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.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Looking for something to do in the school holidays? Our Farm Tours might be just the thing!
What a great farm we visited last Wednesday near Fitzroy Falls and we have another tour this week - on Wed 24 April.
The kids loved it!
There were about sixteen tiny piglets just two weeks old racing around. The mothers were very quiet and we were able to cuddle the babies. After feeding the pigs we moved on to the sheep - multicoloured - and some baby lambs to cuddle too. The kids helped Sam to round up the sheep so that we could have a close look. Two alpacas act to protect the sheep from foxes during the night. We saw three horses including a giant Clydesdale. Much time was spent pulling grass and feeding the horses.
To top it off Katrina and Sam have a fabulous play area for children. All in all it was a great visit.
This week we are also visiting our favourite little farm near Moss Vale in the morning. This is always popular. Alan is expecting baby goats any minute - so we may see new born goats, check the yabby trap, taste the honey, see the great vegetable garden, feed the chooks and more.
Both farms give the children a great experience.
This tour is very popular with grandparents and parents alike.
To book contact Jill on 0419 617 021, info@foodpath.com.au or www.foodpath.com.au
Price: $35 adults per farm, $15 child (3 - 12hrs) per farm. Children under 3 are free.
NB Children must be supervised by an accompanying adult at all times.
What a great farm we visited last Wednesday near Fitzroy Falls and we have another tour this week - on Wed 24 April.
The kids loved it!
To top it off Katrina and Sam have a fabulous play area for children. All in all it was a great visit.
This week we are also visiting our favourite little farm near Moss Vale in the morning. This is always popular. Alan is expecting baby goats any minute - so we may see new born goats, check the yabby trap, taste the honey, see the great vegetable garden, feed the chooks and more.
Both farms give the children a great experience.
This tour is very popular with grandparents and parents alike.
To book contact Jill on 0419 617 021, info@foodpath.com.au or www.foodpath.com.au
Price: $35 adults per farm, $15 child (3 - 12hrs) per farm. Children under 3 are free.
NB Children must be supervised by an accompanying adult at all times.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Tomorrow is the first of our Family Farm Tours for these holidays and most of the group are grandparents who are bringing their grand children. What a nice thing to do - we are looking forward to it.
We are visiting Redleaf Farm near Fitzroy Falls where Katrina and Sam breed free range saddle back pigs and lambs. They also have a range of other animals that we can feed, pat or observe. They have 16 piglets at the moment which will be fun.
Next week we are hoping that Alan's goats will have had some babies - but we have been waiting for a while now. They are very pregnant. I had a corporate group at this farm once when a baby was born during the tour! Another time a calf was born at the dairy while we were there - so you never know and it is all a great learning experience for the kids (and adults).
Come and join is if you would like to -
Start time 2.30pm
Price: $35 adults per farm. $15 children (3 - 12yrs). Children under 3 are free.
NB Children must be supervised by their accompanying adult at all times.
Contact us from the website www.foodpath.com.au
Next week we are hoping that Alan's goats will have had some babies - but we have been waiting for a while now. They are very pregnant. I had a corporate group at this farm once when a baby was born during the tour! Another time a calf was born at the dairy while we were there - so you never know and it is all a great learning experience for the kids (and adults).
Come and join is if you would like to -
Start time 2.30pm
Price: $35 adults per farm. $15 children (3 - 12yrs). Children under 3 are free.
NB Children must be supervised by their accompanying adult at all times.
Contact us from the website www.foodpath.com.au
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
A nice bunch of people came mushroom foraging with us this morning. We met at the Berrima General Store first for coffee, then headed off to the pine forest nearby with our baskets and containers. It was a beautiful day - perfect actually!
This time the predominant mushroom we found was the Slippery Jack - but we did get a few good sized Pine Mushrooms (also called Saffron Milk Caps) - almost dinner plate size!
The Pine Mushrooms are a distinct saffron colour underneath and have gills. The Slippery Jack is yellow underneath as has a sponge texture.
This time the predominant mushroom we found was the Slippery Jack - but we did get a few good sized Pine Mushrooms (also called Saffron Milk Caps) - almost dinner plate size!
The Pine Mushrooms are a distinct saffron colour underneath and have gills. The Slippery Jack is yellow underneath as has a sponge texture.
We also saw some other mushrooms that are not safe to eat. Everyone was under strict instructions not to touch them and definitely not to pick them. You don't take any chances with mushrooms you don't recognise and know are safe because they can be toxic and make you very sick or cause death. The photos below are mushrooms to avoid.
If we get more rain soon there should be another flush of mushrooms, so look out for more tours!
The advantage of coming with FoodPath is that you will learn to identify the two safe eating mushrooms - the Pine Mushroom (or Saffron Milk Cap) and the Slippery Jack and then will feel confident to go by yourselves.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
We decided to go to the pine forest this afternoon to see if the saffron mushrooms were still there. It hasn't rained for a week and they usually pop up at this time of year after rain. Well - when you headed inside the forest where it was not so dry, we found lots.
What a lovely thing to do - so peaceful with the gentle wind in the tall trees and the birds singing.
We soon filled our two large tubs - so headed to our friends in the restaurant business to see if they wanted some. We love the fact that our chefs are only too happy to have fresh local (and in this case wild) food! We were able to supply Eschalot and the General Store in Berrima and Biota Dining and the Golf Club in Bowral - and still have plenty left over for ourselves!
We have decided to offer to take small groups foraging this week while the mushrooms are still there - so if you would like to come and do something different - please let us know.
Date and time - negotiable.
Price: $35 per person
Contact us: info@foodpath.com.au or ring Jill on 0419 617 021
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
We had a great group at the Preserving Workshop last Sun 10 March in Bowral - at our new venue, the Cookability kitchen at KazCare.
All had driven from quite a distance - Newcastle, Canberra and Sydney and the group included a restaurant owner and a chef/cooking teacher/food writer.
No doubt about it, there is a growing interest in preserving food and Steve's reputation precedes him with his 1910 Bottling Company. People are coming because of his expertise and he is a great teacher.
Date: Sun 5 May 2013
Venue: Cookability kitchen, KazCare (directions provided on booking)
Time: 10am - 1pm
Price: $105
Includes: DVD with handouts, a jar to take home, tea/coffee, bottle of water and a light lunch including local cheese, crusty bread and a range of Steve's pickles.
To book contact us via www.foodpath.com.au, info@foodpath.com.au or 0419 617 021
All had driven from quite a distance - Newcastle, Canberra and Sydney and the group included a restaurant owner and a chef/cooking teacher/food writer.
No doubt about it, there is a growing interest in preserving food and Steve's reputation precedes him with his 1910 Bottling Company. People are coming because of his expertise and he is a great teacher.
Jill found some quinces and apples on the roadside near Moss Vale - don't they look great! Three of the group went off looking for roadside apples before they headed home. Steve had organic pears for the class.
The workshop starts with lots of information and instruction from Steve, then it is hands on while everyone gets the hang of preparing the fruit and packing their jar.
A nice sense of achievement when the jars are finished and everyone has fun along the way.
A range of pickles - dilled cucumbers, onion jam, pickled beetroot, pickled eggs and pickled onions were included in the lunch along with locally baked bread and a cheese platter of Southern Highlands Organics cheeses and an award winning camembert from Small Cow Farm - both from local artisan cheese makers. Yum!
Our next class is on Sun 5 May and will be on Pickling and Fermenting food. In this class Steve will cover the health benefits of pickling and fermenting. Come along and join the fun.
Date: Sun 5 May 2013
Venue: Cookability kitchen, KazCare (directions provided on booking)
Time: 10am - 1pm
Price: $105
Includes: DVD with handouts, a jar to take home, tea/coffee, bottle of water and a light lunch including local cheese, crusty bread and a range of Steve's pickles.
To book contact us via www.foodpath.com.au, info@foodpath.com.au or 0419 617 021
Thursday, March 7, 2013
NEW!
FoodPath Tours and Blue Bowl Cooking Classes present the latest in a culinary adventure - Sunday 17 March 2013
Meet at the Berrima General
Store. Grab a coffee and then follow us along the dirt road to the pine forest nearby
to look for pine mushrooms.
After we’ve collected our mushrooms join us back at the Blue Bowl kitchen in Mittagong for a cooking class. We'll cook up our pine mushrooms for a light lunch and a glass of local wine.
Venue: Meet at Berrima General Store
Date: Sun 17 Mar 2013
Time: 9.30am – 2pm
Price: $130 pp
Inclusions: Mushroom
gathering, cooking class, light lunch with glass of wine. Recipes to take home.
Bring comfortable shoes, an apron and a container to put your mushrooms in.
To book or for more information go to www.foodpath.com.au,
info@foodpath.com.au
or ring Jill: 0419 617 021 or Patricia
0414 855 087
Saturday, February 23, 2013
We are finalising our itinerary for the FoodPath Wollondilly Farm Tour coming up on Easter Sat 30 March. We will be meeting at the R Coffee Co - a great little cafe in Picton where they blend and roast their own coffee beans.
Lunch will be at Pos Keech's new cafe at The Oaks. You may know Pos - she does a lot of catering in the Southern Highlands.
The farms we will visit on this tour include a huge vegetable farm with an interesting story, run by an Italian couple; a family orchard with a huge range of fruit - and jams made from the fruit - and finally an olive and beef farm. A nice variety and it will be an interesting day and we always have fun!
We already have six booked for this tour!! I am very excited about that. So come with us and explore this neighbouring region. Not far to travel from Sydney or from the Highlands and a lot to discover.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Had a lovely day last Sat when 13 of us headed off for the day together. We met at Cecil Hoskins Reserve near Moss Vale then everyone followed us in their cars to Alan's farm nearby. We had a tour around his pretty little farm - or lifetsyle block really.
Alan loves what he does on the farm and shares his knowledge generously. We learnt about the geese, bees, yabbies, Boer goats, vegetable growing, chook keeping and growing truffles! Everyone loved it.
Alan loves what he does on the farm and shares his knowledge generously. We learnt about the geese, bees, yabbies, Boer goats, vegetable growing, chook keeping and growing truffles! Everyone loved it.
Next on to Victoria Park Alpacas where Annette and Barry were our hosts. Annette told us all about the alpacas and what is involved in running their stud. The alpacas are kept very close to the house so we had a great view from the verandah. I loved the colours - chocolate, caramel and cream - very pretty.
Then Annette showed us the alpaca fleeces and the beautiful clothes that she makes by weaving on her floor loom or by knitting.
Time for lunch - so off to Mount Ashby winery nearby where we enjoyed a delicious two course lunch with a glass of Mt Ashby wine. Nice time to chat with the rest of the group at our communal table. In this group we had people from Sydney, Canberra and Camden (our loyal followers who have been to many of our tours and activities).
After lunch it started to rain - but not for long and we were able to be under cover for most of the time. We visited Pines Pastoral where Robyn runs an Angus Stud.
What a beautiful property looking over the hills and how interesting to hear the ins and outs of this business and why we should be eating good quality grass fed beef. Robyn also has several renovated cottages on her property as tourist accommodation. Definitely worth a look! Just Google "The Pines Pastoral" at Moss Vale - and tell her we sent you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)