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

We are off to Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges for a few days next week. Another food bowl like the Southern Highlands! Can't wait to explore the food and the Italian/Swiss history too.
Wish there was someone down there running tours like FoodPath do so we could get behind the scenes - no doubt meeting the locals given you a broader experience. Sadly we can't find any - but a friend has given us lots of tips, so we will have fun I'm sure.
Will be visiting the bath house in Hepburn too - spa country!
Apparently Daylesford is to Melbourne what the Southern Highlands is to Sydney and it is very popular because of the close proximity.
Will report back on our return...

Today we had another Market to Table Tour. We normally have these on the 2nd Sat of the month. We start with a tour of the market in Bowral where Jill talks about each local producer and takes you to meet them. Patricia buys the ingredients for the lunch. Then we moved on to the Fitzroy Inn for a cooking class and lunch.
Today there was a new stallholder with smoked meats from Camden way. Very good.
Pecora Dairy - a very new ewe's milk cheese maker was represented by The Cheese Store who have a shop but also take a stall at the market because it is so popular!

What a great bunch of people in our tour group today - 4 members of one family - a Italian mother with a daughter and 2 daughters-in-law! Two friends who came together. One solo male whose wife joined us for lunch. He had been given the tour by his children, what a nice gesture! A happy and enthusiastic bunch.
Patricia chose Moroccan as the theme for lunch today and the menu was:

• Lamb Kefta with Yoghurt sauce
• Chicken Lemon and Fennel Tagine
• Apple, Fig and Walnut Pastries

Now that the Crave Food festival is over we have time to focus on the Southern Highlands and what we can offer you!
Coming down for the weekend? Maybe you live here? Planning a wedding? Reunion? Family get together? Xmas party? Conference?
We have something for everyone... Just contact us to discuss.
There are many options - winery tours, farm visits, gardens to wander in, art studios to visit, lovely restaurants in rural areas - ranging from up market and classy to more casual.

If you don't know the area we are just the people you need to make your stay memorable - and we love doing it. Contact us from the website and we will be in touch or email us on info@foodpath.com.au.

• Free range duck from Thirlmere
• Free range pork from Towrang
• Free range eggs from Berrima Ridge
• Olive oil from Sutton Forest Olives
• Potatoes from Robertson
• Baby leeks from Moonacres certified organic farm at Fitzroy Falls
• Exotic mushrooms from the Mittagong mushroom tunnel
• Fromage Blanc from Highlands Organic cheese
• Raspberry sauce from Cuttaway Creek Raspberry Farm at Mittagong
• Cream from Country Valley dairy at Picton
• Apple cider from Robertson and 
• Farmed barramundi from Bargo. 

Sadly today was our last Preserving Workshop with Steve Hogwood of the 1910 Bottling Company. He has got busy in Sydney as his business continues to grow. But all is not lost - if you have a bunch of friends or workmates and you would like a class, we can put one on for you...... we just need 8 - 10 people.
We had a great Pickling Workshop today at the Cheese factory at Robertson. Lots to learn and everyone had fun. This was a new venue for us and it was good, lots going on. We had some cheese and bread from Ian in The Cheese Room for lunch with a range of Steve's pickles - gherkins, onions, radishes, eggs, cauliflower, chillies and sauerkraut.
No doubt about it Steve has lots of information to share. Everyone in the class today was a repeat customer - now that is a good recommendation!
Contact us from the website www.foodpath.com.au if you want to register your interest.

After nearly a year Steve Hogwood has decided to move his Preserving Workshops to Sydney. Sad news for us. However he has agreed to run workshops for FoodPath in the Highlands if we have a corporate or a group booking - minimum 12 people.
Our workshop next Sun 23 Oct is to be our last - so if you have been meaning to come, this is your chance! A Pickling Workshop from 10am - 1pm. Will be fun. Let us know if you want to book?

www.foodpath.com.au

Next weekend will be fun in the Highlands. We have a Day Tour on Sat 22 Oct and a Workshop on Sun morning 23 Oct.
The Day Tour starts at the Moss Vale market where we take you to meet the local producers. Then we move on to a great little farm near Moss Vale. This is featured in the Illawarra Mercury Food and Wine Supplement today if you have access to that... We are lucky to be able to visit this private farm which is a great example of sustainability.
After this we head for Robertson where we enjoy lunch at The Cheese Factory Cafe, then on to Small Cow Farm and a Cheese Tasting of their decision cheeses. Mark and Lesley are our most successful artisan cheese makers and visiting their farm is a special treat.

On Sun we have our regular monthly food preserving workshop. This month it is all about pickling. Come and learn how to pickle onions like your grandmother used to, or pickle cucumbers so they still retain their crunch. Steve is even going to show us how to pickle eggs!

For enquiries and bookings contact us from the website www.foodpath.com.au

How disappointing that the weather has been so miserable for the school holidays so far. Disappointing for Tulip Time and the open gardens too - mind you the tulips are beautiful, best I have seen in my 14 years in the Highlands!
We say we will do the Family Farm Tours rain, hail or shine but it was very soggy underfoot yesterday so we have changed our minds. Not very pleasant so we have decided to cancel the tour scheduled for Sun 2 Oct. We have to give notice a few days prior.
Other options for you to consider in wet weather are:

• 10 pin bowling (Mittagong)
• Neeny's Playhouse (Mittagong)
• A range of movies at our wonderful Empire Cinema (Bowral) and 
• Bunnings are offering a free DIY Workshop for 5yr + age group. 

There is one FoodPath Family Tour to go these holidays and that is on Wed 5 Oct if you are interested? We will be visiting the free range chook farm in the morning, a dairy in the afternoon with a picnic lunch in between.

Cross your fingers conditions improve by then. Please contact us if you want to come because we have to have a minimum number.

Had a phone call this morning from a very excited Kym Burrows, reporting that they had won two awards for their Sutton Forest Olive Oil at the Royal Canberra Show!
They won a Gold for their "Robust" olive oil and a Silver for their "Fresh and Fruity".

We visit Kym at her olive farm with our tours

It was the first time Kym had entered a show with her oil and they came 2nd and 3rd in the whole event, Kym said! The winner was a large company in the Hunter Valley whereas Kym and her husband have no paid help. This is very exciting and makes all the hard work worth while.

Kym telling a FoodPath tour group about her business,

We visit Kym both on our Day Tours on the farm and during our tour of the Bowral Public School Market and her passion about her product is plain to see. These awards will encourage her to go from strength to strength - congratulations Kym and Mathew!

Kym is a regular at the Bowral Public School Market on the 2nd Sat

A display of Sutton Forest olive oil, dukkah, caramelised balsamic - all delicious