Courtney and Laura are a couple with a passion for Australia’s burgeoning craft beer industry, and opened Mothers Milk (63 First Ave, Sawtell) to celebrate the diversity of our nation’s brews. The menu hinges on a rotating selection of beers on tap, ranging from light lagers, perhaps Port Macquarie’s Black Duck Summer Swallow, to darker drops, including New England Dark Farmhouse ale from Uralla. The matched seasonal menu also ranges from light to hearty – snack on almond-crumbed olives with aioli or tuck into Dorrigo pork belly with green papaya salad and kaffir lime caramel.

After decades spent in kitchens in Michelin-starred London restaurants, including Apsleys, chef Duncan Elliot with wife Leesa moved to the seaside town of Sawtell to open Cafe Treeo (18 First Ave, Sawtell). Don’t be fooled by the ‘cafe’ moniker, the swanky breakfast menu is the stuff of refined restaurants. Deliberate over the likes of dessert-for-breakfast ricotta pancakes with banana, peanut butter ice cream and caramel sauce, and fluffy corn-fritter bombs with cured salmon, avocado and prosciutto.

Feast your eyes on the cabinet overflowing with local and imported meats and cheeses at Pansabella Providores (R49 Coffs Central Harbour Dr, Coffs Harbour), including Bangalow triple-smoked ham and Produce Awards Hall of Fame winner Holy Goat La Luna. Put together your own platter and pair it with a glass of sangiovese for the perfect late lunch. When Clayton wants lunch on the go, he stops by Mario’s Deli (Cinema Walk Arcade, Coffs Harbour) – the ultimate porchetta and smallgoods paradise. “The panini of the day is simple and perfect – top Italian salumi toasted with provolone and tomatoes on ciabatta,” he says.

Go third-wave (that’s coffee-speak for AeroPress, syphon, cold-drip and V60 pour-over) at cosy hangout Artisti Di Espresso (37 Vernon St, Coffs Harbour). Luke Floyd launched his cafe and roastery about four years ago and has been pushing the coffee boundaries in the region by introducing innovative techniques with house-roasted and blended beans.Try one of his many blends – and have it brewed whichever way you like.

Sugar levels dropping? Make a beeline for K’Pane (17/361 Harbour Dr, Coffs Harbour) for a wicked pastry or three. Owner Bret Knight learnt his craft as head pastry chef at Otto Ristorante in Sydney before moving to Coffs and opening this sourdough bakery and patisserie with his wife, Kristy. The quality shines through – from the rustic sourdough batard to the embellished pastries, such as tangy passionfruit curd tarts and devilishly good ‘Isle of Skye’ (a layered chocolate, pistachio and Drambuie cream number).“No shortcuts are taken, with everything made from scratch using top ingredients – we only use the finest couverture chocolate,” Bret says.

Drive one hour inland from Coffs Harbour to find yourself in World Heritage-listed Dorrigo National Park, an exquisite rainforest renowned for its dramatic waterfalls and unique wildlife. Head out onto the elevated Skywalk for boundless views high above the tree canopy, or, if time allows, set off on the full Wonga walk, which takes about two and a half hours, past Crystal Shower Falls. On the way back, stop in at Dorrigo town to visit Red Dirt Distillery (51-53 Hickory St, Dorrigo), which makes its unique vodka, gin and Italian-style liqueurs using Dorrigo red soil sebago potatoes and locally harvested honey, green walnuts and ginger.

The hippie heartland of Bellingen is not short of food infused with love, but Hearthfire Bakery (73 Hyde St, Bellingen) is up there with the best of them. Baker Dave Larson is famous for his loaves made using traditional methods of hand-shaping, sourdough leavening and woodfired baking, with seasonal specials flavoured with fruits, vegetables and herbs grown by friends in the area. “We source a large amount of our produce within a 100km radius, removing the need for transport and maximising flavour,” says Dave. Drop in for a Hearthfire BLT with locally smoked bacon and housemade chilli jam, or perhaps one of its seasonally changing selection of excellent pies.