April 14, 2011

Hi there,

It’s amazing how times change. When many of us were young the only nets we knew about were hairnets and fishing nets. Now we spend much of our working days on the internet through which we network.

Once-upon-a-time women chatted over the back fence after they had hung out the washing. Now we’re just as sociable but we’re encouraged to do it on Social Media which is more likely to be abbreviated to SM.

Even that’s not simple. There’s Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as forums, chat rooms, comments on websites, and more new ones coming by the day.

Oh, and then there are the newsletters which jostle for our attention!

Let’s hope the ARFG newsletter is one you look forward to receiving – but please don’t put it away to ‘read later’. Those smart early-birds win the prizes we offer each month.

Please send us things to include and help us share the news of country Australia. We have our Australian Regional Food Guides who are very helpful in updating us on their regions, but really every one of you can  be one!

Tell us about the brand new exciting places, products and food trails – but also tell us when entries should be removed. We don‘t want to mislead travellers and have old information on the site, but it is so hard to know when something closes.

April is a busy month with Easter and Anzac Day and lots of work for everyone catching up after what has been a fairly chaotic summer.

Let’s hope it’s lovely autumn weather where you are and please enjoy this newsletter,

INTERESTED IN BUILDING YOUR OWN APP?

LAST MONTH we mentioned our Cafes app. It is going well and the experience is very exciting. We have added a companion blog to it (http://sydneycafeculture.blogspot.com) and you can search for Sydney Café Culture app on the iTunes App Store. It costs $3.99 and you can see some samples online for free.

After we mentioned this last month we had several enquiries about how people can go prepare apps for their own regions. We are still keen to talk to representatives of regions, regional centres, food trails, or peak industry bodies. We’d be delighted to tailor an app for anyone to suit a wide range of needs.

We can work on providing the content and editorial – and of course use Gordon’s stunning photographs - and arrange publication through an app publisher

SO, if your region, town, or industry is looking for a classy way to promote itself – one that is right at the cutting edge of communication technology, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

SOMEONE NEW AT ARFG

By now most of you know that Gordon and I work on the website and all to do with it, but there is so much going on we needed some help. Tanya Cone who is studying at Southern Cross University has kindly agreed to join us for a short time as an intern.

She is working hard on tidying up some of the listings and doing general ‘back-end’ duties. If that sounds unglamorous, we’re sorry, Tanya! She is actually performing vital tasks and we are very grateful to her for all she is doing.

WINNERS LAST MONTH:

One of March’s prizes was a lovely box of achacha, a new fruit in Australia, donated by Helen Hill (www.achacha.com.au). This fascinating fruit from South America has only recently been introduced into this country.

By now the winner, Margaret Ertner from Umina Beach has probably finished all the lovely fruit in this generous prize. She was able to correctly tell us that the fruit comes from Bolivia and that it is grown at Palm Creek Plantation, North Queensland.

Then we had free Premier Listing winners from South Australia - Illalangi in the Riverland area, and Bairnsdale Gourmet Deli, Victoria. They were quick off the mark to tell us the number of listings in their own state.

THIS MONTH'S PRIZES

THIS MONTH we have another very special prize. Gourmet Rabbit has just released its second issue and the editor and creator, Denéa Buckingham, has kindly offered us a copy for a prize.

The first issue was hugely popular, sold widely, and after the clamour for more, more, more, now the follow-up is in the shops.

Subtitled ‘the best knows no borders’, its categories just make you want to dig in and read: Exploring, Creating, Foraging, Sipping, Discovering and Munching. Better still it firmly focuses on regional areas. Orange features in this issue, and sourdough, beer and sake is demystified, and there are chef profiles, recipes, and food blogging.

Gourmet Rabbit #2 (www.gourmetrabbit.com) sells for $16.95 but to WIN A COPY just go to the website and find out what the Gourmet Rabbit Twitter address is. If you live in Australia, be the first to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to win this prize.

FREE PREMIER LISTING PRIZE FOR NSW, WA, QLD TAS?

The offer is still there. Be the first from your state to tell us how many listings are on the Australian Regional Food Guide site for your state and you too will receive a FREE Premier Listing. BUT BE QUICK.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your answer

COMMUNITY GARDENS

Just the other day I spoke on the phone to Kate Spencer who has re-established the community garden in Penola on the Limestone Coast of South Australia.

Located behind the historic Sharam Cottages, in what would have been their horse paddock, it is equipped with help-yourself bags, string, scissors – and an Honesty Box.

“People just love it,” she says. “I have baskets of fruit and vegetables there, and much of it is organic. We sell to local restaurants and supermarkets too.”

All this is a lead-up to asking: Are there other such gardens around the country? Who tends them? What do they grow? How are they used?

Please tell us. They should be on our site too.

SOMETHING SIMILAR

Not everything grows in the country. Perth has a city farm and Sydney is hoping theirs can succeed too.

The Sydney City Farm (www.sydneycityfarm.org) vision is to create a green sanctuary to showcase an eco-friendly future in the heart of Sydney, a place where we can come together as a community to grow organic food, learn about the latest in water-saving techniques, climate-friendly renewable technologies, and more.

It will be a vibrant centre of learning and community participation for children and adults. Sydney City Farm will be an example of best practice eco design modelled on other city farm projects around the world.

It is a not-for-profit group of dedicated volunteers whose purpose is to generate support for the realisation of this vision in Sydney.

We need to get a list going of other ones too.