Émeraude
What they say
“We love to know where our food comes from and who grew it, especially from within our unique microclimate of rich volcanic soil and high-altitude growing conditions. Since we don’t accept boxes or plastic, these materials go straight back to the farms to be used again and again.”
Signature Dishes
Barnyard quail hen and pork rillettes with pickled beetroot and cucumbers, long-cured crab apples, Prudence’s plum paste, and Ed the Barefoot Baker’s miche sourdough toasts; Murray cod with capers, roast tomatoes, sorrel, and bronze fennel; and carrot salad (baby carrots with beetroot, greens, herbs, fresh sheep’s milk labneh, and spiced seeds).
What we say
Émeraude’s chef and owner Amanda Hinds dishes up love in generous portions and big flavours, and in the shout-outs she gives producers on her seasonal menu – a veritable roll-call of neighbouring growers, from Justin Russel of Half Moon Farm to avocado grower Darrel Boardman (and we’re dying to meet Ed the Barefoot Baker).
“Farmers set menus“, Hinds says, “not chefs“, and some of Émeraude’s suppliers are so local they walk to the café to make deliveries.
Just about everything else in this pretty little Hampton café high on the Darling Downs ranges is made in-house. Tables are set in the garden if it’s sunny, and dishes garnished with freshly plucked herbs and petals.
What others say
“Billing itself as a 'micro-region eatery', the menu is a pure celebration of the region’s stunning produce and its producers.”
The Courier-Mail
What
A micro-region eatery focused on delivering the area’s best produce