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

Thank you for a fabulous day! Interesting stall holders, wonderful food and great company. Thanks (Dell, Mittagong)

A note to thank you for a really enjoyable day. It was all we expected and more. We would love to come back in the Springtime, so keep us in the loop please. Very nice people around the table, such a lovely way to spend a Sunday. (Chris, Mittagong)

Our next Preserving Workshop is coming up on Sun 17 June 2012 at Monreale Bed and Breakfast in Burradoo. This month Steve is going to tell us about pickling and fermenting food - another way of preserving our food in ample times to use during the year.
These workshops are popular and Steve is very knowledgeable. We always have fun.
The day finishes with a light lunch of crusty bread, cheese and some of Steve's pickles.

If you are interested contact us from the website www.foodpath.com.au and we will send you a booking form.
Monreale is a fabulous venue and we are grateful to Gail who owns the premises and who is a generous host.
Date: Sun 17 June 2012
Time: 10am - 1pm
Price: $95

Luigi has sent through his program for the Gelato Workshop tomorrow - just look at this, I can't wait!

• Olive oil and black pepper SORBET
• Buffalo milk and pure choc nugget GELATO
• Mittagong raspberry farm GRANITA
• Coffee and cream combo (GRANITA & FRESH WHIPPED CREAM)
• MATCHA Japanese Green Tea tasting/ceremony (during the break)

We picked up three punnets of fresh raspberries from the farm this afternoon - only 2 kms from where we will be making the GRANITA (low fuel miles - couldn't be lower). Berries were picked the morning (couldn't be fresher).
Kym from Sutton Forest Olives is coming in with her olive oil for the SORBET and will talk to the group about her business. Elena is bringing her buffalo milk up from Camden PLUS some fresh Jersey milk - so we can taste the difference.

How nice to be able to use fresh and local ingredients - what we are always encouraging others to do!

On Sat next weekend - 31 Mar - Luigi de Luca will entertain us at Howards Lane Winery with tales of his family business that spanned several generations.

He will also tell us the history of gelato making and show us how to make gelato using fresh local ingredients.
This will be a fun workshop. Actually more of a Masterclass I guess because we will be watching and tasting (yum), not actually making.

One of our group is bringing her own buffalo milk (!) and Luigi has asked me to source some local produce. He said olive oil but I'm not so sure - I think I will get some of our wonderful local fresh raspberry sauce. The raspberries have just finished so there should be lots of value added products that carry the farmers through the rest of the year.

Nick and I were lucky to be invited a couple of years ago to Luigi's launch of his Prickly Pear Granita at his Leichhardt Gelateria. That was delicious!

Come along and join the fun. Price: $66
To book contact us from www.foodpath.com.au, info@foodpath.com.au or ring Jill on 0419 617 021

First we had a tour of the Moss Vale Produce Market.
Some changes since last month -

• The pumpkins are finished so Louise and Luke from Marulan were not there

Don't pumpkins look great as a decorative feature!

Pam and Paul of Doolan Country Jams & Chutneys

• Phil is between seasons with his organic vegies so said he had a limited supply - but he still had English spinach, baby leeks, baby endive, potatoes, baby brussel sprouts, cavolo nero, kale and broccoli - and it was sooooo fresh! 
• Jim was there with his fresh and roasted hazelnuts but said this was probably the last time for the season. He was selling barefooted hazelnut trees too - great for anyone who is planning to grow truffles!
• The two Steve's were there with their newly formed business Phatt Duck and Hog. They make great pies and chutneys and more. Steve from the 1910 Bottling Company is now making the fillings for the fruit pies. Won't be long before they build up a following.
• Mary was there with her olive oil and soap, Jo with her great range of breads, Michael with his free range eggs, Rhona with her fruit leather, dried fruit and fresh fruit, Biddy with her famous chicken liver pate and Seville orange marmalade, Susie with Hindmarsh olives and Pam and Paul from Doolan's jams with their jams, jellies, butter and chutneys. 
• All fabulous products and our group certainly enjoyed buying things they would take home and enjoy. 
• Coming to the Market on a tour with FoodPath means you get an inside look at what is going on with food in the Highlands and you get a personal introduction to the producers, which makes it special. Helps to build relationships between the grower and you, the consumer... which is the way we are heading. People really want to know more about the food they eat these days, which is great.

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.

Last Sat we hosted a journalist from Sydney who was interested in meeting local producers.

It was fortunate that this coincided with our first Farmers Markets tour in Bowral (2nd Sat) because this was a perfect opportunity to see many local producers in the one spot.

Ben really enjoyed it and wanted to linger longer but we had a tight schedule so had to move him on.









During the time at the market we met:
- A raspberry farmer
- A fruit bottling guru
- A couple selling mushrooms from the famous mushroom tunnel
- An olive farmer
- Some jam and chutney makers
- A dried fruit and fruit leather maker and
- A couple who produce a new prize winning Hand Made Slow Cooked barbeque sauce.


Time for a leisurely coffee half way through under the trees.




The Bowral Farmers Market is small and an attractive location much loved by the locals who come out in droves.





Producers can vary from market to market and there are also many producers from outside the area -
eg free range pork, saltbush lamb, honey, bread, cheeses, traditional sausages, vegetables, wine, tea, Maltese cakes etc.