Rugby league player turned TV personality Jason Stevens and his wife, Bec, took in Bissy’s Cafe and Racine Restaurant yesterday for the show’s school holiday special.

The couple said they were blown away by the area’s natural beauty during their first visit to Orange.

“We don’t have any kids yet, but if we did, we’d bring them here for sure,” Mrs Stevens said.

“[The visit so far] seems indicative of Orange - it’s friendly and everyone just makes you feel at home,” Mr Stevens said.

“The clean air’s beautiful - we drive to Berry and places like that just to get a feel for country towns and we love the peace of it.

“If this was closer, we would be here more regularly.”

They also said they enjoyed seeing the produce grown close to its final destination.

“At Bissy’s, they grow the food and serve it on the plate - it’s so close to where it’s grown,” Mrs Stevens said.

Producer Susan Elliott said the episode, due to air on August 30, would focus on taking metropolitan families out into regional Australia. 

Racine Restaurant co-owner Willa Arantz said it was exciting to play host to the Channel 7 series and Orange was still developing its name as a food destination closer to the coast.

“It’s pretty widely watched,” she said of the show.

“People are starting to catch on, but they don’t realise there’s so much food here and there’s heaps of great places to eat.

“People think it’s all about wine, but there’s lots of things for families to do, as well as eating out.”