Eight tonnes of strawberries, 180,000 cones: What goes into the Ekka's famous sundaes
Showground staff have worked for months to source everything for their stall. That includes ordering nearly 200,000 ice-cream cones.
'There are about 180,000 cones, it's about eight tonnes of fresh strawberries that we've got coming in, thousands of litres of Lick Ice Cream will go into it, as well as the fresh cream that will go on top. It's a huge operation,' RNA chief executive Brendan Christou said.
Lick Ice Cream supplied an estimated 25,000 litres of strawberry ice-cream and 15,000 litres of white ice-cream – all handmade in Brisbane.
'Believe it or not, it's all handmade locally in Brisbane and production commences in early May every year. This is our 15th year of supplying to the Ekka,' Lick chief executive Simon West explained.
This will be the first year the RNA is running the food stall after the Prince Charles Hospital Foundation handed over the reins.
'It's a real logistical effort, and we've got a whole team of food and beverage staff who are doing that for us this year, and it's going to be massive,' Christou said.
While the sundae itself remained unchanged – 'the recipe is exactly the same, and it's what people have grown to love' – how it would be served would be upgraded.
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ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Ekka cattle stoush prompts calls for new blood on RNA council
A stoush over cattle competitions at the Ekka has led to calls for change on the council that organises the event. Disappointed producers say the changes, which see many cattle events completed before the gates open to the general public, have taken the heart out of Queensland's Royal Show. As some exhibitors question if they will return, others are calling for long-serving Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland (RNA) councillors to make way for new blood. But the RNA said beef events were open to the public, and a record number of exhibitors reflected the their relevance. Riverina Santa Gertrudis stud breeder Rob Sinnamon has been exhibiting at the Ekka for more than 50 years, this year winning Reserve Champion Cow. He is also a life member of the RNA, but this year he questioned the relevance of Queensland's largest agricultural show on social media. "It's becoming more and more challenging to justify the cost and expense of showing at Brisbane Royal," he said. In April, the RNA announced there would be no prime beef competition in 2025, ahead of its move to Dalby next year. Unlike stud cattle which are bought by graziers to breed from, prime cattle are bought by meatworks and feedlots for beef production. Mr Sinnamon said connecting with the supply chain was an important benefit of exhibiting. "Those commercial cattlemen would all come to the show to see their cattle judged and benchmark their performance," he said. "The local agent would say, 'Let's have a look at the stud judging, you need to buy some bulls this year'. "That was the key reason why seed stock producers such as myself would show in Brisbane." Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ekka ran for 10 days from Friday to Sunday, with school and led steer competitions starting the Monday before. After being cancelled in 2020 and again in 2021 just days before gates were to open, when the event returned it was shortened to nine days, opening on the Saturday. "Our beef week has always run the week before the show, so the cattle move in a week earlier ... stud beef cattle judging always happens at the end of that week," RNA chief executive Brendan Christou said. "When we used to run from a Thursday, we'd be open half a day, we wouldn't do a night show and then we'd run to a Saturday — those two days of stud beef were full in show." Mr Christou said the decision to condense the format was made in consultation with producers for safety reasons. He said there was restricted access available to about 1,000 members of the public on the Friday before Ekka opened. Cattle producer Bryce Camm knows what it takes to put on a major beef event, having served as the chairman of Beef Australia from 2018 to 2024. He said not having general public access to the entire cattle competition was a missed opportunity. "Promoting agriculture is a core focus of why the Ekka exists," he said. Mr Camm urged long-serving RNA councillors to consider moving on to allow fresh faces to join the committee. "I say that with the utmost respect ... a lot of good people that have served around that table and many still do," he said. "I was involved in the Future Directions Committee of the Ekka 20 years ago, and sadly, some of those people that were on the council 20 odd years ago remain there today. Mr Camm said the event was critical to connect the broader community to agriculture, a sentiment echoed by Shane McCarthy, the general president of peak farm lobby AgForce. "That they're [cattle] not there when it's open to the public is not ideal," Mr McCarthy said. "We need to sell our story to the general public, and that's one way we do it. "They get to see the animals, they get to see the judge and they get to see all that, how it's all done." RNA beef committee chair Gary Noller said almost 1,400 head of cattle were judged this year, with increases in the stud, led steer and paddock to palate competitions. "The record numbers in our beef competitions reflect the success and relevance of our competitions." But Mr McCarthy said that did not guarantee the industry would be there next year. "The agricultural shows are not just for the rides, we need the animals there. "We need to show the agricultural side to the urban public, so they get an understanding of what quality we've got."
Sydney Morning Herald
05-08-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Eight tonnes of strawberries, 180,000 cones: What goes into the Ekka's famous sundaes
As the Ekka nears, in a room somewhere at the Brisbane Showgrounds, refrigerated containers hold some incredibly valuable ingredients – the components that make up the beloved strawberry sundae. Showground staff have worked for months to source everything for their stall. That includes ordering nearly 200,000 ice-cream cones. 'There are about 180,000 cones, it's about eight tonnes of fresh strawberries that we've got coming in, thousands of litres of Lick Ice Cream will go into it, as well as the fresh cream that will go on top. It's a huge operation,' RNA chief executive Brendan Christou said. Lick Ice Cream supplied an estimated 25,000 litres of strawberry ice-cream and 15,000 litres of white ice-cream – all handmade in Brisbane. 'Believe it or not, it's all handmade locally in Brisbane and production commences in early May every year. This is our 15th year of supplying to the Ekka,' Lick chief executive Simon West explained. This will be the first year the RNA is running the food stall after the Prince Charles Hospital Foundation handed over the reins. 'It's a real logistical effort, and we've got a whole team of food and beverage staff who are doing that for us this year, and it's going to be massive,' Christou said. While the sundae itself remained unchanged – 'the recipe is exactly the same, and it's what people have grown to love' – how it would be served would be upgraded.
The Age
05-08-2025
- The Age
Eight tonnes of strawberries, 180,000 cones: What goes into the Ekka's famous sundaes
As the Ekka nears, in a room somewhere at the Brisbane Showgrounds, refrigerated containers hold some incredibly valuable ingredients – the components that make up the beloved strawberry sundae. Showground staff have worked for months to source everything for their stall. That includes ordering nearly 200,000 ice-cream cones. 'There are about 180,000 cones, it's about eight tonnes of fresh strawberries that we've got coming in, thousands of litres of Lick Ice Cream will go into it, as well as the fresh cream that will go on top. It's a huge operation,' RNA chief executive Brendan Christou said. Lick Ice Cream supplied an estimated 25,000 litres of strawberry ice-cream and 15,000 litres of white ice-cream – all handmade in Brisbane. 'Believe it or not, it's all handmade locally in Brisbane and production commences in early May every year. This is our 15th year of supplying to the Ekka,' Lick chief executive Simon West explained. This will be the first year the RNA is running the food stall after the Prince Charles Hospital Foundation handed over the reins. 'It's a real logistical effort, and we've got a whole team of food and beverage staff who are doing that for us this year, and it's going to be massive,' Christou said. While the sundae itself remained unchanged – 'the recipe is exactly the same, and it's what people have grown to love' – how it would be served would be upgraded.
