From the Editor, Leigh O’Connor.
In the quiet hum of Australia’s suburbs and the wide-open heart of its regions, a new food story is being written. This is not the borrowed glamour of distant capitals, nor the carbon-copy menus of cosmopolitan mimicry - it’s something far more grounded, more resonant.
Farmers, bakers, brewers and cooks are weaving together narratives of place and pride, where local soil and heritage define the plate. Tomatoes ripened under inland suns, lamb raised on rolling pastures and bread baked with grains milled just down the road - these are the new emblems of flavour.
Innovation doesn’t mean abandoning tradition; it means folding it into a future where authenticity thrives. Here, food is no longer a proxy for belonging elsewhere. It is a declaration: that regional and suburban Australia can lead, inspire and celebrate its own richness.
The New Middle Australia is hungry, confident and unapologetically itself.
Once, the measure of a Chef’s success was marked by the clatter of plates in a bustling city dining room, the glow of neon streetlights bouncing off polished cutlery and the unrelenting hum of suburbia’s endless sprawl.
Across the country, some of Australia’s most celebrated culinary talents are trading concrete jungles for open skies, finding not only inspiration but also a sense of belonging in the heart of regional Australia.
The reasons are as layered as a mille-feuille, each fold revealing something deeper – come with us as we explore a yearning for produce that tastes of the soil it sprang from.
Australian regional dining is more than a meal - it’s a sensory journey through sunburnt landscapes, coastal breezes, rolling vineyards and red dirt roads. It is where cuisine speaks with the voice of the land, echoing the stories of farmers, winemakers, producers and Chefs who draw inspiration from the rhythms of nature and the heritage of their surroundings.
At the heart of regional dining lies a deep connection to provenance. Whether it’s oysters freshly shucked by the water’s edge in Tasmania, lamb raised on lush pastures in the Central Tablelands, or mangoes plucked from tropical trees in Far North Queensland, regional Australia thrives on food that is fresh, seasonal and unmistakably local.
Spring is the ideal time for a trip across the Ditch to discover Methven’s iconic Blue Pub. Maybe it’s the way the building glows against the alpine dusk, or the way you can walk in a stranger and leave with half a dozen new friends.
Maybe it’s that the Blue Pub is more than a venue - it’s an experience, a memory-maker and a thread in the tapestry of New Zealand’s South Island charm.
We also dish up a regional NSW road trip and what you can eat along the way, along with Australia’s leading men’s health dietitian, Joel Feren, who examines the meaning of food beyond its nutritional value – think emotional, cultural and social significance.
Let’s journey to the New Middle Australia together!
