Visits
About Us...
- Jill Dyson,
- Southern Highlands, NSW, Australia
- Click on the link to read Jill's latest blog post. Jill has been running FoodPath in the Southern Highlands of NSW with her partner Nick since April 2010. They have grown the business to a level where they now include a range of activities including tours, workshops and collaboration with others (cooking schools, wineries, etc). During the past 10 years Jill and Nick have got to know the local producers and continue to promote and support these local small businesses. They have organised and run many food related activities including taste education workshops and producer visits. It was after they organised a successful tour for a group of chefs from some of the best restaurants in Sydney that they realised they could turn their interest into a business - and this led to the setting up of FoodPath - Culinary Tours with a Difference. Now Jill and Nick are working closely with Southern Highlands Tourism and Wingecarribee Council to help raise the profile of their area as a food destination where everyone will benefit - tourists, local consumers and the producers themselves.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Wow - Gumnut Patisserie has done it again!
FoodPath's Nick was a judge at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show again this year and therefore he was invited to the Awards Lunch today, so ......
Hot from the press I want to tell you that Gumnut Patisserie won so many awards I almost lost count!
Traci and Vikki the business owners have done it again - they really are amazing.
I counted 5 Gold, 17 Silver and 19 Bronze medals - and I might have missed some!
Gold medals were for:
There were too many silver and bronze to list them here - but they cover an impressive range of categories.
They also won "Champion Gourmet Pie" with their lamb and rosemary pie.
Amongst the awards were some for four Gumnut apprentices who also starred - Kylie Masters, Jason Hanger, Emillia Preston and Zayne Vidler - well done guys!
Under the "Apprentice Awards", Kylie Masters won the "Best Apprentice Cake Exhibit" with her Swiss Roll.
Traci has always impressed me with his enthusiastic support of his apprentices. One year I even nominated him for a Rotary Vocational Award for Employer of the Year because of the way he encourages and trains apprentices. Passing on his skills is very important I believe and this is the way to achieve that. If you go into the Gumnut Patisserie kitchen in Mittagong you will see photos of past apprentices in pride of place on the wall and information on where they are now working around the world!
FoodPath's Nick was a judge at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show again this year and therefore he was invited to the Awards Lunch today, so ......
Hot from the press I want to tell you that Gumnut Patisserie won so many awards I almost lost count!
Traci and Vikki the business owners have done it again - they really are amazing.
I counted 5 Gold, 17 Silver and 19 Bronze medals - and I might have missed some!
Gold medals were for:
- Mud cake with specialty garnish
- Mud cake glazed
- Mousse cake - tri-layer mousse
- Danish pastries
- Lamb and rosemary pie
There were too many silver and bronze to list them here - but they cover an impressive range of categories.
They also won "Champion Gourmet Pie" with their lamb and rosemary pie.
Amongst the awards were some for four Gumnut apprentices who also starred - Kylie Masters, Jason Hanger, Emillia Preston and Zayne Vidler - well done guys!
Under the "Apprentice Awards", Kylie Masters won the "Best Apprentice Cake Exhibit" with her Swiss Roll.
Traci has always impressed me with his enthusiastic support of his apprentices. One year I even nominated him for a Rotary Vocational Award for Employer of the Year because of the way he encourages and trains apprentices. Passing on his skills is very important I believe and this is the way to achieve that. If you go into the Gumnut Patisserie kitchen in Mittagong you will see photos of past apprentices in pride of place on the wall and information on where they are now working around the world!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Went to the annual Burrawang Easter Fair today. It was very busy with lots of stalls and packed with visitors and locals who like to come every year!
Having to park in a nearby paddock gave us the opportunity to discover what a pretty little town Burrawang is! We don't usually walk around the back streets when we go to visit.
Nick and I helped on a stand promoting the Southern Highlands wine and food and there was a lot of interest.
We had wine from 5 local wineries - all members of Southern Highlands Food and Wine - for tastings and sales. These included:
The wine included:
Many people were surprised to learn that we have over 55 vineyards and 14 cellar doors in the Southern Highlands - and it so close to Sydney! An easy drive for a weekend stay - best not to drive home if you are tasting wine! There are lots of options for accommodation - just ask and we can help.
We will be finalising our FoodPath winery tours very soon and will let you all know.
Having to park in a nearby paddock gave us the opportunity to discover what a pretty little town Burrawang is! We don't usually walk around the back streets when we go to visit.
We had wine from 5 local wineries - all members of Southern Highlands Food and Wine - for tastings and sales. These included:
- Tertini and Diamond Creek Estate from Mittagong
- Sutton Forest Wines, St Maurs and Sally's Corner from the Exeter area and
- Southern Highlands Wines from Sutton Forest.
The wine included:
- Pinot Noir
- Merlot
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Grigio
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Riesling and one sticky from Diamond Creek Estate (we also had their olive oil).
Many people were surprised to learn that we have over 55 vineyards and 14 cellar doors in the Southern Highlands - and it so close to Sydney! An easy drive for a weekend stay - best not to drive home if you are tasting wine! There are lots of options for accommodation - just ask and we can help.
We will be finalising our FoodPath winery tours very soon and will let you all know.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Ever bought pretzels from street vendors in your travels? I remember them particularly in Greece - so we were delighted when Andrew and Sue installed a new bread oven at their great little deli in Bowral - Il Topolino and started making, amongst other things, pretzels! Nick loves them and comes home with a box of them every other day.
Andrew is also making bagels, sourdough loaves, butter croissants and a range of different loaves such as an organic Swiss, a stone baked pane di Toscana, a German grain loaf, hand crafted corn bread and more! It is hard to find bagels in the Southern Highlands so I am sure these will be especially popular.
This little deli is one of the stops on our Food Focused Walking Tour in Bowral. We now run these on demand in Bowral and we have also started one in Berrima. They are a great way to get to know the specialty food shops with local food enthusiastists!
Other good news is that Lisa Tozer and her sister Sally Terry of the Rush Roasting Co have opened a cafe in the back of the Grand Hotel arcade - and they are soooo busy!
They have been roasting coffee in Bowral for the past 15 years and describe themselves as "roasters of extraordinary coffee from extraordinary places".
Now they have a shopfront, we are keen to include Lisa and Sally on the itinerary of our walking tour and they are enthusiastic too, which is exciting. Not only will we taste their coffee but we will hear from them about their product and their plans.
Andrew is also making bagels, sourdough loaves, butter croissants and a range of different loaves such as an organic Swiss, a stone baked pane di Toscana, a German grain loaf, hand crafted corn bread and more! It is hard to find bagels in the Southern Highlands so I am sure these will be especially popular.
This little deli is one of the stops on our Food Focused Walking Tour in Bowral. We now run these on demand in Bowral and we have also started one in Berrima. They are a great way to get to know the specialty food shops with local food enthusiastists!
Other good news is that Lisa Tozer and her sister Sally Terry of the Rush Roasting Co have opened a cafe in the back of the Grand Hotel arcade - and they are soooo busy!
They have been roasting coffee in Bowral for the past 15 years and describe themselves as "roasters of extraordinary coffee from extraordinary places".
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