Over the last two years Port Stephens has been cooking up something rather spectacular and it is officially available for purchase. Brought to you by local powerhouse, Lynda Sloan, the unique Port to Plate Cookbook is all about shining a light on the magnificent fresh, local, and sustainable seafood industry of Port Stephens.

A truly collaborative effort throughout the Port Stephens community has brought this incredible brand to life, giving readers the opportunity to learn about the intricacies of the area’s surrounding waterways and estuaries, the seafood species, and of course, how best to cook them!

Bringing so much more to the table than just a satisfying taste of the sea, Port To Plate offers a compilation of recipes and stories representing the coastal community of Port Stephens’ journey home. We caught up with Lynda to hear all about the project, various involvement, and excitingly, where you can get your hands on this one-of-a-kind product.

Originally from a little town in the southeast of New Zealand, Mount Maunganui, an area similar to Port Stephens with a huge love for the beach, sun, surf, and of course, seafood. Having called Australia home since she was 14, Lynda landed in Port Stephens a number of years ago and hasn’t looked back.

Having landed herself working behind the counter at the local portside seafood shop, Lynda found herself chatting consistently with customers about available species and how best to cook the produce.

“People hunger to know more about local fish species and crave an authentic taste of coastal village culture while indulging their appetites for the fresh local catch.

“I found myself educating them on the seasonal nature of various fish species to help them understand why the local catch will vary from day to day. While people like the idea of fresh caught local species, most stick to familiar fish like salmon, barramundi, or flathead, simply because they don’t know what to do with anything else,” Lynda shared.

Before long, Lynda was projected into the community connecting with local fishing families, gifted artists and celebrated chefs as she curated a truly unique collection of information and recipes that beautifully shines a light on Port Stephens.

“My vision was for Port to Plate is to open people’s eyes to the absolute abundance in our oceans and whet their appetite for experiencing more of that for themselves, by sharing local knowledge.”

Lynda reached out to the region’s top chefs including Ben Way of Little Beach Boathouse, Ludovic Poyer from The Poyer’s, Michael Jenkins of Anchorage Port Stephens Hotel & Spa, and Sergey Bobylev of Lime Mexican Nelson Bay, to create over 40 recipes for you to try at home.

“Our amazing local chefs have loved sharing their love affair with the local catch. Our chefs have created new recipes, working with fresh, local, and sustainable produce to inspire you, to be daring.”

From the Steamed Green King Prawns to the Butter Cream & Yellow Curry Mud Crab; every page offers a delicious new piece of information.

At every level, the book is a complete work of art. With a collection of local artists offering their time to the project, flipping through the pages you can spot some exquisite artworks reflecting the local produce.

Ileana Clark contributed delicate watercolours, the surfer turned artist Kerrie Tobin brings fish species to life with her wonderful sense of movement, colour bursts by Megan Barass are composite paintings of multiple perspectives captured photographically, and Linda Greedy’s love of the local environment shines through in detail sketches that introduce each spice.

We dropped into Linda Greedy’s studio to see how she created her magnificent works for the book. With the studio overlooking the bay at Boat Harbour, it’s no surprise to see how perfectly her work reflects the local community and of course, fits with the Port To Plate concept.

In addition, continuing their mission of understanding what’s fresh, local, and sustainable, Lynda has also partnered with the non-for-profit organisation, Oceanwatch Australian to pass on a percentage of cookbook profits.

For those interested in getting their hands on this truly brilliant masterpiece of a cookbook, Port To Plate is available in both a soft-cover or hard-cover online here and from a number of local stockists. For those interested in learning more, Port To Plate will have an official book launch at The Essential Ingredient Newcastle in September. Stay tuned for more information.

Stockists

- Nelson Bay Fish Market | 12 Teramby Rd, Nelson Bay
- Information Centre Port Stephens | 60 Victoria Pde, Nelson Bay
- Bay Living & Garden | 112 Magnus St, Nelson Bay
- The Home Interior | 41 Donald St, Nelson Bay
- Good Food Distributors | 25 George Rd, Salamander Bay
- Essential Ingredient Newcastle | 200 Union St [Junction Fair Shopping Centre], The Junction
- Fishermans Co-op Newcastle | 97 Hannell St, Wickham
- McDonalds Bookshop Maitland | 408 High St, Maitland

So, what are you waiting for? Show your support for the incredible Port Stephens seafood community and get cooking with Port To Plate!