Themed ‘Kitchen Stories’, the speakers on the day were Laura Mariel Gonzales, Loic Prouin, Dianne Knobloch and Jodie Nancarrow.

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Each speaker was interviewed by event organiser Awia Markey, founder of the CCLL.

Artisan baker Laura Gonzales is the owner of Peach and Wolf Family Bakery in Coffs Harbour and Woolgoolga.
Her Argentinian/Italian heritage influences her baking style.

“Every pastry in Argentina has a naughty name and we do that here, giving ours names like Kevin Bacon and Spice Girls,” she said.

Passionate and dedicated, Laura says the bakery’s success since opening in 2022 is down to working with good people.

“Without them, no way could we grow the business,” she said.

“We learn from each other.”

Next up was Dianne Knobloch, who has developed a ‘tradies’ café business she began six years ago into a favoured eatery with a diverse and loyal customer base.

Modestly called Raleigh Coffee and Eats, Dianne makes all dishes by hand.

Her reputation for smoked brisket pies is legendary.

To keep everyone happy, Dianne is up before dawn to make them fresh.

“I spend the first three hours in the morning making the pies.”

She has also created a burger of the week since opening the café.

“I have never made the same burger of the week twice,” she said.

“Last week we made a Portuguese chicken burger, a suggestion from Norco.”

Diane is also famous for her celebration cakes.

She delights in having her three sons involved in her business: Ashley, Zach and Caleb.

With his Normandy accent, French chef Loic Prouin, owner of 99 On Park and Northside Pizza in Coffs Harbour, painted a past steeped in cooking.

“We always cooked in France.

“Even at school lunches we had entree, main and dessert, and a menu,” he said.

Arriving in Coffs Harbour six years ago, Loic based his business on cooking simple food using locally sourced ingredients.

He cites herbs as his favourite ingredient.

“They always add something amazing and make a dish very different.”

The day’s fourth speaker, Jodie Nancarrow, described herself as “an apprentice medicine woman with a passion for home remedies”.

“I fell down the herbal medicine rabbit hole and found out that a lot of pharmaceutical products had a basis in plants, such as aspirin, which comes from the bark of white willow trees.

“In trying these herbal recipes myself I know they work; if it’s going in my body I want it to be natural.”

Jodie has been working on and developing herbal medicines for seven years and is moving forwards with a vengeance and a growing customer base.

“My biggest joy is to give one of my homemade herbal remedies to a sceptic and for them to come back and tell me it worked.”

Jodie recommends starting your herbal journey by growing plants for teas, like chamomile or nettle, and joining a local community garden.

During the lunch, speakers hosted Talk and Tasting tables, chatting one-on-one with guests.

“Each event I try to improve the experience for guests and I’m really happy our third Long Lunch was such a success,” said event organiser Awia.

By Andrea FERRARI