Join Jill and Nick as they take you behind the scenes to see where your food actually comes from!

There are only about 8 days left of the chestnut season in the Southern Highlands for this year and I have learnt a lot. It has been fun taking more and more people on this unusual tour. I was not very experienced in handling or using chestnuts before - but after three tours and many kilos I know a lot more now :)
I find boiling them for about 10 mins and then peeling them using a small sharp knife is the easiest. There are two layers to remove during peeling - the outer thick covering and then an inner skin. Quite laborious - I am wondering how Biota Dining went with the 6 kilos we gathered for them!!
The flavour is buttery and sweetish and the texture crumbly and a bit like potato. We downloaded masses of recipes from "the net"- but so far I have used them for crumbling on cereal or putting in salads - as you would other nuts. Am planning to try a chestnut soup and using them in seasoning - yum!
We have had a few children come along this year and they had fun. Six year old Zoe has a husk carefully wrapped ready to take to school for show and tell. I love it when the kids learn where food comes from - that is, to some extent, what we are all about!

What a fun day! We arrived at the chestnut farm to find groups of Greeks and Italians who had been there since early, all relaxing and soaking up the peace and quiet away from the city. Our Nick was born in Alexandria and speaks Greek so he had a lovely time chatting away while he lit a fire in the brazier to roast our chestnuts.
The rest of our group of eleven went off armed with buckets and gloves and Dennis showed us where to find the best ones. There are three types, each ripening at different times.

We all learnt the "chestnut wiggle" as we opened the prickly husks with our feet, then sought out the biggest and best glossy kernel nut within with our gloved hands.
Biota Dining restaurant in Bowral had asked us to bring them 6 kgs so I was busy with that and also gathering some for us to try over lunch.
We had two children in our group today (6 and 8yrs) and it was fun for them - definitely a good activity for kids - I will mention that in our promotion next year.
After gathering chestnuts for about an hour we went to see Dennis in the shed to have them weighed and purchased to take home. Some of the group remembered eating chestnuts in their childhood, others were very familiar with them and for others it was a new experience.


Today we had people from Sydney, Thirlmere, Canberra and the Southern Highlands on our tour.
Most people brought their own lunch and one couple brought wine which they kindly shared around. Tables were set up under cover and this was perfect - shelter from the sun or from the rain.
The nuts took longer than we expected to cook but finally they were ready and everyone tucked in.
Certainly a memorable day and I'm sure some people will be back next year for more!

Chestnut time is almost upon us - and it is a short picking season so don't miss out.
Want to try something different - come with us on our FoodPath Chestnut Tour on Sun 25 Mar 2012.
Very popular with the Spanish and Europeans generally.
During the great depression chestnuts were part of the staple diet in northern Italy where they grew wild.

Chestnut gathering is a nice communal thing to do - rather like mushroom gathering for the wild mushrooms is.

The chestnut farm we take you to has over 300 trees but they only sell to pickers, not having to look any further.. that is how popular it is.

We are delighted to have secured a place for a FoodPath group again this year.
Come along and join the fun!

Meet at the Exeter General Store at 11am and follow us to Wingello.

Bring a picnic or we can get one for you. We will roast some chestnuts on a brazier for tasting and give you some recipes to take home.
Wear sturdy shoes and gloves if you have them. Be mindful of the weather and dress appropriately (sun screen or raincoat). Being the Highlands we go ahead whatever the weather.
Price: $45 or $65 (incl lunch).
Suitable for children accompanied by an adult. Price: $11.25
To book contact us on info@foodpath.com.au or ring Jill on 0419 617 021

We are happy to announce that we have been able to organise to take a group (max 22 people) chestnut picking in the Southern Highlands on Sat 26 Mar 2011. This is lucky because it is very popular.

Chestnuts on the tree

Busloads of Europeans come down from Sydney to gather nuts and cook them on the large braziers. On 26 Mar there will be 200 others there!

Roasted chestnuts

We are having a tour to the Farmers Market that morning so have decided to meet at the Moss Vale showground at 11am and travel by bus from there. Some people might want to do both tours! Farmers' Market tour is limited to 8 people.

Time: 11am - 4pm
Transport: Bus
Price: $45 (take your own picnic)
Price: $65 (lunch provided - delicious sandwich, cake and drink from the sourdough shop in Bowral).
To book contact us from the website or ring Jill on 0419 67 021.