Local Food, Coffee & the Bush Beef Project - with Oliver James

Welcome to Episode 28 of Quirky Cooking Chats (Season 2), with Jo Whitton: Local Food, Coffee & The Bush Beef Project - Oliver James.

{Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/26q3KZarJzs}

Jo interviews Far North Queensland hospitality creative, Oliver James, about his experience in the Australian food and coffee scene and his involvement in the "Bush Beef" project with the indigenous owners of Normanby Station in Cape York.

Oliver (Olly) James is a World Barista Competition Judge (and founder of the Tattooed Sailor Coffee Roasters) and is a keen supporter of local, indigenous produce and direct farm-sourced ingredients. Recently he was invited to help showcase the *Bush Beef from Normanby Station and help to get this uniquely flavoursome, sustainable meat out to the market.

Jo and Olly discuss subjects ranging from the amazing variety of produce grown in Far North Queensland, locally-grown coffee and wild 'bush beef', to vanilla, seasonal cooking and how a trip to Ethiopia opened Olly's eyes to a wider definition of local food.

Olly started making coffee at 9 years old in his Father’s NSW countryside, garden-to-plate restaurant. In 2009 he opened his first cafe, Caffiend in Cairns CBD. Since then, Olly has opened several cafe venues, and currently operates Caffiend, Guyala Cafe, Newell Street Cafe, Tattooed Sailor Coffee Roasters, Cairns Coffee School and his hospitality consulting business.

You can find out more about Olly's work, his cafes and the Bush Beef project below:

• Guyala cafe (https://www.guyalacafe.com.au/) and Caffiend cafe (https://www.caffiend.com.au/). Food inspired by indigenous ingredients and an international culinary influence. With a World Barista Competition Judge at the helm, the coffee is a focus at both cafes!
• Tattooed Sailor Coffee Roasters & Coffee School + Newell St Cafe (https://www.tattooedsailor.com.au/). Specialty coffee roasters sourcing delicious coffee from Far North Queensland and all over the world. Tattooed Sailor coffee is made from sustainable and ethical green beans wherever possible, keeping in mind the impact that purchasing decisions have on coffee growing communities.
• Bush Beef (https://www.normanbybushbeef.com/) originates from some of the cleanest and most remote paddocks in the world and is an ethical choice since herds aren’t confined; they live freely, roam freely and eat freely. This produces sustainable clean meat, free of preservatives, chemicals and hormones from any commercial process. (Jo will be sharing more about this project on the podcast soon!)

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Jo Whitton is the founder of Quirky Cooking (https://quirkycooking.com.au/) and the author of three best-selling cookbooks. She lives on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland, where she runs her online business, develops recipes that often feature local ingredients (including produce from her backyard garden) and teaches whole-food cooking classes (online, and throughout Australia and overseas). Her recipes reflect her passion for food that nourishes and heals, with plenty of flavour and fun!