Skye Gyngell to Headline qualia's Great Barrier Feast 2014

Hosted at the Hamilton Island's multi-award winning luxury resort qualia, the annual Great Barrier Feast events showcase the best of the Whitsundays and Australian haute cuisine, treating gourmet-enthusiasts to a once in a lifetime, up close and personal weekend with leading culinary and wine making experts.

Originally from Sydney and now based in the United Kingdom, celebrated chef Skye Gyngell will headline the next Great Barrier Feast to be held November 28 – 30. Gyngell will join an impressive Australian line up of acclaimed chefs who have previously taken the event helm including Tetsuya Wakuda, Peter Gilmore, Guillaume Brahimi, Frank Camorra, Dan Hunter and Ben Shewry.

Formerly the head chef of the Michelin star awarded Petersham Nurseries Café in Surrey, Gyngell is soon to open her first solo venture, Spring, at Somerset House in London this coming September. Gyngell embraces a love for seasonal produce and is committed to creating hearty, simple food inspired by the local ingredients growing and flowering around her.

As such, it is fitting Gyngell will be working closely alongside qualia's head chef, Alastair Waddell over the course of the weekend. Waddell also holds a passion for local ingredients maintaining he, “always upholds a respect for the natural flavours and textures in the Whitsunday's produce”.

Waddell took the leadership of qualia's kitchens in December 2011 where he held the position of Sous Chef for nearly three years. Prior to qualia, Waddell was Chef de Partie at the two-hatted Bistro Guillaume in Melbourne.

Nicky Oatley, Hamilton Island's special events manager comments, “Skye Gyngell is one of a host of innovative chefs who have been invited over the years to qualia to showcase the incredible Whitsundays' produce and inimitable flavours of the region. We look forward to having food lovers from abroad and closer to home travel to Hamilton Island this November to join us for the next Great Barrier Feast event, one that promises to again be a weekend of both culinary excellence and passion.”

qualia

qualia, Australia's world class luxury resort on the Great Barrier Reef, is located on the secluded and breathtakingly beautiful northern-most point of Hamilton Island. qualia has 60 elegant one-bedroom pavilions and a Beach House, each set among eucalyptus trees with postcard views of the idyllic blue and green waters of the Whitsundays. Two superb restaurants and Spa qualia cater exclusively to guests of the resort. Hamilton Island can be accessed directly from all east coast international gateway cities in less than three hours. qualia is a member of Relais & Châteaux and welcomes guests 16 years and over. www.qualia.com.au. 'qualia' is deliberately spelled with a lower case 'q' as it is a reflection of the relaxed, understated nature of this property.