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.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Who was watching Better Homes and Gardens on Ch 7 last night? Our local potato growers Norman and Robyn from Robertson provided the backdrop and product for a feature on potatoes. Pity they weren't mentioned by name - but we knew who they were. What a beautiful property. Hope to take a FoodPath Tour to visit them sometime.
You can see Robyn and Norman's "Highland Gourmet Potatoes" at the Bowral and Moss Vale produce markets - all 22 varieties! They give advice re cooking as well which is very helpful.
You can see Robyn and Norman's "Highland Gourmet Potatoes" at the Bowral and Moss Vale produce markets - all 22 varieties! They give advice re cooking as well which is very helpful.
Went to a great dinner last Sat with the Phatt Duck chef Stephen Crook and his wife Teena. Very special!
The venue was The Potager at Berrima where our hostess was Elouise. Two long tables were elegantly set in this historic little cottage tucked away behind the General Store and filled with pretty and quirky things for sale.
Loved the fact that Stephen came between courses and told us where he sourced his local ingredients and about the people behind the food.
The menu included Duck Tea from Thirlemere Poultry, Bridgette's Chicken Pate on Jo's bread. Mittagong Mushroom Tunnel Tartlet, braised Pork Belly from Joadja with glazed Beetroot, Apple and Tarragon Compote with a side of Dauphinoise Potatoes and Muscat poached Fruit with Meringue.
Also loved listening to guest Peter playing the guitar, sitting by the open fire. Hope we can go again!
The venue was The Potager at Berrima where our hostess was Elouise. Two long tables were elegantly set in this historic little cottage tucked away behind the General Store and filled with pretty and quirky things for sale.
Loved the fact that Stephen came between courses and told us where he sourced his local ingredients and about the people behind the food.
The menu included Duck Tea from Thirlemere Poultry, Bridgette's Chicken Pate on Jo's bread. Mittagong Mushroom Tunnel Tartlet, braised Pork Belly from Joadja with glazed Beetroot, Apple and Tarragon Compote with a side of Dauphinoise Potatoes and Muscat poached Fruit with Meringue.
Also loved listening to guest Peter playing the guitar, sitting by the open fire. Hope we can go again!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Just coming up for air after an amazing few days! Sydney Weekender on Saturday included a FoodPath workshop with Stephen Hogwood from the 1910 Bottling Company. Steve is passionate about bottling only organic fruit that he sources locally wherever possible.
The enquiries from the FoodPath website have been coming thick and fast - which is very exciting. There has been great interest in all of our workshops - fruit bottling, cheese appreciation and wine education!
It is always great to have the opportunity to showcase the Southern Highlands and Mike Whitney certainly made it fun! He loves his job and it shows. He said he never knows where he is going to be sent next week so there is always the element of the unexpected.
The girls in the fruit bottling class enjoyed themselves. Lunch was provided by DeliSH, a new business in the Highlands that makes hampers for visitors and locals.
Mary and Tony from Howards Lane were able to show off their beautiful vineyard outside Mittagong - even though they were in NZ on holidays! We like to use their tasting room for our workshops. It is a stand alone timber building with verandah and a wonderful view over the vineyard. In the late afternoon the kangaroos come down out of the bush to graze.
We are very grateful to Xante at Sydney Weekender for offering us the opportunity to demonstrate our workshops and spread the word about FoodPath to their extensive audience.
The classes are filling up so contact us quickly if you want to come!
The enquiries from the FoodPath website have been coming thick and fast - which is very exciting. There has been great interest in all of our workshops - fruit bottling, cheese appreciation and wine education!
It is always great to have the opportunity to showcase the Southern Highlands and Mike Whitney certainly made it fun! He loves his job and it shows. He said he never knows where he is going to be sent next week so there is always the element of the unexpected.
The girls in the fruit bottling class enjoyed themselves. Lunch was provided by DeliSH, a new business in the Highlands that makes hampers for visitors and locals.
Mary and Tony from Howards Lane were able to show off their beautiful vineyard outside Mittagong - even though they were in NZ on holidays! We like to use their tasting room for our workshops. It is a stand alone timber building with verandah and a wonderful view over the vineyard. In the late afternoon the kangaroos come down out of the bush to graze.
We are very grateful to Xante at Sydney Weekender for offering us the opportunity to demonstrate our workshops and spread the word about FoodPath to their extensive audience.
The classes are filling up so contact us quickly if you want to come!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Wow - Gumnut Patisserie has done it again!
FoodPath's Nick was a judge at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show again this year and therefore he was invited to the Awards Lunch today, so ......
Hot from the press I want to tell you that Gumnut Patisserie won so many awards I almost lost count!
Traci and Vikki the business owners have done it again - they really are amazing.
I counted 5 Gold, 17 Silver and 19 Bronze medals - and I might have missed some!
Gold medals were for:
There were too many silver and bronze to list them here - but they cover an impressive range of categories.
They also won "Champion Gourmet Pie" with their lamb and rosemary pie.
Amongst the awards were some for four Gumnut apprentices who also starred - Kylie Masters, Jason Hanger, Emillia Preston and Zayne Vidler - well done guys!
Under the "Apprentice Awards", Kylie Masters won the "Best Apprentice Cake Exhibit" with her Swiss Roll.
Traci has always impressed me with his enthusiastic support of his apprentices. One year I even nominated him for a Rotary Vocational Award for Employer of the Year because of the way he encourages and trains apprentices. Passing on his skills is very important I believe and this is the way to achieve that. If you go into the Gumnut Patisserie kitchen in Mittagong you will see photos of past apprentices in pride of place on the wall and information on where they are now working around the world!
FoodPath's Nick was a judge at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show again this year and therefore he was invited to the Awards Lunch today, so ......
Hot from the press I want to tell you that Gumnut Patisserie won so many awards I almost lost count!
Traci and Vikki the business owners have done it again - they really are amazing.
I counted 5 Gold, 17 Silver and 19 Bronze medals - and I might have missed some!
Gold medals were for:
- Mud cake with specialty garnish
- Mud cake glazed
- Mousse cake - tri-layer mousse
- Danish pastries
- Lamb and rosemary pie
There were too many silver and bronze to list them here - but they cover an impressive range of categories.
They also won "Champion Gourmet Pie" with their lamb and rosemary pie.
Amongst the awards were some for four Gumnut apprentices who also starred - Kylie Masters, Jason Hanger, Emillia Preston and Zayne Vidler - well done guys!
Under the "Apprentice Awards", Kylie Masters won the "Best Apprentice Cake Exhibit" with her Swiss Roll.
Traci has always impressed me with his enthusiastic support of his apprentices. One year I even nominated him for a Rotary Vocational Award for Employer of the Year because of the way he encourages and trains apprentices. Passing on his skills is very important I believe and this is the way to achieve that. If you go into the Gumnut Patisserie kitchen in Mittagong you will see photos of past apprentices in pride of place on the wall and information on where they are now working around the world!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Went to the annual Burrawang Easter Fair today. It was very busy with lots of stalls and packed with visitors and locals who like to come every year!
Having to park in a nearby paddock gave us the opportunity to discover what a pretty little town Burrawang is! We don't usually walk around the back streets when we go to visit.
Nick and I helped on a stand promoting the Southern Highlands wine and food and there was a lot of interest.
We had wine from 5 local wineries - all members of Southern Highlands Food and Wine - for tastings and sales. These included:
The wine included:
Many people were surprised to learn that we have over 55 vineyards and 14 cellar doors in the Southern Highlands - and it so close to Sydney! An easy drive for a weekend stay - best not to drive home if you are tasting wine! There are lots of options for accommodation - just ask and we can help.
We will be finalising our FoodPath winery tours very soon and will let you all know.
Having to park in a nearby paddock gave us the opportunity to discover what a pretty little town Burrawang is! We don't usually walk around the back streets when we go to visit.
We had wine from 5 local wineries - all members of Southern Highlands Food and Wine - for tastings and sales. These included:
- Tertini and Diamond Creek Estate from Mittagong
- Sutton Forest Wines, St Maurs and Sally's Corner from the Exeter area and
- Southern Highlands Wines from Sutton Forest.
The wine included:
- Pinot Noir
- Merlot
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Grigio
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Riesling and one sticky from Diamond Creek Estate (we also had their olive oil).
Many people were surprised to learn that we have over 55 vineyards and 14 cellar doors in the Southern Highlands - and it so close to Sydney! An easy drive for a weekend stay - best not to drive home if you are tasting wine! There are lots of options for accommodation - just ask and we can help.
We will be finalising our FoodPath winery tours very soon and will let you all know.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Ever bought pretzels from street vendors in your travels? I remember them particularly in Greece - so we were delighted when Andrew and Sue installed a new bread oven at their great little deli in Bowral - Il Topolino and started making, amongst other things, pretzels! Nick loves them and comes home with a box of them every other day.
Andrew is also making bagels, sourdough loaves, butter croissants and a range of different loaves such as an organic Swiss, a stone baked pane di Toscana, a German grain loaf, hand crafted corn bread and more! It is hard to find bagels in the Southern Highlands so I am sure these will be especially popular.
This little deli is one of the stops on our Food Focused Walking Tour in Bowral. We now run these on demand in Bowral and we have also started one in Berrima. They are a great way to get to know the specialty food shops with local food enthusiastists!
Other good news is that Lisa Tozer and her sister Sally Terry of the Rush Roasting Co have opened a cafe in the back of the Grand Hotel arcade - and they are soooo busy!
They have been roasting coffee in Bowral for the past 15 years and describe themselves as "roasters of extraordinary coffee from extraordinary places".
Now they have a shopfront, we are keen to include Lisa and Sally on the itinerary of our walking tour and they are enthusiastic too, which is exciting. Not only will we taste their coffee but we will hear from them about their product and their plans.
Andrew is also making bagels, sourdough loaves, butter croissants and a range of different loaves such as an organic Swiss, a stone baked pane di Toscana, a German grain loaf, hand crafted corn bread and more! It is hard to find bagels in the Southern Highlands so I am sure these will be especially popular.
This little deli is one of the stops on our Food Focused Walking Tour in Bowral. We now run these on demand in Bowral and we have also started one in Berrima. They are a great way to get to know the specialty food shops with local food enthusiastists!
Other good news is that Lisa Tozer and her sister Sally Terry of the Rush Roasting Co have opened a cafe in the back of the Grand Hotel arcade - and they are soooo busy!
They have been roasting coffee in Bowral for the past 15 years and describe themselves as "roasters of extraordinary coffee from extraordinary places".
Saturday, March 26, 2011
At the farm we were given a bucket each and shown which trees were ours. We donned our gloves and off we went. It was so quiet and peaceful with only the black cockatoos breaking the silence.
When we had enough we headed back to the shed where Dennis weighed the nuts and we bought those we wanted to take home. Other groups came and went, all down from Sydney and most were of Greek origin. Some people had been down twice in the last week!
During the Great Depression chestnuts provided valuable source of food for the poor. They made it into a type of nut leather or cake. Nick and I heard this at a chestnut workshop in Turin a few years ago - at a Slow Food Salone.
We gathered some sticks and made a fire under the chestnut roaster and ate our lunch while we waited for the fire to settle to embers. Flour Water Salt made a delicious picnic for us - gourmet sandwich, cake and bottle of juice.
When the fire was ready we put the chestnuts into the roaster and turned the handle to distribute the heat evenly. They had to cook for a good twenty minutes until the nuts opened and turned yellow. If you eat them too early they taste like blotting paper, but if properly cooked are sweet and buttery.
Did you know you can freeze fresh chestnuts to use throughout the year?
It was such fun that I have asked Dennis if we can take another group. The growing season is short. We have been offered two dates - Wed this week (30 Mar) or Sat (2 Apr).
LET US KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME WITH US NEXT TIME?
Price $30pp. Self drive. Chestnuts extra @ $6.50 kg. We will supply gloves. Wear solid shoes.
Please contact us from the website.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Today was a great FoodPath Day Tour despite the weather. We were so lucky that it didn't really start to rain until lunchtime. The rest of the day we were under cover so it didn't really matter.
Our group was made up of people from Balmain, New Zealand and the Southern Highlands. A mother and adult daughter were part of the group. We often have family groups getting out of Sydney and doing something together which is a lovely idea, don't you agree?
The baby Boer goats at our first farm have grown a lot but were still very cute.
Our group was made up of people from Balmain, New Zealand and the Southern Highlands. A mother and adult daughter were part of the group. We often have family groups getting out of Sydney and doing something together which is a lovely idea, don't you agree?
The baby Boer goats at our first farm have grown a lot but were still very cute.
We also saw the geese, bees, heard about the truffle trees, Learnt how to make a good compost heap, grow vegies and even build a chook pen out of recycled materials!
Alan is a mine of information and his place is a great example of sustainable living!
Since out last visit Alan had built a new green house - complete with potted vegies growing very happily.
We were treated to a taste of Alan's fresh produce too - nice and crunchy and full of flavour.
On to the Burrawang Village Hotel for lunch and the rain came down. However it was cosy inside and we spent a very pleasant time there with the group. The food was yummy!
After lunch we visited the dairy at Mayberry Farm and, as always, everyone found it very interesting. One member of the group had childhood memories of life on the farm and having a glass of fresh milk was very nostalgic for her.
Finally we drove to Small Cow Farm nearby where Mark told us about cheese making and we tasted many of their cheeses - all delicious.
Some we tasted were the Small Cow fetta (which won a gold award at the Royal Easter Show this year), a gourmet fetta marinated in oil, a beautiful ripe brie, a cheddar, a cooked gruyere style cheese called their Mountain Cheeses and finally the famous Small Cow Blue. Mark said they are working on a new creamy blue cheese which should be available soon. We are looking forward to that.
Every time we run one of these Day Tours I am reminded of why we decided to do there food tours - they really are interesting and fun. We always enjoy ourselves too!
We had some enthusiastic feedback from the group today. They said they would come on other tours with us and would tell their friends - that's what we like to hear!
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.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
This Saturday we have our first Market to Table Tour with the Blue Bowl Cooking School. We have checked out who will be at the Bowral Public School produce market and Patricia has decided on the recipes - so all that remains now is for us to find the ingredients and take them back to the Fitzroy Inn for our cooking class and lunch.
I am looking forward to this.
We will be having these once a month so let us know if you are interested?
I am looking forward to this.
We will be having these once a month so let us know if you are interested?
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