qualia on Hamilton Island’s Great Barrier Reef

Four of Australia’s finest dancers from The Australian Ballet took to an open air stage at qualia on 12 June for a stunning weekend of Pas de Deux in Paradise. Guests were treated to a weekend of culinary delights by qualia Executive Chef, Jane-Therese Mulry, a Q&A session with the dancers, and an exclusive outdoor performance. With the Whitsundays as their backdrop, Principal Artists Lucinda Dunn, Robert Curran and Rachel Rawlins with Senior Artist Andrew Killian performed a selection of dramatic pas de deux under a moon-lit Whitsundays sky from beloved ballets Nutcracker – The Story of Clara, Swan Lake, After the Rain © and El Tango, in front of a crowd of less than a 150 guests who also mingled with dancers and watched rehearsals over the weekend.

View the photos from the Pas de Deux in Paradise 2010 at qualia

Pas De Deux in Paradise 2011

The Australian Ballet will return to qualia in 2011 for another stunning outdoor performance in the beautiful Whitsunday’s over the weekend of 1 – 3 July. For further information and bookings contact a Luxury Specialist at luxuryspecialist@hamiltonisland.com.au, or telephone 1300 780 959.

Celebrated chef, Ben Shewry, will host the third event in Hamilton Island’s Great Barrier Feast Series over the weekend of 26 – 28 November. Born and raised in rural North Taranaki on the rugged west coast of the North Island, New Zealand, Ben currently lives on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria, close to the sea and an abundance of edible wild plants and vegetables. He harvests this natural local produce daily by hand for the menu at his restaurant, Attica, in Melbourne, which was awarded Restaurant of the year in 2008 by The Age Good Food Guide.

In January 2010, Ben Shewry became the first ever Victorian Chef to present his cuisine at Madrid Fusion in Spain and recent accolades include being awarded 2 chefs hats in The Age 2009 Good Food Guide, being listed on the (USA) To Go List awards as one of “20 places that offer the planet's most exciting dining experiences of 2009”, and receiving a 16th ranking out of the top 100 restaurants in Australia in the Australian Gourmet Traveller national restaurant awards in 2008.

The Great Barrier Feast Series consists of three exclusive chef’s table events, being held throughout 2010, promising to showcase the finest food and wine within a world class setting. The weekend in November follows the success of the July event which featured acclaimed chef Justin North, and the inaugural March event which was hosted by internationally acclaimed chef Tetsuya Wakuda. Former MasterChef presenter, Sarah Wilson, is emcee for the series and James Halliday is selecting the wines for the year’s events.

The November weekend will take place at Hamilton Island’s luxury property, qualia, and will consist of the following elements:

• A beachside welcome dinner at Pebble Beach, qualia, by the resort’s executive chef, Jane-Therese Mulry. Jane-Therese is herself an acclaimed chef and was appointed Marco Pierre White’s first female Head Chef when she was working in his London kitchens

• An Electrolux Master class, providing exclusive cooking instruction by Shewry

• A Veuve Clicquot Lunch at the Long Pavilion, qualia, offering the opportunity for guests to find out more about the chef

A showpiece dinner at qualia in which Shewry will take guests through the preparation of his culinary delights directly from the kitchen. This will be visible to guests through a live camera link-up