Food offerings garner a following

ONE foodie is on a mission to taste everything the region has to offer and she’s documenting the entire journey on Instagram.

Rosie Armstrong-Dwyer has been running the Eats Bendigo account since 2020, starting up the project soon after Bendigo was named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy.

“I personally really believe that it should happen, particularly for a regional city,” she said.

“For me, what was really important was to have an elevated sense of what food was available in Bendigo.”

Ms Armstrong-Dwyer said at the time, she noticed confusion among some people about why Bendigo had earned the title and wanted to combine her professional skills and love of food to share what was on offer locally.

“I work in social media and digital marketing so I figured I was a good starting point where I could take my own photos and explain the food well,” she said.

“For me it was very much not about rating, scoring or reviewing it, it was about showcasing what I was eating and what was available.”

She also wanted to share Bendigo’s hospitality with friends from Melbourne, who “expected it to be a country town, not a regional city”.

“When I moved up from Melbourne, people were always messaging me on my personal Instagram being like ‘oh my god where are you this weekend?’ or ‘what restaurant is that?’ and I was always like ‘it’s Bendigo’,” she said.

“People were so flabbergasted by what we had available here.”

Responses to the account and its posts have been overwhelmingly positive, according to Ms Armstrong-Dwyer, and you can follow along by searching @eatsbendigo on Instagram.