Posts in produce
Fusion of Cultures

Long Paddock Cheese boasts an eclectic selection of eight cheeses, each with the richness of Australian terroir. "We've got eight cheeses at Long Paddock Cheese. Seven of them have strong French sort of accents or twists I would say and one of them has an English identity and that one is called the Granite,"

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Creativity meets cultivation

Clair's story is more than a narrative of gardening; it's a testament to the transformative power of horticulture. From a child marvelling at a neighbour’s pumpkin to a visionary reshaping perceptions of garden design, her journey illustrates the limitless potential from learning to grow. 

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We're paying tribute

Traditionally, we'd always thought of them more to cook curries, or Indian, Moroccan cuisine. They’d use spices in things we were already cooking, like spaghetti bolognese, and it was to enhance everyday cooking rather than change it.

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Something of Yourself

“I got sick of hospitality for personal reasons,” says Daniele. “My wife started doing some organic auditing and certification. She was looking into organic gardening. We found this place and we wanted to turn it into a small farm.”

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Shape With Your Hand

As customers flow in for there famous Blonde loaves, Thais explains,“My husband John Reid has always been passionate about real food; wild-ferment authentic sourdough, baking the traditional way using the old scotch oven from organic stone-ground milled flour.” But last year tragedy struck, “My husband died of cancer last year and this was always his passion.”

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Nestled in the Ranges

But for Matt, the thrill remains in the chase. “It’s something that has excited my primal hunter-gatherer brain,” explains Matt. “You're walking around in the forest, doing the job on autopilot, and I find you can really just plan and think. All the wargames in my head just play out. It’s a real luxury to have the time to just think things right through without distractions. It keeps me happy. I’m very happy in my life.”

Springmount Fine Foods was launched in 2015 with Black Garlic being their first product.

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A Burst of Flavour

Carmel recalls the burst of flavour from her first batch. “It's not what you would expect. It's like a good red wine. When you first open your mouth you're shocked at how sweet it is. Then you start getting this balsamic, tangy flavour that’s almost like licorice. And then at the end, you finish on an earthy garlic flavour. It's such a complex flavour that it triggers your brain onto lots of different tangents as you eat it.”

Springmount Fine Foods was launched in 2015 with Black Garlic being their first product.

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A Field of Purple

Although Christine grew up in the city of Salzburg, her heart had always pined for her uncle's farm in rural Austria. “I think he was my big hero. He was my big inspiration. He grew his own corn. He had his own cows. His own horses, chickens, his own pigs. My aunt had a massive veggie garden. So, they were very much self-sufficient. Ever since I was a little kid, I said ‘one day I want to be living the same way!”

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From The Soil

Spud farming can be traced as far back as the Inca in Peru, who were the first to cultivate potatoes more than 8,000 years ago. In Trentham, since the early 1900s, a fertile strip of red volcanic soil has made potato farming a mainstay of the town's economy. But potatoes are more than just a product, after rice and wheat, they're the third most important food crop in the world and one of the finest sources of starch, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.

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Shakers and Makers

Joseph Maiden was a botanist, curator and collector, most famous for his work with the eucalyptus and the acacia. Visitors to his museum were presented with 'narratives of progress' that traversed Australian botany, geology and zoology. Maiden would present a raw product and demonstrate how it could be made useful, the exhibits focused on ideas of progressive transformation.

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Regeneration Generation

For Sam White, it was a series of ‘a-ha’ moments that revolutionised not only the way he farms but how he lives his life. The first came in 2005, shortly after he’d acknowledged his passion for farming.

Sam had decided to return full time to the 850-hectare property his family has been farming in the granite hills around Sidonia for more than 150 years to work with his dad raising cattle and sheep. Sitting on the veranda of the modern rammed earth home that he built on the beautiful property with his wife Miranda and where they live with their two children Angus and Matilda, Sam explains the initial a-ha moment.

“I’d been learning about organic farming and alternative agriculture in Melbourne and I began to see that there was something that wasn’t working on the farm,” he says. “We kept having the same problems, the same diseases, the same lack of feed – some of the paddocks would be black from the sheep staying on them too long. There was just no grass left.

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Living Free

Meg Ulman zips past my car on a bicycle with her Jack Russell, Zero, in the front basket and her son, Woody (Blackwood), on the back seat. “We've been car-free for 10 years. And the first day we got Zero, he was 11 weeks old and jumped straight into the basket.”

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Master Creator

“Nature is the manifestation of divinity, for heaven’s sake,” smiles Roger McLean. He sits calm and collected. His white hair quiffed. His water-coloured gaze pulling the room apart - recalibrating something spiritual. Roger McLean is not interested in alcohol for alcohol’s sake. In the Middle Ages, medicinal practices were referred to as natural magic - Herbal Lore distillery evokes that diminished practice.

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Produce of Love

Terrines, rillettes and pates are the holy trinity to any occasion that celebrates conversation and clinking coupes. For Cameron and Murvet McKenzie, the duo behind local small-goods favourite Max and Delilah, the essence of these rustic dishes is simple—for people to enjoy each other's company. For centuries, food has catered to that bond. 

Murvet waltzes in, glowing with enthusiasm. We meet at Wine By The Country, the testing grounds for Max and Delilah. “Cameron was dead set against food names for the company,” smiles Murvet, “Max and Delilah are our two cats. Delilah passed away two years ago but Max is still kicking around.”

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