Cloncurry Discovery Holiday Parks will serve its 3000^th meal in November at the Cloncurry State School senior formal. 

Manager Hamish Griffin said the catering aspect was considered its own division since employees catered their first event in June. 

He saw there was a business opportunity in town and so he took it. 

“I just saw a need in the community,” he said. 

“It seemed every time at a function a company was coming out of Townsville.” 

The “division” escalated from the first event, which was the Cattlemen’s Dinner, during which they served the then Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey who was in attendance for the third year in a row. 

The special political guest was not the nerve-wracking part for the Discovery Park employees. 

It was making sure the beef was cooked perfectly for local cattle producers.

“The pressure really was that we were feeding them local produce,” Mr Griffin said. 

“We were serving local beef producers local Wagyu rib fillet steak at $50 a kilo, really top quality beef. 

“Failure was not an option - we could not really stuff it up.” 

The trick to cooking the steak was through “respecting” it, Mr Griffin said.

“Keeping it mostly seasoned, giving it good heat and resting it; it’s a really high quality product,” he said. 

Recently on a visit to London he noticed the same type of steak selling for 250 pounds (A$365) a kilogram. It showed how much “an honour” it was being able to cook with good quality ingredients in Cloncurry. 

Within four months the accommodation park has catered for the ICPA and mining conferences. 

It will cater for a wedding, the high school formal, the Dr Harvey Sutton doctor and nurses’ reunion and several Christmas parties. 

And within that time the staff have served three federal ministers including Mr Hockey. 

Last Thursday night at the Cloncurry Community Precinct they served Health Minister Sussan Ley and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister, James McGrath.