THE FOODPATH BLOG

We decided to write a blog to let you know some of the fabulous food related things that happen in the Southern Highlands all the time. Keep checking back here to see what is going on. Get to know what hidden treasures we have and if you want to find out more - come on one of our tours and meet the people who grow our food.

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Click on our TOURS page to see our latest trips. If you can get a group together we can organise a tour just for you! Minimum 6 people. Contact us to discuss.

Visits

About Us...

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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.
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About Us...

Nick Padol, Southern Highlands, NSW, Australia.

Nick with his partner Jill has been running their business FoodPath in the Southern Highlands since April 2010. His motivation was to share his knowledge by taking others on a journey to discover local and regional food.

At the age of 4 when Nick had his first taste of coffee with his father at Andronicus’ Coffee Shop in Sydney he developed an interest in all things gastronomic. At the age of 24 his father gave him his 1st copy of Larousse Gastronomique. He now has an extensive library of cook books and he hasn’t looked back.

Not only is Nick an excellent cook and host with an interest in the cuisine of many cultures but he is also a food writer and cheese and coffee judge. He has been involved in regional food and wine related projects over the years and was an active member of Slow Food for 9 years.


PRODUCE INCLUDES:

Apples

Blackberries

Blueberries

Raspberries

Gooseberries

Grapes

Potatoes

Truffles

Garlic

Olives

Asparagus

Mushrooms

Cheese - cow, goat, sheep

Beef

Goat

Lamb

Eggs - hen, duck

Poultry

Pigs

Hazelnuts

Chestnuts

Vegetables

Jams and vinegars

Wine

Thursday, October 25, 2012
Celebration Sunday on again this weekend and a couple of spaces left on our FoodPath table. Next month is full and then Biota is having a break over summer - no Celebration Sunday in Dec or Jan 2013. So... if you want to come give us a call or contact us from the website. You are very welcome.



Venue: Biota Dining, Kangaloon Rd, Bowral
Date: Sun 28 Oct 2012
Time: 10.30 Market Tour in the garden and 12.30 lunch in the restaurant on our FoodPath table.
Price: $55 pp for a 3 course lunch of tasting platters, glass SH wine, tea/coffee.
To book: Contact us from the website www.foodpath.com.au, email info@foodpath.com.au or ring 0419 617 021

I have been really bogged down with paperwork for the past three weeks - don't you hate that?! I do. I would much rather be out and about in the Highlands meeting new producers and developing new products for you dear customers :)
Had a call today from another free range egg farmer at Marulan who has free range chooks too AND free range pigs. Very exciting. It is nice when people get referred to us and we can look at incorporating them into our tours and activities - and also put them on to outlets for their products. It is all about helping each other I say, then everyone benefits.



Would people travel as far as Marulan though - that is the question... as it is we have made the hard decision to stop our regular Day Tours except for group bookings of 8 or more. It is not worth it for the farmers to stop and look after us for less than 8 people and often I will have less than that and I do hate having to cancel.
We can still offer our personally hosted tours for less - spend a day with a local, so all is not lost.




Thursday, October 4, 2012
Yesterday we had a special treat. My daughter had given us a gift voucher for a meal at Chiswick Restaurant in Woollahra. She does this often - give an experience as a present - something we like to encourage people to do with our FoodPath Gift Vouchers :)

We decided to have lunch yesterday because it was a beautiful day and we were in Sydney for a couple of days. The setting was stunning because of the garden setting and lots of windows - a real pavilion feel.

Lunch included many ingredients straight from the restaurant garden which was appealed to us of course - can't get much more local or fresh than that! We had their greens in our salads and mint tea to finish which I loved. I will be doing that at home.

The highlight of the day was when Matt Moran dropped in for a quick visit and we got to speak to him. Nick bought his latest book and he posed for a photo with me which was a nice bonus!


We took some photos of the food to show you -






Definitely worth a visit!





Monday, October 1, 2012
James and Kerry alpaca eager to say hello

Meet James and Kerry alpaca - cute aren't they? The kids loved them on our Family Farm Tour. 
They also loved collecting the eggs, holding the chooks, seeing the baby goat, checking the yabby traps in the dam, feeding the fish, brushing the horse, watching the 2 day old goslings swimming in the baby bath - and more!!
Everyone helped to collect the eggs

Holding a chook is a skill in itself!
Some of the little ones were tentative at first


Checking the yabby traps - and there were some big ones!

Kids tasted real honey straight from the hive


2 day old goslings - what a treat to see them!
Harvey told us all about his bees
Hopefully Lindy and Harvey will recover soon and will be prepared to run another of these tours next school holidays. They did an excellent job and I know that some of the parents found it very interesting too!