The Bearded Cook delivers Barossa Valley on a plate

The Bearded Cook from Stockwell gets around in an 1948 Franklin caravan and delivers Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavour-based dishes at public and private events across the region.

Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, Andrew Saxon and his South Australian partner Alice, created The Bearded Cook to help deliver food lovers, culinary stories from across the region.

Born during the outbreak of COVID-19, Andrew took a bit of a winding road to end-up hanging out of a food truck window.

Across 30 years in hospitality, Andrew had a pop-up winery restaurant in NZ, a restaurant in Sydney, a stint in Melbourne with a catering company and even found himself in the city lights of London.

About 10 years ago, he decided to leave city life though and moved to Castlemaine, Vic, before heading back to New Zealand, to work as an executive chef at Hawkes Bay.

A move to SA was then put on the table and after seeing a friend's success with a food truck in NZ, Andrew decided to give it go.

But again, a few twists and turns had to happen before The Bearded Cook came to fruition.

"We 'flipped' a house in NZ and came over with some intention of doing that here, then COVID hit," Andrew said.

"We started helping out a couple in Aldinga which had opened a new restaurant. They were going to put us on a part-time contract so we could focus on looking at some houses but COVID wiped that idea out overnight.

"We were on the verge of going back to Castlemaine but then the borders closed."

So, with most of their belongings in a shipping container, a property at Stockwell came up for sale and they jumped at the chance to buy it.

"We put in an offer and that was it," Andrew said.

With his focus firmly on getting the food truck up and running, Andrew began scoping out local farmers markets and businesses to help form his culinary creations.

"When you start living in a rural area, farmers markets and local food businesses are so important," he said.

"So, we started talking to local producers about whether or not they were capable of supplying us. We began sourcing local cheese, honey, fruit and proteins."

Andrew believed local produce made a huge difference to the dishes flying out his caravan's window.

"There is nothing which can substitute using broccolini which was picked the day before - you do not get that by using a supplier from town," he said.

"It provides a story to the food, too."

Recently, Andrew has tapped into a new opportunity and begun catering for family events which use their own produce.

"A few families have wanted to use their own protein in the dishes which we serve at their celebration - it is a nice story for them," he said.

By choosing to use seasonal produce, Andrew also believed it showcased the region and its unique produce.

"I have a style but tweak the menu to what is available at that time of the year. It really showcases the best of the region and what it has to offer," he said.