A journey through flavour
Step into a world of opulence and luxury aboard The Ghan for a sumptuous dinner party where the food and wine journey reflect the people and places at the heart of this unique Australian rail experience.
There’s something about luxury train travel that encapsulates old-world romanticism and opulence – where the aim is never about getting from A to B, it’s about the journey.
Essential to that rich rail adventure is the world-class food and wine experiences now offered on Australian iconic train getaways, carefully curated for each voyage. Think crisp white tablecloths, three-course gourmet meals and award-winning wines, all served as the world glides by outside your window.
In honour of this luxurious experience, SALIFE held a unique dinner party on board The Ghan, the legendary train which travels from Adelaide through the Red Centre of Australia to Darwin twice a week (in peak season from April to October).
That trip, operated by tourism group Journey Beyond, takes three days, carries 220 passengers, and serves 6000 meals per journey – that’s 5480 eggs and more than 100 kilos of bacon per week.
One of the men in charge of feeding all these hungry guests is chef Stephen Roney. When SALIFE arrives onboard The Ghan, Stephen is busy preparing today’s menu in the train’s stainless-steel kitchen, or his “dance floor” as he calls it, which measures just three by five metres.
As he chops and chats, Stephen, who has been with the company for two years, says one of his biggest lessons on The Ghan has been adjusting to cooking while travelling at high speed (the train can reach 115 kilometres per hour).
“There are times when we are jostled around the train,” says Stephen, who is being assisted in the kitchen today by chef Chirag Oberoi. “But you actually learn how to allow your shoulders and your arms to shoulder the movement and not get injured, you learn to puff out your arms a little bit, especially as you are going down the corridors, just to act as a buffer.”
An excited group of travellers is gathering on the platform for today’s special event, which begins in The Ghan’s luxurious gold premium lounge carriage. Attentive waiters pour glasses of Bollinger as guests mingle and enjoy a selection of canapes … akoya oysters with chopped chives, lemon, chilli and sesame oil, a candied beetroot nest stuffed with Woodside goat’s cheese rolled in salt bush dukkha, and parma ham-wrapped arugula, lemon ricotta, roasted capsicum and sweetened balsamic.
All train menus are created by Journey Beyond’s general manager of food and beverage, Malcolm Bendrau, and he and the on-board chefs work together to ensure that everything runs smoothly once the train leaves the station.
Chef Stephen explains why it is so important to have support at home base while the train is traversing the country.
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“We work in tandem,” he says. “So, when I’m running the train, we may get challenges and Malcolm is always there on the other end, problem solving and troubleshooting.
“For instance, maybe we didn’t get loaded the three types of cheese that we need. Then, all of a sudden, we pull into Goulburn and there’s a click and collect waiting for me. So, the intricate part of our challenges, it really is quite unique.”
As guests move from the lounge into the luxurious platinum dining carriage and take their seats at the table, Stephen comes out of the kitchen to greet his diners.
“Welcome everybody to my house,” he begins. “This is obviously The Ghan, but the reason I call it ‘my house’ is because we all really do look after it and our guests as if it’s our home.
“The way we express ourselves is through our food and wines. And not only do we have the same pride throughout all the crew, but we take you on a food and wine journey that reflects your travel.
“So, as you’re travelling up north, we use food items, such as native ingredients, so it’s indicative of where you are. Today, you’re going to be starting with a prawn appetizer sourced from the Spencer Gulf; our roasted duck breast is sourced locally from the Adelaide Hills, and our cauliflower and hummus salad is also very Adelaide Hills proud.
“Moving forward, we have selected certain food items that are probably our best, our pinnacle, that really express who we are and where we’re at. So, for example, we have a crocodile dumpling as one of our entrees. We usually serve that as we’re going up into and out of Darwin, as we do with our fragrant buffalo curry, which is my personal favourite. The barramundi is also sourced in the Northern Territory.
“So, buckle up and get ready for a food adventure.”
Two of today’s guests are seasoned train travellers. Kevin and Maureen Hamilton estimate they have done 120 trips across Australia since they began travelling together 35 years ago.
Kevin, 87, comes from a railway family in Mount Gambier and he himself worked in the industry for many years including as a porter and union representative.
“My dad was a railway man and when I was a kid, he used to take me about a half a kilometre from where we lived to watch the trains go into Victoria,” says Kevin.
The couple say they have no desire to travel overseas, instead opting for luxury train experiences around Australia.
“What we love about train travel is that from the minute you get onboard, you relax, you’re in holiday mode,” Maureen says. “Everything is taken care of and you feel like you are in a little cocoon.”
Kevin, who went on to have a career in South Australian politics as the Member for Albert Park for 14 years, says he is “a bit chatty”, and he and Maureen love socialising on the trains.
“The amount of people we’ve met on the trains is incredible, lifelong friends from across the world,” he says. “We’ve been on so many trips we know a lot of the staff by name, and I’d say we’re classified as part of the railway family now.”
Adelaide travel identity Phil Hoffmann and his wife Alison are also luxury train travel enthusiasts and were part of the inaugural Ghan trip when it launched in 2004.
“We just loved it,” says Phil, who recently announced his retirement from the industry. “It’s rated as one of the iconic rail travel trips of the world. So, it rates right up there with all the others.
“I think people are going back to that sort of nostalgia, the luxury they had in yesteryear. Certainly, we see that with the European trains, and I think you get that same thing with The Ghan, which is very successful.”
David Donald, Journey Beyond’s General Manager of Rail, explains that the food journey of luxury train travel on trips such as The Ghan, the Indian Pacific (from Perth to Sydney) and the Great Southern (through New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia) is critical to the overall experience for passengers.
“We break it down into two elements when it comes to the food; the on-train experience and the off-train food experience, and the culinary journey really reflects the regions that we travel through,” he says.
“So, travelling through South Australia you’ll be enjoying Coffin Bay oysters and travelling through Western Australia you might get the Fremantle octopus, black garlic and some of the best truffles, and in New South Wales it will be salt bush lamb, of course all paired with wines of the regions, as well.”
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David says these sorts of high-end food and wine experiences have contributed to the demand for luxury train travel in recent years. That demand has led Journey Beyond to upgrade its carriages across the fleet.
The current class of offerings are gold, gold premium, and platinum, but David explains that eventually all trains will be gold premium. Part of that upgrade includes two new luxury suites – the Aurora and the Australis – which will be on the tracks by April 2026.
“They’ll be pure luxury, with butler service, Champagne, caviar, a really up-market experience,” David says.
As guests are served their main courses – grilled saltwater barramundi, fragrant buffalo curry, and a roasted cauliflower and hummus salad, SALIFE chats with guest Rosina Di Maria who knows the finer details of these carriages better than most.
Rosina is a principal architect with Woods Bagot and has overseen the upgrades of the gold premium carriages, as well as designing every aspect of the new uber-luxe Australis and Aurora. She says the interior design choices have been inspired by the colours and tones of the outback scenery and Australia’s First Nations people.
“The design response is deeply contextual to the history and topography of Australia, referencing the lands across which the train travels and the people who live on it,” she says.
“The Gold Premium cabins are inspired by First Nations landscape artist Albert Namatjira, the interior palette responds to Namatjira’s works, from the silvers of majestic ghost gums to the red tones of the earth.
“Aboriginal prints are showcased in the upholstery, with fabric by Willie Weston – a for-purpose business, working with First Nations artists through First Nations-owned art centres. The print, Durrmu “Terra” by Kathleen Korda, details a ceremonial dot paint design, which is integrated into the banquette seating.”
The Ghan’s interior choices are meaningful but subtle, adding warmth and luxury whilst not detracting from the main event – the Australian outback framed by the train windows.
Other guests today include Stacey Chau, Journey Beyond Rail Guest Experience Manager, as well as Owen Andrews, Executive Chef at Artisan Cuisine at Seppeltsfield, and Seppeltsfield’s Andrew Young, who are both involved in the off-train experience that Indian Pacific guests enjoy. Each week the winery hosts a three-course meal for hundreds of travellers who disembark from the Indian Pacific for the special event.
As dessert is served – molten chocolate cake, a caramalised pineapple in a native lemon myrtle syrup, plus a selection of cheeses – Phil Hoffmann says one of the most appealing aspects of train travel is the opportunity to mingle and meet new people.
“It’s relaxing and it’s sociable,” he says. “You come down to the casual areas with a bar or you can have an afternoon or morning tea and people actually talk to each other.
“You can’t do that on a plane, and sometimes on the cruise ships, people are scattered over a big area, whereas a train is very defined with the carriages and the entertainment areas. So, it’s conducive to people really socialising, mixing, talking to people from other states, as well as international visitors, and I think it helps build friendships.”
As things wrap up for the day, chef Stephen takes a minute to reflect on why he loves his unique role on The Ghan.
“The scenery and the challenge,” he says. “And all the people you meet along the way. It’s very satisfying at the end of the day when you’re walking through a carriage and you get people literally giving you a round of applause. But this is all about teamwork, I can’t explain how important it is to have a really good team around me.”
Like all on-board Ghan employees, Stephen works one week on and one week off and says it’s a lifestyle he is embracing.
“I also have a very understanding partner, and she knows this work is ticking a lot of boxes for me. I just love it.”
Menu and drinks pairings
Appetiser
Spencer Gulf King Prawn served with a citrus aioli
Bollinger Special Cuvee Champagne, France
Entree
Crocodile dumpling with beach succulent, an Asian savoy cabbage salad, sesame seeds and a gochujang anise myrtle dressing
Skillogalee Estate Riesling, Clare Valley, South Australia
Roasted duck breast with parsnip puree, Kakadu plum ginger glaze and greens
Riposte The Sabre Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Twice baked Adelaide Hills cheese souffle with onion pickle and rosemary cream sauce
Levante Hill Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Main Course
Grilled saltwater barramundi with sweet potato noodles, wakame seaweed and an oriental fragrant coconut sauce
Chalk Hill Fiano, Mclaren Vale, South Australia
Fragrant buffalo curry – a mild Massaman style buffalo curry served with jasmine rice and roti bread
Black Duck Merlot, Willunga Creek, South Australia
Roasted cauliflower and hummus salad with roasted Brussels sprouts, saltbush dukkah and toasted pita
Geoff Weaver Lenswood Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Dessert
Molten chocolate cake – warmed soft centre chocolate cake with mascarpone
Seppeltsfield Para 10-year-old Tawny Port, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Caramelised pineapple in a native lemon myrtle syrup with Gelista lemon and yuzu sorbets
Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora
Cheese
Barossa Artisan Triple Cream Brie and Udder Delights Heysen Blue with fruit paste and smoked almonds
Bollinger Special Cuvee Champagne, France
This article first appeared in the September 2025 issue of SALIFE magazine.
