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

It has been  a great week and it is only Tuesday!
Yesterday at a Member's Breakfast one of our wonderful Slow Food members put up her hand to take over the running of the local Convivium (group/chapter). I have been the Convivium Leader for the past two years and a committee member for 7 years and it was time to step down. Too busy!

It really looked as though the Convivium was going to close down but no - Rose came to the rescue at the eleventh hour! Thankyou Rose! Then Nick offered to take over the admin, an important role and Sue is happy to continue to organise the Member's Breakfasts. So - we can look forward to another interesting year.
A lot of work has gone into the development of Slow Food Southern Highlands and we have an interesting and dynamic membership.
I am so happy everything worked out.
If you want to know more about Slow Food go to the Australian website (see link above) and the Slow Food International website.

Today was the 2nd day of the Food on Clay Event organised by Dee, the Resident Potter at Sturt - the fine Craft Centre at Mittagong.

The idea of this event was to fill the bowls that were made 2 weeks ago with food and enjoy a shared lunch. Based on the "Empty Bowls" project which is celebrated around the world.

Lunch included some delicious salads organised by Monique and antipasto made by Dee. Sourdough bread donated by Four Water Salt in Bowral and goat's cheese donated by Zoe who sells through the Cheese Factory at Robertson.

We were very grateful to all who contributed their time or skills.


Money raised is going to the Salvation Army who provide food for a Christmas dinner for those who are hungry or lonely. Great cause. Well done Dee!


This was such a "feel good" event that we are hoping to repeat it next year.

We were happy to be invited by Provodore Ian Feary to see his Cheese Room at The Old Cheese Factory at Robertson yesterday. Ian has had a successful business in the Southern Highlands for many years now, but has only recently taken over the lease of the cheese section of the Old Cheese Factory.

Ian Feary (right) with his mother Christina and FoodPath's Nick.

Friends and customers enjoying a tasting of Ian's great products and ordering our Christmas hams.

Many of us have fond memories of visiting the cheese factory in years gone by and buying Roberston cheddar. Do you also remember Tilba cheese, Bega cheese, Bodalla cheese from down the South Coast? All good cheddars sorely missed.
Well it is nice to see a return to cheese making in the Southern Highlands, and Robertson in particular establishing itself as a Cheese Centre.
We now have Small Cow Cheese farm nearby, Zoe Brogan at The Old Cheese Factory making goats' milk cheese (and also a range of fresh butters made from Jersey cream) and Michael and Cressida McNamara nearby planning to launch their sheep's milk cheese next year. Fabulous!

Zoe with Sam. Zoe makes goats' milk cheese and runs a fresh produce store in the Old Cheese Factory with her parents.

The Robertson Show has introduced a cheese category in their program, so having Ian take over the Cheese Room at The Old Cheese Factory is another step in the right direction!

Natasha presented her Eling Forest wines

Natasha had a range of wines on hand for us to taste from her family's vineyard, winery and cellar door at Eling Forest, where the wine maker is Michelle Crocket. We enjoy a glass of Eling Forest wine on our FoodPath food tours when we have lunch at this beautiful winery.

We have been looking forward to this day for months and thank goodness the weather was better than last weekend! John and Julia are members of Slow Food and are passionate about breeding animals that are at risk of extinction. They have Cornish pigs, Hampshire Downs sheep and White Park cattle + some rare breeds of poultry. By breeding them up and selling them they are helping to preserve the species.
After a walk to see the pigs in their individual paddocks, roaming free amongst the knee high grass (I've never seen it so long!), we were treated to a demonstration of how a good sheep dog is a important asset making sheep handling so much easier.

Before lunch we had a tasting of wine from Kingsdale Wines out of Goulburn. Very nice too. Howard and Elly Sparks own this business. Has anyone else heard Elly Spark on ABC radio weather report?  I was ridiculously excited when I realised it was her! Prue Goward called in too to join us for a while which was nice.
We enjoyed a delicious lunch of spit roasted lamb and pork, eating in the garden on tables set up in the shade of the beautiful large trees and overlooking a lake. The photos speak a thousand words! Gretchen and Gavan provided a jazz interlude which capped off the afternoon and everyone went home happy.

And then today we featured in the Financial Review Life & Leisure magazine!

This was an article written by Ben Hurley who spent half a day with us in early Oct.


No doubt about it, taking advantage of these opportunities when they arise certainly pays off!