As you make your way up the winding roads of the Blackall Range, farm gates, honesty boxes and tables of golden pineapples, jars of honey and organic produce give a hint of what lies ahead. From award-winning cheese and craft beer in Maleny to hatted restaurants and estate wines in Montville, the hinterland is a genuine paddock-to-plate playground.
Maleny
Start at Maleny Cheese to sample handcrafted brie, feta and cheddar served with a view of the grazing dairy herd. In town on Maple Street, Maleny Food Co is a walk-in fromagerie stocking over 250 cheeses, plus artisan gelato and sorbet made daily. Maleny Chocolate Co runs small-batch chocolate creations with hands-on workshops. For heartier fare, King Ludwig's German Restaurant offers Bavarian classics with a 40-strong German beer list, while The Tamarind — a chef-hatted restaurant — plates modern Asian cuisine. Finish at Brouhaha Brewery for their legendary Strawberry Rhubarb Sour.
Montville
Montville's European charm brings art galleries, cosy coffee shops and boutique stores lining the main street. Fudgyboombahs whips up flavours like custard tart, butterscotch vanilla and chocolate honeycomb in-house. Flame Hill Vineyard, 420m above sea level just outside the village, pours 100% estate-grown wines alongside long lunches on the terrace. Cap the day at The Long Apron on the Spicers Clovelly Estate — a French-inspired hatted restaurant that consistently ranks among the state's best.
A Little Further Afield
Descend towards Woombye for the Big Pineapple precinct — home to CAVU Distilling (Sunshine & Sons gin and vodka, filtered through volcanic rock), Nil Desperandum rum, Diablo Co ginger beer and COYO coconut yoghurt. In nearby Palmwoods, Piggyback celebrates Asian cuisine and Rick's Garage plates larger-than-life burgers. Push on to Kenilworth for the sixth-generation Kenilworth Dairies and the Kenilworth Country Bakery famous for its 1 kg donut challenge and stuffed savoury donuts.