ELISSA DOHERTY, AMY TAEUBER

December 06, 2009 12:00am

ON one side are the Barossa Valley’s wine barons and gourmets – on the other, the golden arches of McDonald’s.

At stake is the image of Australia’s most famous wine and food region.

Plans by fast-food giant McDonald’s to open a restaurant in Nuriootpa have upset some of the Barossa’s most high-profile food and wine identities, including celebrity cook and food manufacturer Maggie Beer and wine legend Margaret Lehmann.

“We need to protect the culture of the valley that brings us so many tourists,” said Ms Beer, the long-time Barossa champion whose former nationally-popular TV show The Cook and the Chef was mostly filmed there. “We have to keep working on the Barossa as a gourmet destination.

“For me, McDonald’s would be like a thorn in the valley’s side. We would be seen as talking the talk, but not living the life.”

Have your say below: Is there room in the Barossa for fast food?Two rival Facebook groups also are squaring off in the food fight, with hundreds of members engaging in heated debate on the internet forum.

In its second attempt to set down roots in the historic valley, McDonald’s has its sights on land within view of Penfolds winery, on the corner of Barossa Valley Way and Railway Tce.

The McDonald’s would be part of a $4.5 million regional bulk goods centre, called Barossa Hub, with retail space and warehousing.

The battle between followers of slow food – which preserves regional cuisine – and fast food comes two years after the Barossa community was first divided over a failed plan by McDonald’s to open in Nuriootpa.

The pro-Maccas guard say they should be able to satisfy their hunger for a “Mac attack” and argue it will create jobs, cater to shift workers and save on fuel (the nearest McDonald’s is in Gawler).

Opponents argue the region’s culinary culture and heritage need to be preserved; the restaurant’s food is not sourced locally and it could harm local businesses.

Ms Lehmann, of Peter Lehmann wines, said the burger joint would just be “out of place”. “I think it’s sad,” she said.

“We have a wonderful, unique food culture but McDonald’s is exactly the same everywhere in the world; it irons out all the differences that regions produce.”

Her son Philip, a winemaker, said it would be difficult for the region’s restaurants and cafes to compete with the low prices of McDonald’s.

Ms Beer said she would “love to see a hamburger joint in the Barossa that uses local produce, proper meat from our butchers, fresh lettuce, free-range eggs from the markets, smoked bacon”.

“It’s not fast food I’m against, it’s about (supporting) using local food,” she said.

“Companies like McDonald’s bring food in from a big central repository; no local ingredients are used.”

Another person working to brand the Barossa Valley as a gourmet food region, Jan Angus, the founding chair of Food Barossa, said nearly a decade of work was threatened.

“The only way to keep that and preserve it is to continue to have that as a viable enterprise and that usually doesn’t come about through globalisation,” she said.

“What we have to look at is what is there about a McDonald’s that the community want. If they’re about clean toilets, cheap meals, parking and childcare can’t we possibly do that and keep the food local?”

Ms Beer’s daughter Elli believed there could be a compromise by locating McDonald’s on the Sturt Highway outside the town but there were other concerns with the whole development:

“They are proposing 4500sq m of retail space, the community store is planning a very similar project. The local community are almost all shareholders in that store. This could kill the store,” she said.

The rival 763-member Facebook group “Let McDonald’s come to the Barossa” wants the area to “get with the times”.

Group creator Russell Payne, 19, of Sandy Creek, said Red Rooster and Subway had not dented the area’s reputation. “In a community which is largely dominated by rotating shiftworkers, a local place that is open very early to very late would make it easier on a lot of people,” he said.

“The times are changing and the Barossa is expanding. The tourists will come and eat at the slow food places but the locals need the fast food option as these days people have to work harder and longer.”

On an online forum, contributor Kaela Peters wrote that teenagers would save fuel on late-night “Maccas runs . . . and parents wouldn’t have to be worried about their children travelling so far all the time”.

Another member, Karen Williamson, wrote: “It’s about time the Barossa got with the times. Think of all the job opportunities among other things.”

Jannette Kett even believed it could reduce car crashes: “Our kids drive to Gawler just to get it (Maccas); if it saves one accident I say bring it on, not to mention the jobs for our kids. Come on Maccas.”

Rachel LeBherz, 22, who created the 399-member “Say no to Maccas in the Barossa” Facebook group, fears her family’s business, the Barossa Roadhouse, could be forced to close if it went ahead.

“McDonalds would crush them and many other small businesses,” she said.

“People don’t realise it’s not just the takeaway stores that will suffer, it’s our local suppliers and many other connected businesses.”

Local developer Ian Mader said his plan was about offering choice. He said other sites had been considered but the development at Nuriootpa was deemed the most appropriate for McDonald’s.

“I understand that some members of the community may have reservations about McDonald’s in the Barossa and their relationship with Barossa food, however there have been a great number of people who have expressed their support,” he said.

“In the Barossa we have the choice of wineries, supermarkets, hotels, clothing stores, accommodation and various national and international franchises so why deny people a choice of the food they wish to enjoy and can afford. Clearly competition and choice is good for any community.”

Barossa Valley Council planner Paul Mickan said the project was yet to be approved. He said it was outside the site’s zoning conditions and would be subject to approval processes, including public consultation.

A spokeswoman for McDonald’s said the restaurant would create between 80 to 100 jobs, and give back to the community.

“Beyond the jobs created, a McDonald’s also creates considerable sponsorship opportunities for local sporting or other community teams, clubs and events due to our operating philosophy of giving back to the communities in which we operate, as well as our franchise model,” she said.