Page 62 - Port Douglas Magazine 37

“Our forebears came here to make a better life for
themselves and they succeeded.”

Italian food brings
locals and visitors together

Tropical North descendants who still farm
Queensland’s history is the land today. Join us on
entrenched in the story of The Deck for a nightly à
sugar and the industry’s la carte dinner or monthly
influence remains at the shared feast.
heart of our region today.
Enjoy dining al fresco with
At Sheraton, we pay Chef’s Italian favourites
homage to the hard reimagined with fresh local
working cane cutters who produce including Antipasti,
arrived from Italy almost Sicilian Casarecce,
100 years ago and their Cannoli and more.

Sheratongrandportdouglas
Sheratongrandmirageportdouglas
Sheratonportdouglas.com/experiences

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Puglisi Men Today. Angelo Junior, Gerard and Angelo Senior

Department of Primary Industries did trials in northern Australia in the late using GPS for minimal tillage to reduce run off and disturbance to soil
1990s,” Gerard says. microbes. We were one of the first to go to the Smart Cane program, a sugar
Their cocoa activities now include husbanding the trees and harvesting the cocoa industry initiative, which is a tick of approval that we are doing everything Raise a glass to the past
pods, which are used to make Local Cocoa chocolate. “It’s labour intensive and right in terms of the environment, including the Great Barrier Reef.
we do it as a family operation – every two weeks between April and December at Daintree Bar
we dodge the green ants and harvest the pods. They are processed in Cairns “We butt right up to the Daintree Rainforest, where it wraps around Mossman,
and the cocoa nibs sent to Belgian Delights on the Gold Coast who craft it into and the Whyanbeel River runs through our farm. It’s in everyone’s interest to From the 1890’s to 1958 Mount Uncle Distillery,
Local Cocoa chocolate bars,” he says. keep the environment clean and pristine.” Port Douglas survived for a Sugar Cane
primarily as a sugar port. Rum Masterclass to
As a director of Far Northern Milling, Gerard continues to look at diversification Gerard weighs up his life as a farmer today: “It’s good being your own boss Those early days of discover more about this
to minimise the vulnerability of being 100 percent reliant on the raw sugar and growing food for people (and koalas), even though sometimes sugar gets a hand-cutting cane was ‘liquid gold’.
market. “There are 101 products that could probably be made from sugar. At bad rap. It’s good having the flexibility and the lifestyle. There are good times hot, dangerous and back- You can also bring your
the moment we are looking at an alternative product that goes into soy sauce,” and bad – input costs are adding extra pressures, particularly the energy side breaking work. Today, the favourite people together
he said. process is mechanised and any day of the week to
of things.” the products created from raise a glass to the past
Gerard muses on the differences in farming today: “Back in the day 134 farmers the harvest more diverse. with a Tasting Flight
supplied the mill, now 62-65 people look after that land and it will probably be A legacy and tribute to his pioneering family is the Leonardi-DiPalma bridge The Daintree Bar invites featuring the World’s Best
down to 25 in a few years. You need to get bigger or get out and mechanisation over the Whyanbeel River that flows through the family farm, a reminder of you to join Mark Watkins, Rum*, created right here
has helped to achieve this. In the old days we had four farms and four to five the marriage of his grandparents Elda Leonardi and Sam DiPalma. The family Master Distiller from in Far North Queensland.
people worked the main farm, now Dad and I look after two to three times has also donated Gerard’s grandmother’s pasta machine to the Sheraton Grand
that. What took 15 people a full day to harvest by hand, a commercial cane Mirage Resort in Port Douglas, where it is displayed in the restaurant.
harvester can do in one hour.
The Douglas Shire’s Italian heritage is celebrated at the Sheraton Grand Mirage
“Our forebears came here to make a better life for themselves and they Resort’s monthly shared Italian Feast where tables are loaded with delights from Sheratongrandportdouglas
succeeded. They had hard times like we are going through but they had Sheratongrandmirageportdouglas
different pressures. The kids had to walk miles to school, and the women had Executive Chef Belinda Tuckwell to give locals and visitors a taste of cuisine Sheratonportdouglas.com/experiences
to carry water to their homes and wash dirty clothes in the river. from various regions of Italy. There is also a nightly a la carte Italian menu
option outside this signature event. * Includes Gold Medal Winners at London Spirit Awards
“The old people were good gardeners and our farms have always been among
the highest producers. We have adopted modern farming practices, including sheratonportdouglas.com/experience
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