Category: buy local

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Not Quite A Feeding Frenzy!

 

With all the issues we’ve been dealing with this year, a good distraction for me has been throwing myself into the activity I love most of all: feeding people!

I only became aware of the breakfast program, run at the Fremantle PCYC in Hilton, when I heard it was being cancelled in one week’s time! Turns out the PCYC had only secured limited funding and it had run out.

When I managed to get there on its last day, I did think it could have been done more modestly, thus extending the time it could have been run. Most of the children went to our local public school, Hilton Primary School, and I had been closely involved with the school P. and C. when my own child attended.

So I popped into the school for a quick chat with School Principal Dr Carmel Bochenek and Deputy Principal Daren Yhap. What they have done with that school is amazing; from the beautiful yarning circle to their zero waste policy this is a school of, and for, our local community.

Unsurprisingly, they were more than happy to see a breakfast club at the school. Yikes, now I had to make it happen! Of course, Foodbank are the obvious choice: they provide food for a number of schools, as do many other charitable groups. Sadly, this help is needed more and more.

But Portcare (https://www.portcare.com.au/home) was recommended to me. They’re in the neighbourhood and they have been providing us with bread, milk, eggs, honey, margarine, cereal, jam and other staples.

It’s a real community project. We have parents dropping in fresh eggs from time to time, which are gratefully accepted; the school chaplain (Mrs Hsieh Hsien (Shen) Lim) provides us, and the school, with a generous box of fruit and veg each week; and more recently they topped up our cereal supplies.

Local Real Estate Agent Lauri Curtain has helped us financially, to purchase what we cannot get donated (https://www.curtainandco.com.au/). Charlie’s Coffee Shop on South Street has been providing cheese.

The community development folks at Fremantle Council have provided us with a jumbo jet of a toaster and an electric frypan, and with another pan provided by the school we have two for faster service on our pancake days. Yes, Anchor Foods (https://www.anchorfoods.com.au/) have also donated some of their shake and bake mixes (well, the kids do love them!). We’ve even had an amazing crêpe morning, all provided by a mystery French chef. Sadly, he has left the country!

So twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we provide the children with a very basic breakfast of a choice of cereals and toast, jam, honey, vegemite, boiled eggs, cheese or baked beans, depends on what we have. We’ve just received a sandwich press, so toasted cheese sandwiches this week!

We offer a sustaining breakfast and a positive social experience for the children. We encourage all families to bring their children, regardless of their situation. There’s a teacher on site at all times, but the noise level is still sometimes quite impressive. We arrive at 7.30am for an 8am start, hence the simple offerings, and we’re generally cleaned up and out by nine.

Maureen Maher (my co-convenor with the Hilton Precinct group) has been organising the roster for us, but we are looking for a replacement as she has other commitments. Mary Barton is our absolute rock, coming in both days each week. Volunteers are local community members, as well as parents of course.

A police clearance and working with children certificate are needed, unless you have a child at the school, but they are easily arranged through the post office. Yes, we are always looking for more volunteers because things go well with three and even better with four!

If you would like to join us, there’s always next year! Please drop an email to hiltonprecinct@gmail.com

 

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My latest review – cheers Freo Herald!

A THAI TREAT

 · by  · in Dining Guide. ·

WE are really blessed here in WA. 

My good friend Bondy (not related to Alan but James was her dad!) visited from Darwin recently. Wow, a visitor. 

First stop was David Thompson’s renowned Long Chim, situated in the State Building on the corner of St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street.

Bondy lived on Phuket for 10 years so it’s safe to say she knows her Thai food. 

Visiting her there years ago turned into a three-week moving feast, a revelation. 

So much has changed since since then, as Thai seems to have become our national cuisine.

We started our evening with a drink on the deck of Wildflower, the feather in the cap of the magnificent State Building, taking in the sweeping views of our city and river. A great start to the evening. 

We kept getting lost in the labyrinthine building but fortunately there seemed to be no shortage of tall, dark, handsome men in expensive looking suits ready to show us the way.

Long Chim is crowded with young, hipster folks enjoying animated conversation. 

The room was awash with bearded blokes and women with false eyelashes. 

Thai food is usually beautifully presented, but Long Chim takes it to another level. 

Our tiny table was a bit of a concern, but by the time our mains had arrived the folks at the next table had gone and the waiter joined it with ours. 

As far as comfort, prompt service and arrival of food, they had it covered. Very gracious, very Thai. So, what did we eat? Not a huge choice of entrees so we ordered the vegetarian spring rolls ($14). 

They were suitably crisp with a delicious moist filling. We would have tried the prawns but we were helpfully informed they were small prawns. 

We even had a senior moment when we asked where our prawn entrée was and had to be reminded (so sweetly) that we hadn’t ordered one. 

We went to town on mains, starting with the beautifully displayed half roast duck with choy sum, pickled ginger and Tanongsak’s excellent sauce ($45). 

Tanongsak is Thompson’s life and business partner. His sauce was excellent and the duck was sensational: tender, served on a bed of crunchy choy sum. A delight to the eye and the palate; a meal in itself. We also ordered the deep fried-fish with three-flavoured sauce ($40).

I’m not going to say I recognised three flavours in the sauce but I did enjoy its intensity – we’re sure we got tamarind. 

But here our opinions diverged slightly. We were expecting a whole fish as experienced in Thailand but Long Chim had cut it into large pieces individually fried. 

Probably just as well as their dim lighting might not have leant itself to dissecting a whole fish. Bondy was not as happy about this. 

The fish was perfectly cooked though – crunchy on the outside, encasing tender sweet flesh and another complex but restrained sauce. 

We could probably have done without a separate vegetable dish but we couldn’t resist the Siamese watercress (S14). It grows so prolifically in Thailand and provides just the right crunch. We were glad we did.

You’d be right in wondering where we put all this food – in a cheerfully provided doggie bag of course.

We just couldn’t leave without sharing a dessert. I’m a sucker for anything pandan flavoured (pandan pudding $16) but Bondy was keen to try the banana roti ($18) – an old favourite of hers. 

These are made with ladies finger bananas in Thailand, but we were served Cavendish bananas. 

When Bondy commented on this to our waiter, we were told they’re not easy to get here. I did smile to myself seeing them at my local IGA the next day.

Long Chim
State Building
Corner St Georges Terrace and Barrack Street

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A Taste of…

Watching TV is so last century but as with many of my contemporaries, I like to watch the (big) box, free-to-air, no-frills. Yes, very last century. And as was the case last century the pickings have just gotten very lean as we slide into Xmas and the dreaded non-ratings season.

I’m a bit happy that the ABC is repeating selected food-themed Landline episodes on Fridays at 8, repeated on Sunday and readily available on I-View. http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/taste-of-landline/RA1502Q001S00

Last Friday’s stories included one of pastured eggs. These need not, of course, be organic but they are as free as free–range can be. I first became aware of this way of producing eggs from Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqbOU07ZI2k

Pastured eggs aren’t necessarily going to be organic, but the chickens live like chickens. Their mobile cages men that the chooks get a varied diet while fertilising various fields.

Pastured eggs straight from the farm are becoming more readily available. Freo folks can buy their pastured eggs from the good folks at Nibali Stockfeed.

http://www.nibalistockfeed.com.au/

Another story Landline ran was about experiments to include omega 3 into feed for lambs in an attempt to improve the health outcomes of meat eaters. I’m thinking eat more fish, but then we know there just isn’t enough fish for all of us. Which will bring us back to the question of where will that Omega 3 come from. Feeding ourselves, who said it was easy?

Next week’s taste of landline will feature stories on cattlewomen, that’s right women and the mighty Murray cod. I’m keen to earn more about this prized fish I may never eat.

Watching TV is so last century but as with many of my contemporaries, I like to watch the (big) box, free-to-air, no-frills. Yes, very last century. And as was the case last century the pickings have just gotten very lean as we slide into Xmas and the dreaded non-ratings season.

I’m a bit happy that the ABC is repeating selected food-themed Landline episodes on Fridays at 8, repeated on Sunday and readily available on I-View.

http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/taste-of-landline/RA1502Q001S00

Last Friday’s stories included one of pastured eggs. These need not, of course, be organic but they are as free as free–range can be. I first became aware of this way of producing eggs from Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm. If you’ve never watched Food Inc, please do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqbOU07ZI2k

Pastured eggs aren’t necessarily going to be organic, but the chickens live like chickens. Their mobile cages men that the chooks get a varied, fresh and wholesome diet while fertilising various fields.

Pastured eggs straight from the farm are becoming more readily available. Freo folks can buy pastured eggs from the good folks at Nibali Stockfeed.

Another story Landline ran was about experiments to include omega 3 into feed for lambs in an attempt to improve the health outcomes of meat eaters. I’m thinking eat more fish, but then we know there just isn’t enough fish for the world. Which will bring us back to the question of where will that Omega 3 come from. Feeding ourselves, who said it was easy?

Next week’s taste of landline will feature stories on cattlewomen, that’s right women and the mighty Murray cod. I’m keen to earn more about this prized fish I may never eat.

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Kazoom!

I’m really enjoying Perth’s sunny autumn weather, there’s no better time for alfresco breakfast and no shortage of great choices but Kazoomies at the E-Shed certainly puts paid to that old chestnut about good food OR good view but never the twain!

Nimrod Khazoom http://nimrodkazoom.com/kazoomies/ is well known to Freoites (the Sandcastle, Fremantle Arts Centre café), but I first tried his North African cuisine at a work event he catered last year, a glorious vegetarian feast.

I’m a big fan of baba ganouj but Nimrod’s beetroot dip blew that out of the water.

So, armed with this knowledge we recently enjoyed his sensational breakfast menu. Tunisian domestic goddess Anne-Marie Medcalf reckons he makes the best shakshouka in town.

Felafel afficiando Gaby Slade has endorsed the felafel.

And you can have it all:

Smartfoodmama just loves it all.

Nimrod’s menu is available for breakfast, lunch and dinner and goes way beyond shakshuka and felafel.

Nimrod has been getting a lot of coverage lately – check  https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g285726-d8842937-r371018092-Kazoomies-Fremantle_Greater_Perth_Western_Australia.html#review371018092

for flasher pics than mine!

The only dilemma I can see for Nimrod is dividing himself between kitchen and customers – the man was born to schmooze. Love your work Nimrod Kazoom!

E Shed Markets

Peter Hughes Dr, Fremantle WA 6160

Booking:0401 839 058

nimrodis@hotmail.com

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Which comes first, the chicken or the worker?

So here’s the issue. I love eating chicken, but I can’t say I love chickens – they’re scary little beady-eyed peckers. Yes, I’m a city girl if ever there was one, but I wish them no harm, after all they produce that most sacred of foods: the egg. I’d best not start on the egg or I won’t stop.

Vegans, look away now! I love eating poultry in preference to the meat of larger animals, but I still want to know that, however short the lives of animals I eat, they do not suffer unnecessarily. Live sheep exports are particularly abhorrent. I buy hideously expensive organic eggs, because I want to know that my potential chicken in a shell is the product of a parent who was well-fed and cared for: free-range. Besides they’re huge and frequently double yolked:

Okay I broke one!

I won’t go near Steggles and am ashamed of the days, (many years ago) when I bought a pack of their discount pieces. I stupidly wondered why these pieces were so misshapen. Many years have passed since then, now I do know that they were deformed due to their cramped conditions. Free-range certification is a nightmare and consumers are rightly confused about the real living conditions of the chooks. Buying certified organic means you can be assured that the facility is monitored to ensure they do have reasonable access to the great outdoors.

Here in WA buying free-range chicken means buying Mt Barker, by and large. They don’t look so flash. Then one glorious day I saw this in my supermarket fridge:

It looked like a proper plump chook. It cooked a treat, none of that slimy stuff you find on supermarket chooks. I thought I’d hit the jackpot. The massive 1.964 chook pictured cost just $11.64. I wondered how this was possible and then I bought it anyway.

So there I was happily roasting these fab chooks – 3 days of good eating per chook (hey, I’m a Jewish mother – roast chicken means there will be soup) Now fast-forward to May 4 and the Four Corners  expose on the exploitation of workers right here in glorious Oz.

The program concerned food companies that force unreasonable schedules and pay unfair rates and who should get a mention, amongst others, but Lilydale . I was angry. I was horrified. I was confused. Here I am buying these chickens because they treat the animals reasonably, but not so the poor buggers employed to process them.

Cheap food and the quest to keep it cheap, is wreaking havoc on our farm sector. I would happily pay an extra $3 per kilo for these chickens. Perhaps your everyday chicken lover might not, but shouldn’t the selling point of a free-range chicken be its provenance not its price?

If this reads like latte-luvvy thinking, that I’m an urban elitist let me be clear. I’m a casually employed academic on a low income. Food is expensive but most of don’t even spend 20% of our income on our food, including take-away, while our grandparents spent more like 30%. My students complain about the high price of food whilst frantically checking for messages on brand new I-phones.

We hesitate to spend $15 on a free-range chicken, which can actually feed a family of four (and soup the next day). Meanwhile a Red Rooster “dinner” for four will cost $20. For this you will get an inferior chicken, copious chicken salt, soggy chips by the time you get them home and a great deal of grease. We readily fork out $20 to see a movie, never mind the popcorn. Our priorities are so skewed. I say us because last week I bought another Lilydale chicken.

So here’s my problem, which comes first the chicken or the worker?

I picked the chicken didn’t I?

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A Very Australian Story

If you missed last week’s Australian Story,

http://www.abc.net.au/austory/ then catch up on i-view before The Seeds of Wrath, concludes with part 2 tomorrow night. Catch part 1 on I-view regardless of your view of the issue.

Most of us are familiar with the story of Steve Marsh losing his organic certification because of his neighbour’s GM canola crop blowing onto his land. This poignant and dramatic event has seen the end of old friendships and split the town of Kojonup.

Marsh is appealing the loss of his court case:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-19/gm-canola-farmer-may-have-to-pay-court-costs-after-loss/5757218

Part 1 heard Marsh state something conservatives refuse to hear: ‘there’s money in them thar organics’. Marsh received a higher price for his organic grains yet we still hear organic farming referred to as though it is some hippy indulgence.

Northern Europe is clamouring for organic produce and products, we have a pristine environment, yet my local organic shop is full of imported products. We have high unemployment and relatively little locally produced value added organic foods available. No prizes for guessing my view on GM trials in WA – watch Australian story and decide for yourself.

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Berry Angry

The contaminated Nanna’s berry outrage is making me want to tear my hair out. Finally we may see clarification of those confusing country of origin disclosures. How long have the Australian Food and Grocery Association and the big 2 wholesalers been getting away with this? By that I mean squeezing Australian farmers out of business in favour of overseas produce.

Berries from China? Really? And let the mug punters think “Nanna” is an Aussie Nana. This isn’t jingoism or Luddite thinking…we are experiencing global food shortages, shouldn’t we in this wide, brown land be focused on feeding ourselves and providing an excess for our neighbours?

If you’re on a low income then of course choosing between local and imported foods will come down to a question of price, but Australian consumers have every right to expect these products to be safe and ethically produced. What do I mean by ethically produced? The minimum standard would have to be, not produced by slave labour. That is another issue.

We know that, unlike so many smaller purveyors, the big 2 supermarkets’ focus is providing products at a competitive price. The quest for cheap food has lead to the demise of many of our primary industries. I don’t have to tell you that, or that is has also led to our increased dependence on processed food and resultant poor health outcomes.

Then there are food miles, how do we ignore the energy used to import foods? Even the most ethical of eaters struggle with this. From Vodka to Lindt chocolate, who am I to point a finger? If only I could find Australian pickled cucumbers almost as good as the Israelis make I’d buy them, but Israel and Poland seem to have that market covered. And apart from the odd desperate American pomegranate in winter &endash; and I stress the desperate as I’m usually not pleased with the results, I buy only local fruit, veg, and certainly seafood.

Which is why I particularly loved this cartoon.

http://www.skinnytwinkie.com/2013/10/i-only-use-local-children/

But apart from the food miles and other ethical concerns I am mostly concerned with, dare I say it? Common sense arguments. And sensible they are:

Shouldn’t we all feed ourselves?

Shouldn’t a big country like ours want to feed its population?

Well, with discussions of coal mining in the Hunter Valley, it would seem that the answer from government seems to be “no”. Somehow free trade is the answer to all our prayers. So dear old “Nanna” says FU to the berry farmers of Tassie and elsewhere and now we have pre-schoolers possibly infected with hep A from their smoothies.

The PM expresses concern but he says: “ more red tape and regulation of the private sector could lead to soaring food costs…’We want safe products but we want safe products at a fair price. Some price is worth paying, but it’s got to be a careful balancing act.’”

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/02/18/school-kids-caught-hepatitis-berry-scare

Yes it’s a balancing act, and what we need to balance is the right of all Australians to clean healthy food, the rights of farmers to earn a living and the right to food security for future generations.

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It’s All Over Now

Do read this, at least some of it:

http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2014/august/1406815200/malcolm-knox/supermarket-monsters

Monsters indeed. This is why I put up with my local IGA supermarket. They don’t have a couple of products I like to use but I put up with that because it is owner -operated. I get help if I can’t find what I need, sometimes from people over the age of 16. I don’t wait for ages in the queue because they open an extra checkout when customers are lining up.

I buy my vegetables and fruit from the vegetable shop, the owner Tran grows much of it on his own farm and sells produce from neighbouring farms. Hell, I even go to the butcher for meat and have my favourite bakery. But that’s because I’m a latte slurping inner city, devil-worshipping, chardonnay swilling.. you know how it goes.

Don’t wait until Coles and Woollies take over the world before you ask what happened to all those great little shops you used to shop at, except that you didn’t, and now they aren’t here anymore.

These folks have ground our farmers into their own dirt, stuffed their shelves with processed foods that make us ill and cheap imports they promote over local brands. So while I am at it, a pox on both your houses Heston and Jamie. As the Rolling Stones once almost stated so well: “ I used to love you but it’s all over now”.

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Feeding People

This week our Food For Thought lectures dealt with food choice and sustainability. It’s all about the competing messages from slow food exponents and fast food purveyors. It’s easy to tell from some student’s body language that we don’t tell them what they want to hear, as though we will tell them it’s good to eat a highly processed, high fat, high salt, high sugar diet.

If Slow Food and fast food are in competition, it’s a David vs Goliath struggle. Slow food began in Italy in 1986 to resist the opening of a MacDonald’s outlet near the iconic Spanish Steps in Rome. Slow Food want to help preserve traditional farming and cookery practices and to keep people alive to the wonder and joy of fresh food. (tomato pic)

I’d like to think I’m what Michael Pollan calls a “conscientious omnivore”. That is someone who eats a broad range of foods, including meat, but who tries to do so in an ethical fashion. So we know that red meat is not “sustainable” for a number of reasons including the methane emissions of cows, the amount of grain needed to feed those cows, land clearances and on it goes. Industrial farming, feedlots and caged chickens aren’t seen to be sustainable or ethical, so sustainability and ethics are inextricably linked.

In my second lecture I look at so-called alternative methods – including biodynamics. I offer Cullen winery as an example – to show them that organic, and indeed biodynamic farming (think moon charts and soil preparation) is not as left of centre as they may think. And so this morning I find an article in the West Australian that Cullen Diana Madeleine 2011 cabernet has been judged the WA wine of the year.

Some students glaze over as soon as we discuss these concepts – or indeed the idea that we all need to think about what we eat, what we waste and how we can better feed ourselves and the world.

Most of our students enjoy the material we present and try to improve their own eating. In truth we can all make changes that will bring us better health and improve the world’s situation. Not wasting food is top priority. Sure that rotting lettuce in the back of the fridge can’t be packed up and sent to Sudan, but many students refuse to accept that their behaviour may have consequences at all. We argue that if the developed world wasted less food there would theoretically be more food available – to donate, to sell, to distribute. If you don’t believe food waste is a problem, watch Supervalue: A look at food miles and food waste.

We can and do have an impact on global food production every time we go to the till. This month saw Jamie Oliver becoming the new face of Woolworth’s: they get the Jamie razzle-dazzle, he gets to see more sustainable and humane food supplies from a major food supplier.

Are Woolies doing this because of their ethical concerns? Of course not. They have found an excellent way to build on their “Fresh Food People” branding by becoming the sustainable food people, at least in their advertising. They are responding to public sentiment. The case of free-range eggs and indeed chickens is an excellent example. When I first began buying free range eggs about 10 years ago, they were twice the price of cage eggs. Now the difference is far less because the demand has increased. There’s money in those happy chooks, just as there is in organic produce.

It’s important that we realise that we do have choices and our food dollars have power. There are a number of ways that you, yes you, can be a more conscientious omnivore.

Avoid or cut down on processed food, redolent with salt, fat, sugar or fructose in the form of corn syrup. Refined grains like white flour and white sugar give you a quick energy hit followed by a big drop. They also make you fat.

Generally eat locally sourced produce in preference to imported – less fuel is used to get it to you, you support your local farmers and in the case of fruit and vegetables it should be fresher. That means eating seasonally and nature provides well for us in this regard. After all, why do we get abundant oranges, mandarins and lemons in winter…?

Cook from scratch whenever you can: Michael Pollan says almost anything you cook for your self will be more nutritious than fast food, packaged and processed convenience foods. I say that the exception might be Elvis-style deep fried peanut butter and jam sandwiches.

Grow something to eat – anything! One of the principles of permaculture gardening is that you should always obtain a yield.  Community gardens are appearing all over as are school kitchen gardens. I may be the world’s worst gardener, but a major breakthrough for me was realising you had to water regularly. I have a veggie garden thanks to my green thumbed ex. Insects continue to thwart me, as does lack of time and energy, but the mandarin tree I transplanted when we moved is thriving. The miserable mulberry tree that my mother potted from a sprout from the original years ago has followed us to the new house. Replanted it’s now almost thriving, but my proudest effort is the blueberry – now in its third year it is producing whole handfuls of sweet berries at a time with my first crop being a single handful. If you have a small garden you can grow in pots as our students do for their “home garden” assignment. Or you can just grow some fresh herbs on your window sill. If you have a lemon tree why not put a big box full on the verge with a help yourself sign as some kind folks in my street have done? Take these ideas a little further and anything can happen. Do take  the time to listen to the remarkable Pam Warhurst: How we can eat our landscapes

No-one needs to be a martyr to the cause of culinary correctness. But we can and should eat better, we can all contribute to feeding the world.

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Down South

You know you are a foodista when your 18 year old leans across the table and solicitously tells you:

“ Don’t worry Mum, one day we’ll eat the degustation menu at the Fat Duck”. My heart swells with pride. My child was never fodder for Masterchef Kids; she cannot make a soufflé and I’m not sure she has ever eaten one. But when asked whether she’d like a few days of feasting in Margaret River with Mum, to my shock she leapt at the chance.

So here are the highlights of our week in Margaret River – no weigh-ins permitted.

Margaret River is glorious in summer, and pretty damn fine in winter, think log fires, fine wine. We stayed at Margaret’s Beach Resort at Gnarabup (The “G” is silent, as they say!)

www.margaretsbeachresort.com.au/‎

I’m not sure what constitutes a resort, Ketut serving cocktails? Not here though the cocktails on offer did keep the 18 year-old happy. Certainly MBR was fine (no breakfast service) but too cold for the spa and pool anyway.

But the view!

What can beat watching the sun set into the ocean? No need to speak of sunrise, I am not a morning person.

Day one saw us visit the cheekily named Knee Deep winery with restaurant for their degustation menu.

kneedeepwines.com.au/‎

My 18 year old’s first ever “dego”. Did I say I was a foodista? Surely I should have introduced her to the joys of “sand” and foams by the age of five. Surely by 10 she should have mastered confit? We left ourselves entirely in the chef’s hands – not something this particular control freak is known for. So we kicked off with a sous-vide egg with shaved truffle.

I haven’t made up my mind about sous-vide though I’d best hurry as this cooking technique is probably reaching its use-by date that, is if we consider food as fashion. And don’t we?

Next we were served Bunny two ways.

(Why does that sound so rude?) I greedily chomped a mouthful of the rolled loin only to find I’d also eaten the bunny’s liver. Shameful me, not an offal fan, moment of drama till I swallowed it, knowing an offal enthusiast would be purring. By this time a waitress had appeared, registered shock and whipped our plates away. How did she know I don’t much care for offal? She didn’t. Apparently the rolled loin still had its plastic round it so we were then represented with this dish I wasn’t so keen on. But things happen and I feel mean mentioning it.

So mortified were they we got a complementary course – 3 fat scallops with Jerusalem artichoke and truffle.

Followed by a perfectly cooked serving of Barramundi and a pea puree.

This was elegant, simple presentation of fine produce, seriously good, possibly my favourite course. Of course by now we were less than peckish.

But when the warm imported brie arrived with gorgeous bread I was left to battle alone. I struggled and would have it found it easier to consume with crackers – a second negative thought – why am I eating French cheese in dairy country? Margaret River is known for its use of locally sourced produce.

A palate cleansing sorbet is delightful and then dessert – described as a panna cotta it is more dense than I would have expected and for me, too large a serving after such a meal. My young companion disagreed and wolfed hers, but then she didn’t eat the brie did she?

Day 2 thankfully we have no lunch booking. So buoyed with a serious breakfast in town, Zenna has now eaten her first Croque Monsieur (toasted ham and gruyere or béchamel sandwich), – it won’t be her last, then we head for the aptly named Gabriel chocolate. And really this is chocolate to make an archangel sin.

www.gabrielchocolate.com.au/‎

Their chocolate is made from single sourced beans, fair trade produce. I am still working my way through my selection. Zenna is hoarding her last hot chocolate mixer.

Just heat the milk and melt the chocolate, yup, that’s hot choc! Rocky Road to die for and the chocolate brownies we devoured for super? I’m grateful Gabriel is so far from my home, though their chocolate can be bought at The Boatshed http://www.boatshedmarket.com.au/

The Venison Shop is a carnivore’s oasis as you can see from their board:

www.mrvenison.com/‎

I like to think of myself as a conscientious omnivore – seeing deer wandering through fields is reassuring. We returned home with some “low fat” venison snags. Low fat they were – this was guilt free sausage eating, note the virtuous beans please.

We had saved ourselves for the next day’s lunch at Cullen’s Winery. This wasn’t my first visit; this is my favourite venue in Margaret River.

www.cullenwines.com.au/‎

What’s not to love? Organic, biodynamic wine producers who promote sustainable farming and viticulture. Cullen wines have been certified organic since 1998 and then they introduced biodynamic practices in 2004. Cullens have done a great deal to defuse the idea of biodynamic growing being a hippy practice.

http://www.cullenwines.com.au/philosophy/biodynamics

I’d enjoyed the scallops at Knee Deep but these two fat scallops presented 2 ways provided the standout dish for the week followed by a perfect slab of barramundi with a burnt butter sauce and hefty spuds and snow peas from their garden. Zenna had the special – beef pie with a massive, fragrant, crunchy (also from their) garden salad I was happy to polish off.

I’d seen their garden on a food tour year’s ago and asked if we could wonder through after lunch. The waitress told us we couldn’t just wander through, tours may be booked by arrangement, however the waitress told us she would see if someone could take us. Really? Yes, really. Cellarman and food enthusiast William appeared and took us through the garden. This was fabulous. We saw the lot and had the organic/biodynamic process explained to us, from worm wee through to fresh salad on the plate.

What about the wine I hear you shrieking. Sadly dear reader – I’m a far better eater than drinker. However I did enjoy a glass of 2013 Rosé of Wilyabrup, the perfect complement to my meal.

Our final big lunch was at Flutes and sadly this was a very rainy day so this most if idyllic of settings was a little grey. We also made the mistake of having the set menu – though at $50 per head for 3 courses why wouldn’t you?

www.flutes.com.au/‎

My entrée of venison spring rolls was indeed divine as was the dessert selection. The mains (a chicken ragout with couscous and a pork fillet) were unexceptional. I’d return here though and give the a la carte menu a workout.

We’d stayed on so we could check out the Saturday Farmer’s Market. Cambray cheeses sell an amazing line up of hand made sheep’s milk cheeses, so good I found myself again wondering about Knee-Deep’s use of imports. http://www.cambraysheepcheese.com.au/

Sensational bread from the Margaret River Bread shop, a Cambray cheese and a decent bottle of wine, that’s a lunch.

We had other adventures in MR and so will you – Olio Bello, http://www.oliobello.com.au/ The Good Olive – great selection of oils to taste and apricot jam like the old days, http://www.thegoodolive.com.au/ Blue Ginger Fine Foods, http://www.bluegingerfinefoods.com/.

Bon appetite!