Marion Trethewey
Head Chef and Owner
The Oyster Beds, Coffin Bay
Le Cordon Bleu Master of Gastronomic Tourism
Gastronomic tourism student and restaurateur Marion Trethewey
describes herself as a ‘nomadic foodie’. She has travelled the
world pursuing hospitality work and gastronomic interests. With
her husband she owns an Angus cattle farm, an oyster farm,
and a restaurant at the beachside holiday town of Coffin Bay on
the lower Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.
She says since childhood, gastronomy has been her life.
“I grew up in a big family on a farm. We had a large orchard and
a dairy. Food was the essence of life. So studying gastronomic
tourism puts everything in place that I’ve experienced over the
years.”
Marion describes her restaurant, The Oyster Beds, as “relaxed
coastal dining inspired by travel and the good life.” Clientele –
usually caravanning tourists – select from a menu that revolves
around fresh, local and seasonal produce. The restaurant hums
to seasonal tourism trends – manic in summer, steady in autumn
and spring, and during the quiet winter months it closes.
Studying gastronomic tourism has given Marion the opportunity
to pursue her culinary passions for pleasure, not just work, and
to engage with like-minded people.
“Because I live in such an isolated place, I don’t get a lot of
opportunity to network. The course gives me an avenue to
explore and share my love of gastronomy and the culinary
world. It gives me a little link into the world that I love.”