The Delicious Produce Awards

The Delicious Produce Awards...  This year, we had the privilege to meet and collaborate with chef Paul Wilson who shared with us a community of people passionate about food.  Last night at Pier One in the Sydney Harbour Hotel, I was overcome with gratitude for the world class chefs and food industry leaders and the team at Delicious who put forward their time and effort to showcase Australian ingredients, inspiring small and sustainable producers, farmers’ markets, innovators, chefs and regions.  We feel humbled to have won the "From The Earth" category in the 2016 Produce Awards. 

It was truly an honour to be in a room with other producers who's practices inspire us and products are of such high quality.  And chefs who's passion for ingredients meets our passion at growing them.  Peter Bignell, a Tasmanian Whiskey maker, honoured for not only his product but his carbon zero distillery stated that he was a farmer, a creater (with his distillery) and an artist enjoying ice sculpting.  I left last night feeling as if I was a part of an industry of artists, us producers inspired by nature and all of her treasures and the chefs who transform ingredients bringing many culinary delights together on one plate.   In a preview of a series Delicious is creating, Shannon Bennett states, "One of things that creates conversation is what sort of story is on the plate. And the Delicious Produce awards is bringing that back."

It's Spring time and with over 10,000 seedlings in the glasshouse, every seed is a dream stretching back generations.  Each seed has parents, a cultural history, a genetic imprint of the conditions that it thrives in.  For us as vegetable producers, these stories give us clues as to how to best nurture crops in the hopes of tasting the textures and flavours that evoke a sense of place, a season, a celebration, a memory, a story.

'Marina di Chioggia' Pumpkin. This pumpkin evolved around Venice in the latter part of the 1600s. It takes its name from the fishing village of Chioggia, which became a major source of produce for Venetians once the salt marshes nearby were drained and cultivated. Sliced and grilled on the barges which deliver them, the pumpkin is simply brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with rosemary and salt and sold throughout the streets of the city. Imagine uniform clad children racing to vendors for their after school snack of this intensely flavoured seasonal delight.

Peter, myself and Paul Wilson