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, March 15, 2011
Well our first Market to Table Tour was good fun!
First we met at the Bowral Producers Market where we took the group to meet the producers and to buy ingredients for lunch. Saw Steve Hogwood with his bottled fruit (he runs our bottling workshops monthly). Nicki was there from Cuttaway Creek Raspberry Farm with her raspberries. So fresh - they were divine. We bought some for lunch. Also some raspberry vinegar, and the girls bought some jams to take home.
Pasquele and Dianne were there with their huge range of potatoes. Patricia (our Chef) loved the potatoes so much she drove out to the farm to get some more for another cooking class a couple of days later!
We found some local garlic which was very exciting because the Southern Highlands is not normally a big garlic growing area - but this might be changing.
Patricia decided on spatchcock for our lunch. This came from Thirlemere Poultry - a free range poultry supplier that has been going for nearly 50 years and mostly sells to the restaurant market. We are very lucky they come to Bowral to the market.
Of course we included some mixed exotic mushrooms from our famous mushroom tunnel.
Then back to the historic Fitzroy Inn in Mittagong for our cooking class.
What I loved about this was that it was interactive - but Patricia was encouraging and everyone happily got involved, including Nick. She made it look easy!
It was very clever how Patricia managed running a class but at the same time getting the meal together and ready on time for us to sit and enjoy together.
Let me tell you this was a fun day and I thoroughly recommend it! Would be great for a family group, a corporate group - and guys as well as girls. The Market to Table tour and cooking class will be running every month - on the 2nd Sat. Check the FoodPath Tours page or the Blue Bowl Cooking School website for details and to book.
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| Highland Gourmet Potatoes at the Producers Market in Bowral |
We found some local garlic which was very exciting because the Southern Highlands is not normally a big garlic growing area - but this might be changing.
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| Garlic grown by Pip at Hilltop, a village north of Mittagong |
Patricia decided on spatchcock for our lunch. This came from Thirlemere Poultry - a free range poultry supplier that has been going for nearly 50 years and mostly sells to the restaurant market. We are very lucky they come to Bowral to the market.
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| John comes to the Bowral producers market every month |
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| Wendy is a regular at the market with the tunnel mushrooms |
Then back to the historic Fitzroy Inn in Mittagong for our cooking class.
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| The Fitzroy Inn in Mittagong has a great kitchen for classes |
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| Everybody got involved which made it such fun |
It was very clever how Patricia managed running a class but at the same time getting the meal together and ready on time for us to sit and enjoy together.
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| The chocolate and Raspberry tart tasted as good as it looked!! Fabulous! |
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| Nice to relax and enjoy the result of our labours with the group - thanks Patricia and the Blue Bowl Cooking School for a great day! |
Let me tell you this was a fun day and I thoroughly recommend it! Would be great for a family group, a corporate group - and guys as well as girls. The Market to Table tour and cooking class will be running every month - on the 2nd Sat. Check the FoodPath Tours page or the Blue Bowl Cooking School website for details and to book.
