A three day whirlwind tour, to immerse our visiting Beijing Chefs in South Australia’s pristine fine food regions, including a visit to Kangaroo Island to sample its unique honey and decadent seafood, a Port Lincoln charter fishing experience followed by mouth-watering iconic South Australian chocolate with strawberries, plucked fresh and warm from the sunny Adelaide Hills, matched with local sparkling bubbles! How do you possibly achieve such a logistical feat in just three days? The answer I discovered, was through the use of a gorgeous Pilatus private jet. I am now officially ruined for other modes of airplane travel!
Last week, Hans Hao, Executive Chef at the Beijing DoubleTree by Hilton, and David Lin, Executive Chef of Bird in Hand China, travelled from Beijing to participate in a food provenance tour of South Australia. Narrative Marketing joined the tour to capture the story of their visit which will feature in a three month showcase at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Beijing, to be called #SASBeijing. Also joining the tour was the super talented Mike Annese Photography and RunRoar Productions whose incredible visual materials will provide stunning windows for you to look into this wonderful hands on, interactive journey with us. The tour began when we touched down, private jet style, on Kangaroo Island.
A definite highlight of our Kangaroo Island visit was the gorgeous Vivonne Bay, a must see location for anyone visiting the Island.
Deb Ferguson, Co-Founder of Ferguson Australia provided local insights as we travelled across the Island. Conversation hums as we crest the hill and there Vivonne Bay, a spectacular myriad of blue unfolds before us. Conversations pause, we inhale, hold our breath… the view before us is simply stunning, quite literally breath-taking. There presented in front of us is a real life postcard. We South Australians nod and swell with pride as our visiting Chinese guests our blown away by this pristine, natural beauty.
Vivonne Bay, aside from its stunning natural beauty, is also the location of the fishing wharf where the boats return teaming with their delicious cargo of Southern Ocean Rock Lobster, distributed by Ferguson Australia. The two Chinese Chefs tell us how lucky we are to have our seafood fished from such incredibly clean water and how pleased they are to experience this first hand.
A second must see stop, is a visit to Island Beehive in Kingscote. The incredibly friendly owner Peter Davis will enthral you with his knowledge of the world class Ligurian honey that Kangaroo Island produces. Not only that, visitors get to taste a variety of this exquisitely delicious honey. Prompted by the exciting new, limited edition Ligurian honey that the Beerenberg Family Farm is set to release as part of the #SASBeijing program, we were not disappointed and all walked away clutching a range of tasty goodies.
Travelling back towards our waiting jet our tour guide suggests a quick stop at a little known koala hotspot. Reliably, our international guests are very keen to get a real life koala viewing so we bounce a short distance off the road and peer up. A nonchalant comment from the back of the van informs, there’s one over there… a chorus of child-like enthusiasm erupts as faces are pressed to the glass, where, where? We disembark to get a closer look and on approach, observe that magically, our lovely koala even comes complete with an adorable, tiny and very fluffy baby koala. It is almost unbearably cute!
The jet wings its way up, heading to Port Lincoln where part two of this already delightful food provenance tour will continue. Looking out the window at movie like island scenes, an even greater appreciation for how lucky and privileged we are as South Australians is pushing through.