Australia's food revolution – in pictures

Keep your diary clear this year from 21-23 November, when the Margaret River Gourmet Escape ( gourmetescape.com.au) comes to Castle Bay Beach in Western Australia. In the past, visiting chefs such as Heston Blumenthal have brought their favourite dishes and mixed them with local specialities to draw in the crowds. Photograph: Tourism Australia

There’s nowhere in the world quite like Icebergs on Bondi Beach, a swimming club with a history that dates back to 1929. Perhaps even more famous than its pool, though, is its Mediterranean dining room and bar, which is widely acknowledged to be the coolest in town. Photograph: Tourism Australia

With branches in both Sydney (pictured) and Brisbane, chef Matt Moran’s ARIA restaurants have helped redefine modern Australian cuisine. “When I started, Australia couldn’t lay claim to much food wise. Maybe fish and chips, a meat pie,” Moran said. He’s certainly changed that, and as a bonus, the Sydney branch comes with possibly the best restaurant view in the world, a magnificent panorama of Sydney Harbour, the Opera House and the bridge. Photograph: PR

Chef Matt Moran dresses casual, but takes his cooking seriously. “Go to a shop 25 years ago, and you might find an iceberg lettuce or a bit of cos,” he said. “Now there are about 50 different varieties. We’ve got baby herbs, micro herbs, not to mention truffles, wagyu beef, grain-fed beef, lamb – things we never used to see. Seafood would be sent overseas, but now we’re eating it here.” He’s too modest to mention the part he played in this revolution. Photograph: PR

No trip to any restaurant or café in Australia would be complete without at least a nibble on some of the amazing seafood. Look out for fish that you just won’t find on a menu elsewhere, such as the succulent barramundi. Photograph: Tourism Australia

One of the hallmarks of the new wave of Australian cuisine is the emphasis on authenticity. Imported food such as pizza is cooked in the traditional way in a wood-fired oven, even though the range of toppings can occasionally come as something as a shock to visitors from the northern hemisphere. Photograph: Ross Honeysett/Ross Honeysett

Located in a former warehouse on the edges of the Surry Hills, Nomad has become a firm favourite of the smart Sydney crowd, drawn by the combination of classic Mediterranean cuisine with super-fresh locally sourced ingredients. Its extensive selection of little known Australian wines has been known to make aficionados purr. Photograph: Ross Honeysett/Ross Honeysett

Chef Matt Moran exerts a similar influence on Australian plates as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall does in Britain. North Bondi Fish is one of several Moran restaurants that are widely credited with the rebirth of interest in great local food. Here, a menu of fresh seafood is brilliantly complemented by an adventurous wine list. Photograph: Ross Honeysett/Ross Honeysett

Hamilton Island’s Race Week makes this small island on the Great Barrier Reef the centre of the world of sailing for a few days each year. One of the fixtures is an ‘elegantly shipwrecked’ barefoot lunch, prepared by Alastair Waddell, head chef of the Qualia hotel, a Scotsman whose proudest boast is the introduction of (local) black pudding to the region. Photograph: Ellenor Argyropoulos/Tourism Australia

Right on the doorstep of Sydney’s skyscraping central business district, the waterside area known as the Rocks is transformed at the weekend into a bustling market, selling everything from local arts and crafts to pots and pans. On Fridays, the companion Foodies Market takes over the area, and is a great place to sample the plethora of locally produced goodies, from olives to cupcakes. Photograph: Tourism Australia