July 22, 2011

Hi there,

Just in case you needed to be told: WINTER HAS LANDED! 

Snow, sleet, winds, fog and heavy rains make this the ideal sort of weather to be tucked up inside with a warm drink – and this newsletter.  

It’s also a good time to be making plans for when the sun eventually shines again. And we have plenty of smart ideas for you this month.  

What’s more as I put together the material in this month’s letter I became more and more proud of this industry, this country and the people who work so hard to bring us some of the finest food on the planet.  

Just reading about the finalists in the ABC delicious. Produce Awards is enough to make us cheer each one of them on. I’m lucky enough to have been invited to the awards dinner and it will be an exciting time I am sure.

Then there’s the way we manage to produce crops of entirely new foods. Later in the newsletter we talk about truffles which mature in winter and are appearing around the country. WA has become the unexpected leader with these.  

But what about all the other things? Saffron, wasabi and even manuka honey in Tasmania, achacha, a Bolivian fruit, now feeling right at home in far north Queensland, capers in South Australia, and snails taking off, albeit slowly (well, they are snails, aren’t they!) in NSW.  

Apart from the new and the quirky, Australians are proving that we can raise mainstream produce to the highest standard. This country’s meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables, grains and oils have never been better.  

Enjoy this newsletter. There are two great prizes and lots to read.  

Cheers for now and (try to) stay warm

THE NEXT BIG THING IN REGIONAL FOOD

We’re talking about food trails of course. They are everywhere and are one of the smartest ways to showcase your area. As most of them are self-guided  ­– meaning all you need is a good map and instructions – or maybe a Smartphone application* (more of that later!) – they are less work than many other tourism initiatives.

Although, perhaps we should ask the busy people at Hawkesbury Harvest if that last line is true!

When we did, Alan Eagle the force behind these trails, describes it as 'hard yakka, but it's fun'.

Hawkesbury Harvest is up to Edition #7 of their Farm Gate Trail brochure now and every one is better than the last. The latest one has drawn together five regions, including the South Coast, making it the ideal companion for a long and delicious ramble around Sydney’s lush and fertile hinterland.

Pick one up from Visitor Information Centres in the area or go to www.hawkesburyharvest.com.au for interactive and downloadable maps.

Are you proud of your region’s food trail? Let us know so we can feature it on the next newsletter.

*Talking of phone applications, after cutting our teeth on our Sydney Café Culture application, we are now ready to take on the country! Well, more accurately, we’d like to talk to you if you are wondering just how an iPhone app would work for visitors to your area. A good aspect for use in rural Australia is that most applications, once downloaded, do not need to have internet connectivity to work, unlike the phone itself.

TRUFFLE TIME

Once-upon-a-time the only marketable truffles were in Europe and we wondered what all the fuss was about. Now we know.

After the first plantings in the 1990s in Tasmania, there are now many groves of oak or hazelnut trees with truffles are starting to form on their rootlets in most of the southern states. Some places have been harvesting for several years and finding increasing amounts of these nuggets of ‘black gold’. Some are being exported all over the world, and used in major restaurants here and overseas.

Truffle season in Western Australia is well advanced with reports of big harvests and new discoveries which is all just in time for the ultimate truffle celebration – the 2011 Mundaring Truffle Festival on July 30 and 31.

WA produces more black truffles than the rest of Australia combined and these culinary delights have been attracting the attention of chefs from around the world for a number of years. The Australian season runs from June to September and only the French Perigord variety - Tuber melanosporum is produced.

AROUND THE COUNTRY

If you have some news you’d like flashed around Australia on this newsletter, please send it to us OR post it up yourself. Subscribers to Premier Listings have permisison to manage news and updates on their listing. If you are not sure of your Login details This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and you will be able to manage the updates yourself.

(See how Anna Peters of Anna's Cuisina added content to her Premier Listing this week)

WHERE HAVE WE BEEN THIS MONTH

As you know ARFG tries to get out and about as much as possible to meet the people listed on this website. Sometimes it’s a market, other times it’s a road trip, but always it’s a revelation as to what people can do, how innovative they are, and how stubbornly they work against seasons, the terrain and (yes, sometimes) even their critics.

Southern Highlands and Wollongong

THIS MONTH’S  HOT PRIZES

In keeping with the weather, this month Breville has offered a Milk Café milk frother valued at $149.95, designed to deliver creamy milk for coffees in a flash. Texturing milk for multiple drinks at once can be time consuming using the steam wand of an espresso machine. The Breville Milk CaféTM (BMF600) quickly delivers up to three cups of the creamiest hot milk, allowing the home barista to concentrate on producing crema-rich espresso.

Using induction heating and a spinning method to produce tiny bubbles that form silky milk, the appliance comes with latte and cappuccino frothing disks to suit each coffee style.  Ideal for entertaining or office use, it features a dishwasher safe jug to make cleaning fuss-free. The Milk Café also doubles as a hot chocolate maker; simply add chocolate flakes to the milk for a smooth and creamy taste.  

Good luck – This is your chance to win! Simply be the first Australian resident who hasn’t won a prize yet this year on this site to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it TWO places in Australia that grow coffee (HINT: use the Australian Regional Food Guide search function to find out) AND name one other piece of coffee-making equipment made by Breville.

 ANOTHER PRIZE:

Masala Meander, from Beacon Holidays www.beaconholidays.com.au,  a company that offers Indian food tours in Melbourne has a double pass  for a city or Dandenong tour.  These 2.5 hour tours, costing $70 per person, take in vibrant Indian restaurants and markets in Melbourne’s CBD and Dandenong – better known as Little India, the cultural capital of Australia.

On each ‘meander’, guests sample the myriad flavours found in the Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as the tour host unveils the secrets of Indian spices. Guests embrace colourful Indian culture as the tour guide highlights the complexities of Indian cooking before  the group enjoys a sumptuous, three-course Indian meal and a variety of desserts at an Indian restaurant.

Just be the first Australian resident who has not yet won a prize this year from this newsletter to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it a business listed on the Australian Regional Food Guide website which either makes or serves Indian food AND tell us one other country to which Beacon Holidays takes travellers.

LAST MONTH'S WINNER

Happy winner of last newsletter’s Regal Ware 20cm (8-inch) frypan, from Regal Ware Pans and Chef and the Cook in Sydney, was Jayne Deshon from Kingaroy in southern Queensland’s lush and lovely South Burnett region. Jayne was able to tell us that this premium cookware also has a 10-inch and a 12-inch Eco Satin surfaced frypan in the range. Congratulations, Jayne.

Lisa Kawai was the other winner of the 398g tin of David Rio Tiger Spice Chai valued at $22 from www.mycoffeeshoponline.com.au who correctly told us that the five ingredients in this tea are cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger and black tea. Lisa and her partner, Phil, have an organic vegetable farm and sell their produce at Moss Vale Markets. We met Phil when we were there a week or so ago (see more of this later) and his stall bears the green logo ‘mu organically pure’. Lisa’s business (Dhimbalee Organic Produce) is a home delivery service in the Southern Highlands.

DELICIOUS AWARDS – ANNOUNCED NEXT MONDAY

Isn’t it exciting to see how far regional produce has come? Now it is mainstream and nothing underlines this more than seeing major consumer magazines putting their cred and support behind producers all over the country.

Once again ABC delicious. magazine is the home of the Produce Awards for the second year running. Since launching in 2005, the Produce Awards have established a leading position within the industry, uncovering outstanding Australian primary producers.

The ABC delicious. Produce Awards encourage, showcase and reward Australian producers, build awareness of culinary regions, and recognise fresh, seasonal food that is produced with integrity. Now in their sixth year, the positive response to the Produce Awards and the support of producers, chefs and readers reinforce the growing demand for information and quality Australian produce.

All entrants were shortlisted by a panel of Australia’s leading chefs from around the nation before being presented to the national judges. This year, judging took place over two days at Justin North’s new cooking school Quarter 21 in Westfield Sydney, where five national judges gathered to critique produce from the categories - earth, dairy, paddock and sea. In addition to the primary producers, this year has seen the introduction of a new award for artisan products, aiming at discovering specialists and providores working with local primary growers to bring quality products to consumers. The two days of judging uncovered an abundance of quality from some of Australia’s top producers.

The national judging panel comprised some of Australia’s most respected chefs including:

Matt Moran (ARIA Restaurant, NSW & QLD)
Philip Johnson (E’cco Bistro, QLD)
Cheong Liew (The Botanical, VIC)
Alla Wolf-Tasker (The Lake House, VIC)
Maggie Beer (Patron of the Produce Awards, SA)

The judging days uncovered a variety of new produce and trends, and old favourites from the finest wagyu beef and handmade cheeses to vibrant olive oils and sparkling fresh seafood.

Each year the awards acknowledge those who are committed to quality and consistency in what they grow and create, along with consumers and suppliers who promote small producers through restaurants, providores and the large and small markets nationwide.

The awards cover 12 different categories including:

• From the Paddock           
• From the Dairy
• From the Earth
• From the Sea
• Award for Heritage and Sustainability
• Best New Product
• Consistently Excellent Product

ABC delicious. magazine will announce winners and medalists on the evening of Monday, July 25, 2011.

See who the finalists are on: www.taste.com.au

Congratulations to all – and good luck.

INSPIRATION CORNER:

We are not alone in providing sensational country dining. Read this account of what one farm is doing in New York State, USA, and be thrilled by what the farmer-chef and his partner are accomplishing.

THINKING HATS ON: No prizes - just for fun.

1.  What animal provides the milk for mozzarella cheese?
2.  Peanuts are nuts? True or False
3.  Is buckwheat a strain of wheat?
4.  What is the most widely eaten fish in the world? 
5. What nation produces two thirds of the world's vanilla?