Tastes of the Tropics TV series airs starring Cairns chefs Nick Holloway, Davy O’Rourke
Cairns chefs Nick Holloway and Davy O’Rourke feature in a new TV show which celebrates the region’s vibrant tropical food scene. Here’s how to watch the locally produced series.
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A new TV show showcasing the best of Far North Queensland’s tropical bounty and the talented growers, chefs and restaurateurs who bring its produce to life has aired its first episode.
The three-part series also doubled in a rare opportunity for local emerging and mid-career screen practitioners, who produced the episodes with the support of Screen Queensland, Screenworks, SBS and Cutting Edge funding and mentorship.
Nu Nu Restaurant head chef and co-owner Nick Holloway presented the first episode of Tastes of the Tropics, which aired on SBS national television on Wednesday.
He told the Cairns Post his local production team wanted to create an episode that “spoke volumes” of the region.
“We live in such a dynamic landscape and because of that there’s just an absolute bounty of ingredients,” he said.
“It’s a story of immigration, relocation, people finding this area and falling in love with it and finding a way to create in it.”
The episode introduces viewers to Rustys Markets vendors who grow a variety of dry land rice south of Cairns, as well as mango growers and a First Nations horticulturalist in the Atherton Tablelands who produces about 20 different bush foods.
Palm Cove-based Mr Holloway is a regular MasterChef guest and nationally-acclaimed chef but said he always had a “deep desire” to share stories of the region he’s called home for 20 years.
“We’ve got a fantastic body in Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Tourism and Events Queensland who do a wonderful job communicating about the region but there is always more to do,” he said.
“We live in a very, very special part of the world. It does feel like the Garden of Eden, everything grows here. All we did is put it on camera.”
The second episode airs on Wednesday, March 27 and takes viewers to meet more of the region’s food enthusiasts, guided by host Samantha Martin.
Davy O’Rourke, restaurateur of Mama Coco, Guerrilla and Palooka shares some traditions of his Papua New Guinean heritage in the third episode on April 3.
The series can also be streamed free online through SBS On Demand.
Screen Queensland chief creative officer Dr Belinda Burns said Tastes of the Tropics was a “strategic” program to expand the local film industry ahead of the $12.6m Cairns studio opening.
“Screen Queensland is committed to fostering authentic Queensland stories from across the state by bolstering the experience of our regional practitioners and we are proud to have commissioned Tastes of the Tropics as part of our North Queensland Regional Program,” Dr Burns said.
“As well as providing audiences with a fresh perspective on the cuisine culture inherent to the region, the participants have gained invaluable practical knowledge throughout the production process, elevating the skill sets they can apply to future screen projects.”
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