He’s a much-loved Queensland foodie with a penchant for fresh, seasonal and local ingredients and she’s a MasterChef alumnus who now is an author and TV cooking show host – aside from food, the culinary pair is sizzling with excitement ahead of this year’s Kingaroy BaconFest from August 16-18.
Matt Golinski is set to go the whole hog in Kingaroy after a hiatus in 2023, while Everyday Gourmet’s Justine Schofield is preparing to get piggy with it for the very first time this year.
"I’m super excited to be a part of the bacon festivities this year, showcasing some of my favourite bacon recipes,” she says. "As a cook I get a real thrill to discover new foodie events just like this, to meet local artisans and Chefs and to taste their bacon creations. I’m also always excited to visit new parts of Australia and cannot wait to explore Kingaroy, the bacon capital!”
Matt, who grew up on a tropical fruit farm on the Sunshine Coast, loves the different ways you can use bacon, but he does admit he’s a pan or barbeque man – never ever the microwave, or the air-fryer.
While he says a bacon quiche is a simple and delicious savoury option, he does have a sweet spot for his banana pikelets with ricotta cheese and maple bacon.
"I personally think you can’t beat a perfectly made bacon quiche - home-made pastry, homegrown eggs whisked with cream and smoky bacon with some good vintage cheddar and you got a perfect breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner. Simplicity and the best ingredients are the key,” he adds.
Justine’s tried and trusty tips for cooking bacon are as follows:
• Use a cold pan: Start cooking your bacon in a cold pan. This allows the fat to render slowly, resulting in crispier bacon.
• Remove excess grease: draining after cooking will allow it to become crispier and a better mouth feel.
• Save the bacon fat: after rendering the fat I sometimes keep it to use for roasting potatoes. It not only makes the spuds super crispy but gives them a lovely light smoky, salty flavour.
• Choose good quality bacon: choose your bacon wisely. I always buy Australian-bred pork and free range.
• Bacon freezes and thaws well: sometimes you only need a few rashers of bacon. There rest stores well in the fridge for up to 10 days, alternatively it can be frozen for up to three months.
To use up extra bacon, Justine whipped up this famous street food recipe for crispy bacon banh mi as a simple serving suggestion on her TV show Everyday Gourmet, not realising it would be an absolute hit.
"This irresistible French-Vietnamese sandwich is all about getting the ratio of ingredients right. Traditionally, banh mi is made with crispy pork, by all means roast some pork belly as a substitute for the bacon.”
The pair will be joined on the festival program by Irish-Australian kitchen whizz Alastair McLeod (Ready Steady Cook/Weekender), Adelaide Bakes maestro Maggie Dmochowski and SunPork Ambassadors, former My Kitchen Rules champions Dan and Steph Mulheron.
Chief Baconeer, Evalyn Thompson is on the countdown to this year’s event, which will kick off on Friday, August 16 with the annual ‘Wine and Swine’ welcome event.
"Come along and get piggy with it at Kingaroy – the pork-producing capital of Australia. There’ll be plenty of bacon-inspired fare to tantalise the tastebuds, and tickets are selling fast,” she says.
With more than 16,000 visitors expected to converge on the South Burnett between August 16-18, this year’s event is guaranteed to be anything but a ‘boar’. Tickets to BaconFest are available online. For more information, head over to kingaroybaconfest.com.au.
