NSW's most unique culinary experiences

Shuck an ocean-fresh oyster

The South Coast is home to a lip-smacking 300km oyster trail thanks to its pristine rivers and lakes. Captain Sponge’s Magical Oyster Tours will take you out onto Pambula Lake with the captain himself, a charismatic oyster farmer who’s passionate about shellfish and sustainability. Cruise over the oyster leases, don your waders and stand in the clear water for a crash course in oyster shucking. If you like champagne with your seafood, Sydney Oyster Farm Tours sets up a stylish table in the middle of the oyster lease for a one-of-a-kind in-water dining experience.

Captain Sponges Magical Oyster Tours, Pambula River

Hunt for truffles with talented dogs

The first time you taste a black Périgord truffle, you’ll be overwhelmed by their intense earthiness and rich umami flavour. These delicious delicacies grow in just a handful of places around Australia and six of those can be found in NSW - the Southern Highlands, Orange, Bungendore, Southern Tablelands, the Snowy Mountains and Oberon in the Blue Mountains. During the winter months, you can join the expert truffle dogs (and their handlers) as they hunt for black gold beneath oak trees, then feast on your find.

Macenmist Black Truffles and Wine, Bredbo

Sip wine flavoured with native ingredients 

Firescreek Botanical Winery is a mini-Eden on the Central Coast, where butterflies flit between 30 species of fruit trees, alongside 40 different roses and countless other flora. Their organic grapes and the wines they produce have won medals around the world and are lauded for incorporating native flavours. The first ECO Certified winery experience in Australia, explore the vast grounds with a local Darkinjung Elder, nibbling on native plants and herbs you never knew were edible, and learning how they - and other botanicals - are transformed into some of the most memorable drops you’ll taste.

Firescreek Botanical Winery Aboriginal Experiences, Holgate - Credit: Nathan Lowe

Catch your own mud crab 

Many regard The Tweed’s mud crabs as the most succulent in the state, but don’t take their word for it. Go straight to the source with Catch a Crab. There’s no adventure quite like spearing an enormous crustacean from the Terranora Lakes mangrove system, then building on your haul with freshly harvested oysters, prawns and fish. At the end of the day, they sizzle on a barbecue while you sit back and enjoy the spectacular scenery. 

Catch A Crab, Tweed Heads West

Stomp grapes in the Hunter 

The practice of grape stomping to make wine dates back to the time of the ancient Romans. And while the process is mostly mechanised today, you can still get your feet into it in Australia’s oldest wine region. Harvest time in the Hunter Valley runs from early January to mid-February, and you can visit wineries during this time for a hands-on day of picking, stomping and tasting. Try De Iuliis, Bonvilla Estate, Glandore Estate, Brokenwood Wines and Hunter Valley Resort. 

Hunter Valley Resort, Pokolbin

Dine on a unique Indigenous degustation 

Be immersed in native ingredients, ancient flavours and Indigenous stories during the Warakirri Dining Experience from Indigiearth in Mudgee. This is gourmet Australian cuisine unlike anything you’ve ever tasted before, incorporating seafood, game meat, rainforest fruits and delicate botanicals. Created by Ngemba Weilwan woman Sharon Winsor, Warakirri blends food and culture, pairing the meal with stories, songs and traditional knowledge. 

Warakirri Dining, Mudgee

Trace rum from paddock to bottle 

Husk Farm Distillery is the only single-estate, paddock-to-bottle rum distillery in Australia and sits on the banks of the Tweed River in the Northern Rivers region. With the distillery’s range of tours, you can track the process right from the sugar cane fields. Join a cocktail-making class, a spirit tasting or go all the way and cut your own cane stalk, watch it be crushed into juice, then learn about the complexities of sugar milling, fermentation and barrel ageing that transform this sweet nectar into smooth rum.

Husk Farm Distillery, North Tumbulgum

Have dinner with the stars 

The outback town of Broken Hill is famous for its spectacular stargazing, with crystal-clear skies and zero light pollution. Outback Astronomy hosts Dinner with the Stars, where you can dine outdoors followed by a fascinating guided tour of the constellations and planets with the resident astronomer. Recline in your comfortable chair (complete with sleeping bag in winter) and listen with wonder as the heavens come to life. 

Outback Astronomy, Broken Hill

Eat your way around the globe in Sydney

Gourmet Safaris (run by lauded broadcaster Maeve O'Meara OAM) takes groups to culturally rich neighbourhoods around Sydney, and tours are led by local, knowledgeable guides. Be immersed in the Italian community of Haberfield, taste your way through Harris Park (Little India) or eat the city’s best Lebanese food in south-west Sydney.

Little India, Harris Park

Discover the joys of foraged food 

Diego Bonetto believes that food is all around us if you just know where to look. The Italian expat, chef and passionate wild food advocate leads regular foraging tours and workshops in the Blue Mountains, teaching people to identify edible plants, wild fruit and mushrooms. From peppery flickweed to sweet mulberries, sour wood sorrel and spicy pink peppercorns, there’s a world of flavour waiting in the bush.  

Diego Bonetto Mushroom Foraging Workshop, Penrose State Forest - Credit: Helen-Algie Forest

See the produce before you feast on it

Many notable NSW restaurants grow their own ingredients. Tour kitchen gardens and see the produce that is about to land on your plate. Enjoy brunch at Milk HAUS in the Shoalhaven region gazing out upon their picturesque veggie patch. During The Ultimate Margan Experience in the Hunter Valley, tour the olive grove, kitchen garden and vineyard, learning about their regenerative farming techniques before enjoying their signature farm-to-table tasting menu. With a paddock-to-plate philosophy, Potager in the Northern Rivers has another must-eat menu with dinner options ranging from Peruvian fish stew to dry-aged duck breast.

Margan Wines & Restaurant, Broke - Credit: Dom Cherry

Eat a banana at the Big Banana

Have you ever eaten a banana burger? This delicacy is served up alongside more customary treats, including banana pancakes, banana splits, banana fritters and smoothies at the iconic Big Banana in Coffs Harbour. When you’ve had your fill, explore the banana plantation, ride a toboggan, have fun at the water park and challenge yourself with a game of mini golf.

The Big Banana, Coffs Harbour - Credit: The Big Banana