BCEC celebrates the best of Queensland produce at menu launch

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre Executive Chef, David Pugh has unleashed his haute cuisine skills and love of fresh local produce on the Centre’s newly released menus – his first since stepping into the role earlier this year.

Pugh, who reigned as Queensland’s Ambassador Chef for four years and was recipient of numerous chefs’ hats during his restaurant career has set his much acclaimed culinary talents at work celebrating the freshness, flavours and variety of local Queensland produce in this latest menu offering.

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC), has a long history of advocacy for quality and the provenance of Queensland food, sourcing the very best of available and accessible local, seasonal produce.

Recently named Icon of the Year at the Courier Mail Food Awards 2019, David Pugh is continuing this advocacy in his new role.

BCEC sources 80% of its produce from Queensland - from the Far North of the state, west to Chinchilla, east to the Fraser Coast and south to the New South Wales border.

Pugh likes nothing more than to visit local farmers on their home turf, discovering an up and coming artisan producer or a hidden gem such an ethical chocolate maker around Brisbane suburbs.

His most recent visit was to Moffatt Fresh Produce in Queensland’s Scenic Rim, named Australia’s outstanding region of the year in the recent Delicious Produce Awards. The Centre uses 4 tonne of carrots from the fourth generation of Moffatt farmers to meet the demands of some 800,000 visitors to the Centre each year.

Chef Pugh describes his first menu as ‘honest food.’ “We have focussed on fresh honest food where flavour, simplicity and freshness are the main ingredients. Citrus and fragrant salsas and dressings have replaced some of our heavier sauces using our very own local limes, lemons and capsicums, while vegetables – sweet potatoes, pumpkin and carrots, are at times the hero of the plate.”

A lifelong advocate of healthy eating, Pugh has also fulfilled his promise on stepping into the role of Executive Chef earlier this year to continue the Centre’s focus on nutrition and responsible eating.

The new menus, created by Pugh and his team of talented chefs, now include more than 30% of dishes that provide the necessary nutrition to focus mind and energy for a healthy conference experience.

All good chefs have a story to tell and with his unabating passion for local produce, David Pugh’s is Edible Queensland. Queensland has long been the food bowl of Australia and David has spent a lifetime advocating the many varieties of local produce and continues to do so.

Enquiries: Gail Sawyer, Marketing and Communications Manager

T: +61 7 3308 3023 M: 0439 733 509 E: gails@bcec.com.au

About BCEC: Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre is owned by South Bank Corporation and proudly managed by leading international venue management specialists AEG Ogden.

About AEG Ogden: AEG Ogden is part of AEG Facilities of the United States, a division of AEG, the world’s leading sports and entertainment company.

AEG Ogden manages venues throughout the Asia Pacific and Middle East, including Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Cairns Convention Centre, Te Pae Christchurch (opening 2020), Darwin Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (Muscat), and ICC Sydney; Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane; and arenas in Brisbane, Sydney, Newcastle, Perth, and Dubai. AEG Ogden is also progressing the new Brisbane Live arena and entertainment precinct. More information aegogden.com