Tasmania's exceptional produce is the envy of the world -

"This is a mystery story. How does the tiny State of Tasmania, with fewer than half a million people, produce such an amazing array of gourmet food and wine products? At 68,000 square kilometres, it's about the size of Ireland but with fewer people than the Gold Coast. It has 6500 kilometres of coastline - about 14 metres per resident - and nowhere in Tasmania are you more than 115 kilometres from the sea. Yet Tasmania is famous for its cheese, wine, beer, honey, salmon, oysters, scallops, abalone, lobster, lamb, beef, fruit, vegetables and a myriad of other products from saffron to wasabi... the State has become the gourmet food bowl of Australia and the brand 'Tasmanian' is synonymous with quality." Excerpt from Providore Island, Tasmanian fine produce by Tony Walker. Canongate Partners 2008

Tasmania is renowned for its pristine environment, pure air, pure water and stunning heritage listed landscapes. It is precisely this reputation coupled with its innovative and forward thinking farmers and producers that the State of Tasmania has become the gourmet cornucopia of Australia. The brand Tasmania is now synonymous with the highest quality food and wine production - Australia's proud and premium providore to the world.

Did you know the small island shares the same latitude of 42 degrees in the southern hemisphere as Spain and Tuscany in the northern hemisphere? As we are now discovering about Tasmania, both northern hemisphere regions have long been known for producing quality produce. Tasmania enjoys a maritime temperate climate with reliable rainfall brought by The Roaring Forties from the Southern Ocean. It's these perfect conditions and lack of extreme temperatures that allows for Tasmanian fruit and vegetables to enjoy long ripening periods resulting in better tasting and longer lasting produce.

Tasmanian chefs are the luckiest of chefs as they have easy access to the finest produce in the country and are spoilt for choice. In recent times the restaurant scene in Tasmania has blossomed into a thriving industry attracting foodies from around the world eager to sample the wealth of flavours in Tasmania's unique fare. Local chefs are taking their reverence for the local produce to a new level and are creating menus focused on regional produce from their own area. Such is the diversity and abundance of produce in Tasmania and its potential to be food bowl to the world.