

“Taste of Australia has helped to support our modest focus, which is to promote progressive cattle production, whilst maintaining true to our roots. The airing of the episode will help us to publicize our vision by creating a transparent lens for all those involved in the industry and the outsider looking in.”

The episode featuring Like Mum Used To Make and Bar H Grazing will air on Channel 10, Sunday at 4.30pm in June.