Pacific Fair is well on the way to creating an ‘eat or shop’ dilemma. As part of a $670 million redevelopment, high end fashion shops with huge investment fit outs have been opening along the boulevard attracting international shoppers and lots of onlookers. The centre is also well on the way to establishing itself as...

In a modern version of the Biblical loaves and fishes, Pixel Bakehouse is baking bread to feed hungry unemployed people on the Gold Coast. With thousands of jobs lost recently on the Gold Coast, many people are doing it tough. For some, excluded from government benefits due to citizenship, there’s seemingly no relief apart from...

Tallebudgera Creek is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Now it’s even more blessed, with Custard Canteen opening mid-January 2020. Nestled among the pandanus and paperbarks at the front of Tallebudgera’s Leisure Centre, the venue’s red and white striped umbrellas and wooden shingle tiled façade denote a Mediterranean influence. Diners sit on picnic...

There’s nothing like a drive in the country to clear your head. For me, a journey to Tyalgum feels as though we’ve entered the landscape that inspired FernGully or Avatar. With a lead up of meandering waterways, lush rainforest and towering rockfaces, somehow the greenery clears your head. At dusk, the atmosphere has its own...

It’s a business founded on love and pastries; the love of the Marchesi family for each other and for baking the French patisserie sold in their Robina café, My French Pastries. Jen and Antonio’s love story began when they were best friends in primary school in France. After 12-year-old Antonio moved to Australia with his...

There’s nothing sexier than men preparing food. Especially Mediterranean men preparing really good rustic whole food. The ladies know it. They saunter in just before midday, hips swinging slowly, arms extended, looking for him. ‘Where’s Alessandro?’ Young and gorgeous, he crosses the restaurant to meet them, a huge smile lighting his face before being enveloped...

To those who think that you need a prime location on the Gold Coast for your café to succeed, think again! Cubby Bake House has an ‘out of the box’ location in the Tweed Valley. To put it mildly, Chinderah is hardly the place for ‘walk by’ traffic. “The growth of Cubby Bakehouse has been...

It seems that bakeries are moving in one of two directions: rustic homebaked goods or fine patisserie. Baked at Ancora gives us the best of both worlds: an artisan bakery producing rustic sourdough, fine patisserie and a select menu of brunch dishes with casual dining inside or out. All bases covered. Opened by the PLB...

A display of brightly coloured chairs on the Cronulla corner of the highway in Mermaid Beach marks a little French café / restaurant! The bright attitude is obvious. “Here I am!” the chairs exclaim: Le Café Gourmand! One of our fondest memories of France is wandering through little country villages, ‘discovering’ a café to enjoy...

There’s something timeless and elemental about bread. Dating back to the Stone Age when grain was ground between two stones, bread is one of the most widely consumed foods in the world. In its best state, it consists of only a few ingredients: flour, water, yeast and salt. Dense and chewy, whole wheat bread is...