Welcome fellow locavores and lovers of great produce.
This is the first of many blogs I’ll be writing over the months in my new role as Gympie Regional Council’s first official Food and Culinary Tourism ambassador, in which I’ll be exploring everything edible that this productive and fertile area has to offer our tastebuds.
From free ranging poultry, pork and beef in the west, to prawns, crabs, scallops and fish straight off the boats in the east, and olives, avocados, red claw crayfish, macadamias, persimmons, limes, and so much more in between, it’s hard for me to know where to start. I literally feel like a kid in a lolly shop!
Between 2006 and 2011, as a part of my catering business The Rolling Dolmade, I ran a stall at the Noosa Farmers Market each week, and during that time I got the chance to meet and develop great friendships with a lot of the growers and producers from Gympie who come down to Noosa every Sunday to sell their wares. This month I thought I’d write about 3 couples from the region who have been supplying me with fantastic ingredients for many years, and who are as passionate about growing food as I am of cooking it.
I’ve also put together a recipe combining ingredients from all three.

Farmer and Sun – Mark and Trena Waugh

No, not well known batsman and ex-captain of the Australian cricket team Steve Waugh, but almost as famous in the Gympie region for providing some of the best fresh veggies to the public for the past 35 years. (Although I think it may be Trena who actually does all the work!)
The Waugh family have had a regular stall at the Noosa Farmers Market for the past 10 years, where each week they supply their adoring customers (I’m one of them) with some of the freshest looking produce you are likely to see anywhere. Baby zucchinis, button squash, baby beans(which they supply to Qantas first class), corn, cavolo nero, beetroot, radishes, rocket, lettuces and fresh cut herbs are just a few of the things on offer each week. So well displayed, and so vibrant, I always have to hold myself back when I arrive, for fear I won’t be able to carry everything back to my car.

The thing they do grow, however, which always sends me into a consumer frenzy, is their range of the most beautiful tomatoes I’ve seen anywhere in the world.
Baby Romas, Black Russians, Ox Hearts, Green Zebras, Rouge de Marmon, just to name a few, not grown hydroponically in a hot house, but in the rich, volcanic Gympie soil under the sun the way nature intended. They all boast different colours, flavours and textures, and you can take home a variety and experience each one individually.

But what if I can’t make it to the markets to buy some, you may well ask?
Well, now you don’t have to wait until Sunday to get the best and freshest local produce, because the Waugh family have set up a permanent shop, Farmer and Sun, on Ramsay Rd in South Gympie, where you can not only buy the best fruit and veg, they also stock a huge range of other great quality local products, so it’s like shopping at a mini farmers market that’s open all week.
Farmer and Sun is open Monday to Friday, 8.00 till 6.00, and Saturday 8.00 till 5.00. Ph 07 54812055 Shop 306 1-5 Ramsay Rd, Southside Town Centre, Gympie, or you can visit their stall at the Noosa Farmers Market every Sunday from 7.00 till 12.00.

Fat Hen Farm – Alan and Bronwyn Wood

Producing fat, juicy table olives from their 250, 20 year old Manzanillo olive trees, and a rich, luscious extra virgin olive oil from their 250 correggiolo trees, these two tree changers moved from Sydney to Kilkivan 10 years ago.  After hedging their bets between red claw crayfish and olives they decided the latter were far less temperamental, and have developed not only great olives and oil from their grove, but are also making absolutely killer tapenade and dukkah, and a range of flavour infused extra virgin olive oils including Lemon Myrtle and Preserved Lemon.

Their beautifully packaged products are not only great to splash around at home, but make a great gift for any friend that appreciates good food. They have a great website, and you can order online.

Fat Hen Products are stocked in retail stores all around Australia (too many to mention, so I’ve given the link below) and they also man a stall at the Eumundi Markets every Saturday and Noosa Farmers Market every Sunday to sell direct to the public.

They also do wholesale sized packs for all you chefs out there who want to use local products on your menus.

http://www.fathenfarm.com.au/STOCKISTS/STOCKISTS/-STOCKISTS-.asp

Ph. 07 54841372

Bendele Farm – Fred and Sarah Stern

Another couple from Kilkivan, in fact a stones throw from Fat Hen Farm, for the past ten years Fred and Sarah have been supplying me with super fresh ducks, chickens, spatchcocks and turkeys for my restaurant and catering business.
Unfortunately, for the moment they’ve decided to stop their production of ducks, but they’ll be growing free range turkeys for winter and leading up to Christmas, and their choice of free range and organic chickens are available all year round.
Bendele processes all of their poultry on site at the farm, so you are guaranteed that it’s coming straight from the farm gate to you.
You can buy their products(including fresh chicken livers which make great pate) from the Country Fresh truck at Noosa Farmers Market on Sundays, Gympie markets every second Sunday and Big Pineapple Markets and Kawana Markets every Saturday. And if you’re in Gympie and need some during the week, Shaw’s Meats in Excelsior Rd, and Wild Harvest in Reef St also stock their range.
Ph. 07 54847157

Ricotta Stuffed Spatchcock with Sauteed Zucchini, Manzanillo Olives, and Heirloom Tomato Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 x 600gm Bendele Farm Organic Spatchcocks, deboned
100gm ricotta cheese
30gm parmesan, grated
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbs mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped
600gm baby zucchinis, shaved into strips
½ cup Fat Hen Black Manzanillo Olives, pitted
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
2 tbs Fat Hen Extra Virgin Olive Oil
500gm Farmer and Sun Heirloom Tomatoes, roughly diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
handful of sweet basil leaves
salt and pepper

Method:

Mix together the ricotta, parmesan, breadcrumbs and herbs and season with salt and pepper. Stuff a tablespoon of mixture between the skin and flesh of the breast and leg of each spatchcock. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
To make the tomato sauce, sauté the garlic cloves in a little olive oil, add the tomatoes and basil and simmer gently until the tomatoes have cooked down to a pulp.
Season and pass through a fine strainer.
Lightly oil each spatchcock, season and grill until well coloured on both sides.
Transfer to a tray and roast at 200 degrees C for 10 minutes.
While the spatchcocks are cooking, sauté the garlic slices and zucchini in olive oil until lightly coloured. Add the olives and heat through. Season and transfer to a colander to drain for a couple of minutes.
Serve the spatchcock with the tomato sauce and zucchini and olive mixture.