The Gourmet Farmers in Bendigo
- Erynn Trewartha
- Sep 23, 2015
- 2 min read
My family, fiance and I spend most of our evenings watching our favourite cooking and food shows. One of which is the show The Gourmet Farmer starring the three men above, Matthew Evans (far right), Rose O’meara (Middle) and Nick Haddow (Left). The main star of the show is Matthew Evans who owns a farm in the lowest regions of Tasmania called The Fat Pig, however in many of his episodes Ross and Nick are included in his adventures around Tasmania. These men visited my hometown for the Bendigo Writers Festival 2015 and spoke about their work and adventures as farmers and fresh food producers. They were so fascinating and inspiring to listen to. They grow, catch and produce their own food in the most sustainable way possible. Sustainable farming and fresh organic food is something that I am also passionate about.
An entire season of the Gourmet Farmer was dedicated to traveling around the oceans of Tasmania, where all three men set on a journey to learn more about the historical culinary experiences of the island’s shores, which in the modern day have been forgotten. When Evans spoke, he raised the concern that Tasmanian and/or Australians are not appreciating the bounty of fish that is provided in our oceans. He spoke about the fact that several seafood places no longer sell the fish from our own seas, but import seafood from other countries. I completely agree with this. Why are we not using our native fish and seafood that had been caught and eaten by 18th and 19th colonists and by the ancestors of the Aboriginal community? We need to support our seafood farmers!
Evans also filmed a series Whats the Catch where he traveled to different locations in Australia, questioning major Australian food companies about whether the seafood they’re providing is from our waters and caught in a sustainable way.
At the end of the meeting, he also spoke about his experience as a food writer and a former Sydney Food critic. As I am shifting into the world of art and food writing, his talk inspired me to continue even if it appears that no one is listening.
After the meeting, we got to meet all three men and personally talk about their businesses and their food. Nick owns a cheese company known as Bruny Island Cheese Company, and Ross owns Bruny Island Food. The men also spoke to us personally about setting up our own business and gave us advice to inspire us during our food journey. My mother has recently started her own business known as Piology which is based in Regional Victoria.
In the end we eventually got a photo with some of our food heroes as you can see above! Such a happy moment for a bunch of extreme foodies
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