The Underground Chefs Kitchen

25/09/2026

Golden Grove Estate will be one of our wineries visited as part of the Granite Belt Table weekend. Join us and taste the best of the Granite Belt and meet the crew who create these Award Winning Wines.
Chef Ian.

🍷 Queensland Wine Awards 2026
What a haul! 🏆🍷

In addition to Jason being awarded Queensland Viticulturist of the Year, we are ecstatic that our wines were awarded;

🏆 Champion Mainstream Variety Red - 2023 Old Vine Shiraz
🏆 Champion Emerging Variety Red - 2025 Barbera
🏆 Champion Estate Grown Red - 2023 Old Vine Shiraz
🥇 Gold Medal — 2025 Chardonnay
🥈 7 Silver Medals across all our other entries

Behind every one of our bottles is years of hard work and generations of knowledge 🍇

24/09/2026

🍇 BOOKINGS ARE NOW OPEN
The Granite Belt Table
20–22 November 2026

Stanthorpe has just been named Australia’s Top Tourism Town for 2026 - and we would love to show you why.

The Granite Belt is more than a destination to us. We called the region home for five years and, although that was a decade ago, our connection with its people has continued through many return visits, shared tables and special events.

This isn’t simply a weekend of visiting wineries. It is a thoughtfully curated journey through a region we know and love, sharing the vineyards, producers, tables and local characters that keep drawing us back.

Across three relaxed days, you’ll meet experienced growers and winemakers, hear the stories behind their vineyards, taste wonderful regional food and wine, and enjoy the genuine country hospitality for which the Granite Belt is renowned.

The weekend includes:

🍷 Two nights in central Stanthorpe
🍽️ Friday dinner at Essen with selected Granite Belt wines
🚐 Premium private touring in two spacious six-passenger vehicles
🧺 Blue Pot Pantry and its beautiful local produce
🍇 Ridgemill Estate, Savina Lane, Symphony Hill and Golden Grove Estate
🍕 Vineyard lunch at Savina Lane
🥂 Welcome drink and two-course dinner at Varias
🎄 A touch of Christmas magic at the Granite Belt Christmas Farm
🍓 Strawberries, artisan cheese and seasonal farm produce on Sunday

With just five couples, this will be a wonderfully personal experience - with room to relax, connect and perhaps bring home a few Granite Belt discoveries along the way.

$2,190 per couple

One couple has already asked us to reserve their place, so only four packages remain.

👉 Discover the full weekend and reserve your place: https://www.undergroundchef.com.au/product/the-granite-belt-table-package-for-two

The Granite Belt Table
Rooted in history. Still evolving.
See you at the Granite Belt
Chef Ian & Karyn

🍽

17/09/2026

Congratulations to Jason Costanzo, named Viticulturist of the Year at the Qld Wine Awards. Golden Grove will be one of our Wineries visited when we host our next Granite Belt Table in November. All the weekend details announced next week.
Chef Ian

🏆 QUEENSLAND VITICULTURIST OF THE YEAR

We’re incredibly proud to announce that Jason Costanzo has been named Queensland Viticulturist of the Year at the 2026 Queensland Wine Awards. 🍇

A 3rd generation grape grower, Jason has spent his life amongst the vines at Golden Grove Estate, following in the footsteps of his family and continuing a tradition that spans generations.

From pruning and planting to harvest and everything in between, the vineyard has always been a huge part of Jason’s life.

This one is pretty special.

Congratulations Jason — so well deserved!


Viticulture Australia

16/09/2026

What a wonderful weekend it was.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for The Chef, the W***h & the Winemaker at Ballandean Estate Wines.

It was a joy to welcome so many lovely guests, including friends we had not seen for more than 10 years, and we are especially grateful to those who travelled from Beachmere, Bribie and beyond to be part of the experience.

This was never just “a lunch and some wines”. It was a genuine collaboration built on mutual respect for each other’s skills, products and passion for hospitality.

A very special thank you to Lisa Liu – Saucy W***h Gourmet Foods, and Ash, her trusty assistant, for sharing the kitchen, the preparation and the energy that helped make the weekend such a success.

Thank you also to our wonderful hosts Robyn and Leeanne from Ballandean Estate Wines, along with the Ballandean team who helped deliver meals, pour wines and ensure every guest felt welcome and well looked after throughout the event.

A very special thank you also to Tony, who stepped into the kitchen and helped Chef Ian keep everything moving, and to our ever-reliable wash-up queen, Karyn, who kept the behind-the-scenes chaos under control and made sure there was always another plate, bowl or utensil ready when it was needed.

Events like this only work because of the people behind the scenes as much as the people out front, and we are very grateful to everyone who played a part.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with many guests already asking when the next event will be — and we will certainly take that as a very good sign.

Our guests enjoyed a full menu that included:

Amuse Bouche
Asian bruschetta — a rice cracker topped with finely diced tomato, onion and coriander, drizzled with garlic and eschallot vinaigrette

First Course
Chicken yakitori with pickled cucumber
Duck spring rolls with plum sauce
Pork & prawn shu mai with chilli, ginger & lime sauce

Second Course
Tempeh & glass noodle dumpling served in satay sauce with cucumber salad

Third Course
Asian-style beef cheek with Asian mushroom jus, served with coconut sweet potato mash and edamame with sesame seed & miso sauce

Petit Four
Chocolate-dipped strawberry with toasted almonds and golden sugar, served with a fortune cookie

Each course included a suggested Ballandean Estate wine match, while guests were also welcome to choose their own Ballandean favourites from the range. One of the standout pairings was the award-winning Saperavi, which worked beautifully with the Asian-style beef cheek.

Beautiful food, lovely wines, warm hospitality and great company — we could not have asked for a better outcome.

Thank you again to everyone who joined us.

Watch this space for the next event.

***h ***hAndTheWinemaker

15/09/2026

Wow, what a result for Stanthorpe & the Granite Belt. Our little secret home away from home is now taking the World stage. So pleased for all those involved in Wine, Tourism and Hospitality, all the hard yards are now paying off. If you have never been to Stanthorpe and the Granite Belt it is time to factor in a trip. Maybe join us on A Granite Belt Table excursion or a Long Lunch at Ballandean Estate Wines. If you want to do your own trip then drop us a line and we can offer you some guidance. Either way its a fantastic destination to visit. Chef Ian

🏆 Stanthorpe is officially Australia’s Top Tourism Town for 2026!

We’re thrilled to see Stanthorpe and the wider Granite Belt recognised on the national stage, celebrating everything that makes this region such a special place to visit.

Granite Belt Wine & Tourism President Rachael Lang was in Canberra this morning to accept the award on behalf of Granite Belt Wine Country and Southern Downs Regional Council.

Now it’s your turn to discover what makes us Australia’s Top Tourism Town. Explore our award-winning itinerary here 👉 https://tinyurl.com/4w3p7t9d

Queensland Tourism Industry Council - QTIC Southern Downs and Granite Belt

14/09/2026

So who has stolen the Saucy W***h’s Crown? A bit of fun after service with Lisa from theSaucy W***h Gourmet Foods and Robyn from Ballandean Estate Wines. The Chef, the W***h and the Winemaker Long Lunch Weekend was a huge success.
Full report out later today.
Chef Ian 👨‍🍳

09/09/2026

Three squeezable pantry favourites - ready for the barbecue and so much more!

Back in the day, bottles of tomato sauce and yellow mustard lived permanently on the dining table. We didn’t have the endless range of beautiful sauces and condiments we’re spoilt with today - we simply used those familiar favourites on just about everything.

They weren’t only for sausages and chips, either. Tomato sauce mixed with mayonnaise became an instant seafood sauce, mustard was added to dressings and marinades, and both provided the starting point for all sorts of homemade sauces.

Perhaps that’s why we love these three Drunken Sailor additions so much. They bring back a little of that nostalgia, but with a decidedly more grown-up flavour:

~ Smokey Chipotle Honey has had a makeover! It now comes in a larger squeeze bottle, but it’s still the same fabulous combination of Australian raw honey, smoky chipotle and gentle chilli heat.

~ Tomato Sauce is rich, tangy and gently smoky - and it has just won Gold at the 2026 Sydney Royal Fine Food Show. If you’re already a fan of Drunken Sailor’s Gold medal-winning Smokey Tomato Relish, you’re going to love this: those same fabulous flavours, now in a convenient squeezable sauce. Brilliant with pies, burgers, sausages, chips or anything hot off the barbie.

~ Yellow Mustard is zippy, tangy and a bit loud - in a very good way! Perfect for hot dogs, burgers, toasties and a good old-fashioned cold-meat sanga.

Use them straight from the bottle, or treat them as building blocks for dressings, marinades, glazes and your own quick sauces. Three easy pantry staples with far more possibilities than you might think.

What sauce was always on your family table - and what did you put it on?

The complete Drunken Sailor squeezable trio is now available from the Underground Chef pantry. https://www.undergroundchef.com.au/shop/pantry

08/09/2026

Home from Melbourne—and what an eventful few days!

We visited Fine Food Australia with a clear purpose: not simply to find more products, but to discover interesting foods, clever ideas and passionate producers who could genuinely add something special to the Underground Chef Pantry.

And we certainly found a few!

We came home with samples to test, some wonderful new connections and several exciting possibilities. Not everything will make the final cut—first it needs to taste fabulous, work in a real home kitchen and earn its place in our collection.

One of the most intriguing discoveries came in this tiny spray bottle…

It isn’t perfume—but you do mist it over your food! Any guesses what it might be? Have you ever seen a seasoning delivered this way before?

We’ll let Ian experiment with it properly before we reveal all. If it passes the Chef Ian test, you’ll be hearing much more about this rather clever little find.

Melbourne, you gave us plenty to think about. Watch this space…

07/09/2026

☀️ SAVE THE DATE — THE GRANITE BELT TABLE RETURNS

Friday 20 to Sunday 22 November 2026

A new season. New flavours. New stories.

This time, we’ll experience the Granite Belt as summer begins—sharing wonderful local food, meeting the people behind the produce and discovering wines with stories worth telling.

With Christmas just around the corner, there may also be a little festive inspiration along the way: decorations from the Granite Belt Christmas Farm, a Strange Bird or two for the Christmas table, beautiful local produce and some thoughtful gift ideas to take home.

It will be another intimate weekend created around good food, genuine hospitality and the special people who make the Granite Belt what it is.

Save the date - full details and bookings will be released soon.

01/09/2026

Melbourne, here we come—and we’re going with a purpose! ✈️

The last time we attended Fine Food Australia, one of our discoveries was Saucy W***h.

What began with tasting some fabulous products and meeting Lisa has grown into a wonderful working relationship. Saucy W***h products are now part of the UC Pantry, you are all enjoying them—and in just two weekends’ time, that relationship will come to life through The Chef, the W***h & the Winemaker event at Ballandean Estate Wines.

That is exactly why we are heading back to Fine Food Australia Melbourne.

We’re not simply going to wander the aisles and see what happens. We’ll be searching for interesting producers, building relationships and tasting products that might genuinely deserve a place in the UC Pantry.

For us, that means restaurant-quality flavour, clever cooking shortcuts and hard-to-find ingredients that make it easier to create better food at home—supported by Chef Ian’s recipes, tutorials and ideas for using each product in several different ways.

Who knows where the next conversation might lead?

We already have a few interesting exhibitors on our list, but we’re equally excited about discovering something completely unexpected.

Is there anything you would love us to keep an eye out for? Let us know below and we’ll add it to our search list.

***h ***hAndTheWinemaker