‘Chef’s Schoolies’ returns to Noosa for event-packed winter weekend

The story of Lucio’s is a direct reflection of the impact of the Noosa Food and Wine Festival.

Matteo Galletto’s earliest memories of the festival are not of going. Instead, it was his father, Lucio Galletto, who would make the yearly pilgrimage from the original Lucio’s, in Paddington in inner Sydney, to Noosa Main Beach.

“When dad came up I’d be back in the Sydney restaurant,” Galletto says. “This was the early 2000s. Dad would come every year and it was like a big party for the chefs.

“The festival’s one of the reasons we’re even in Noosa, because that’s how we made friends up here and got to know the industry people. It was how we got to know the town.”

Lucio’s effectively moved to Noosa in late 2021, becoming Lucio’s Marina. It now boasts a prime position on the boardwalk, overlooking Noosa River as it rounds the bend at Tewantin and meanders towards the sea. It’s a beautiful spot – very open, very different to the corner terrace that hosted the original restaurant, and yet it feels like home.

Following in Lucio’s footsteps late last year was Cibaria, another Sydney import from Maestro Hospitality Group. Co-owner Anna Pavoni told this masthead at the time that, similar to Lucio’s, it was a move 15 years in the making.

“Since the very first time we were invited to Noosa Food and Wine,” she said.

Both Lucio’s and Cibaria will be at this year’s festival, but as locals rather than visitors. It underlines the clout of this little food event that could, which started off in 2003 as a celebration of local producers and chefs, and has grown into one of the major events on Australia’s food and drink calendar. This year, it returns to its original moniker after spending six years presented as Noosa Eat & Drink.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, chef and director of The Ohana Group (Lanai, Halse Lodge) laughs at the “chef’s schoolies” term the industry has coined for Noosa Food and Wine, but says it gets at the heart of the unique sense of collaborative bonhomie that runs throughout the event.

“There are different events every year and good collaborations,” he says. “Chefs can showcase either new restaurant concepts or new dishes, or other new ideas.

“It’s been interesting to watch the effect of Cibaria, or Stacey [Connor] at Humble on Duke. It just pushes everyone a little bit more and helps kill off that sense of complacency that can seep into small-town dining.”

The 2026 festival will see 19 Noosa restaurants collaborate with talent from across the country on four days of events and showcases. Lucio’s will make an appearance at the opening party with a raw seafood bar, before the restaurant turns its attention to its Ligurian Long Table with Lucio lunch, which will take over the restaurant during the day on Sunday, June 14.

“We’re showing off what we can do, seafood wise at the opening party,” Galletto says. “And then we’ll use our event to show that more convivial family style meal that we can provide … it’s a share-plate affair and demonstrates that we’re not just for special occasions. Lucio’s can be a relaxed experience also.”

Fitzpatrick will appear at a Sunset Sessions beachside dinner cooking with Louis Tikaram (Stanley, Brisbane) and Ross Magnaye (Serai, Melbourne), and then host a brunch at Lanai on the Sunday.

“Everyone sees Noosa when it’s busy and it’s amazing, but those winter months can be quiet,” Fitzpatrick says. “In that sense, the festival happens at this perfect time – it uplifts everyone, shines a light, and puts a pep in everyone’s step until September, when everything opens back up again.”

Noosa Food and Wine Festival runs Thursday, June 11 to Sunday, June 14.