EDITORIAL

NEWS

Award-winning cheeses

MEMBER PROFILE
Araluen - fine jams and chutneys

NEW MEMBERS
Basket Range bio-dynamic farmers

BARKING
Denise Manson
FIDO

CONTACTS

EVENTS

The Adelaide Hills Food Chain

November 2006

Adelaide Showground Farmers Market

Enjoying a successful day at the first Adelaide Showground Farmers Market last month was Willabrand Australia producer Willa Wauchope, Houghton. More than 10,000 people attended the inaugural event. Project manager Zannie Flanagan said a stallholder "had to be the kind of person who fishes, farms or manufactures. We've got bakers and cooks here, but they have to give us a certificate to say how much of the produce used in their manufactured goods is sourced from South Australia."
The Adelaide Showgrounds Farmers Market will run every Sunday from 9am-1pm, except when the Royal Show is on.

 

Editorial

Adelaide Showground Farmers Market enjoys enormous success

At publication time last month AHF had just taken two stalls at the new Adelaide Showground Farmers Market (ASFM) with Willabrand and HQ Cuisine as our pioneers. Five weeks later this has proved to be enormously successful and we have now had several more producers go through including, Bremer Cafe, Ruby Spoon, Araluen (see New Members) and Milano Olives. Hahndorf Venison and Fruitwise also have regular weekly stalls.

We have now taken a third stall and are fully booked until Christmas, but if anyone is interested in a stall in the New Year please put your name down now.

The first week of the market saw 10,000 people go through. This has now settled down to a more manageable 6000, which still represents a wonderful opportunity to sell lots of product and do vigorous promotion and product testing to people with a genuine interest in good food.

Following negotiations with Pia Vogrin, the market manager, December has been designated Adelaide Hills Food month. This is a fantastic opportunity in the run up to Christmas to really showcase the range of our produce. We will also have cookery demonstrations in the kitchen using AHF ingredients and there will be berries and cherries alongside our value added produce.

ASFM and the Central Market

There has been an announcement that Adelaide City Council intends to encourage the Central Market to open on Sundays to compete with ASFM.

Ann Moran of ACC said that although there had been no direct evidence of ASFM impacting on sales at the Central Market there was concern among traders that this might be a possibility.

The Council has been wanting the Central Market to consider Sunday opening for some time and the success of ASFM was the catalyst to raise this again. It would remain a voluntary option for stallholders and it was believed it would bring knock-on benefits to the city centre and Gouger Street as well as increasing the opportunity for people to buy fresh food.

Ian Behrndt of The Providore in the Central Market said that stallholders had been aware of the Council’s wish to see Sunday trading for some time. He also said that many in the market valued Sunday as a day off and that the opening of ASFM had had no impact on sales. He said anything that offered an alternative to supermarket shopping was a good thing.

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In the News

Markets for Hills produce expand through the Regional Food SA Co-op

Adelaide Hills Food producers are taking advantage of the distribution organisation, Regional Food SA Co-op, that supplies the wider market place, both within SA as well as interstate.
The RFSA Co-op is a producer driven not-for-profit co-op for small to medium sized producers around South Australia who are wishing to access new markets.
The Co-op facilitates the sale of South Australian product by emphasising regionality, uniqueness, small scale production and other distinct points of difference.
Members products from Adelaide Hills Food, Clare Valley Cuisine, Fleurieu Peninsula Food, Food Barossa, Riverland Food Group and Tastes of the Southern Flinders Ranges are presented and sold to independent supermarkets, gourmet delis, butcher shops and wine shops under their regional umbrella while also building individual producer brands.
The food service market is also rapidly expanding for the Co-op. Some Co-op producers are tailor making and packaging bulk items to suit this market.
For more information about the Regional Food SA Co-op contact: Kate Parkin, Manager, Regional Food SA Co-op, PO Box 767, Tanunda SA 5352. Tel. 08 8563 1435 or email manager@regionalfoodsa.com

Hills producers named among country's top cheesemakers

Hills producers, among 200 to compete at CheeseFest 06, took home eight of the 31 medals presented, with new Adelaide Hills Food member Woodside Cheese Wrights collecting six.
Woodside Cheese Wrights received awards in goats milk (Capricorn), lactic curd (Fresh Curd, Chevre, Monet), fresh curd matured (Edith) and the hard and eye cheese (Figaro) categories.
Other Hills medallists were B.-d. Farm Paris Creek for its Quark Swiss Style and Udder Delights for its Ashed Chevre.

Baylies order a gift

Hills gourmet baked goods producer Baylies of Strathalbyn has secured a major order from a leading New Zealand food wholesaler.
New Zealand’s Interlink Foods requested samples of Christmas products through Austrade and, by June, Baylies had secured an order worth more than $20,000.
Now based at Woodside, Baylies produces handmade gourmet foods using South Australian fruit, flour, wine and brandy. Their range includes shortbreads, gourmet crackers, fudge and praline, speciality cakes and conserves, as well as seasonal products such as Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and white Christmas.

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Member Profile

Araluen

We are delighted to welcome Maurice and Madeline Kneen of Araluen as new members.
They make fine jams and chutneys and have a 100 acre block at Carey Gully where they grow strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and currants and many other soft fruits and vegetables for use in their produce.
Maurice (pictured right) is a member of the committees of the Hills Producers Market and Stirling Community Market and is currently facilitating the relocation and upgrading of the Stirling Market to Druids Avenue on Sundays.
Maurice feels that he really didn’t start work until he retired.
"Having reached my use-by-date after serving for 33 years in the Air Force, where everyone knows you don't really work, I elected to spend my so-called retirement returning to my roots on the land as I had grown up on a farm on the Isle of Man," says Maurice.
"Deciding on the Adelaide Hills was easy as no-one in their right mind would stay in Canberra, and  one of the many things we loved about the Hills was its seasonality. With that in mind we purchased a block that could best be described as a renovator's delight and we have now cleared enough land to plant sufficient fruit to supply Madeline with all she needs to make jams and chutneys to sell at markets right through the year."
Maurice and Madeline, who are members of the Hills Slow Food Convivium, are very keen to see a Farmers' Market set up in the Adelaide Hills.

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New Members and Friends

Anton and Sally Van Klopper

Anton and Sally van Klopper farm bio-dynamically on a 36-acre block of land at Basket Range which they own with Nicolle and Michael Degraw.
Anton originally studied cookery and for 10 years worked in hospitality in fine hotels and restaurants in Sydney. He then went on to gain first class honours in agriculture, majoring in oenology. He has done a number of vintages around the world, including Domaine Serene in Oregon, New Zealand and Germany before returning to Australia to pursue his dream of making the perfect Pinot Noir.
In 2002 he started farming biodynamically and he is now a member of the Council of Biodynamic Agriculture Australia, a national body with 1400 members.
Sally, who teaches art, and Anton grow bok choy, potatoes, lettuces, cherries and herbs on their block where they live with their five-year-old daughter Lucy and their Husky, Sam.

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Absolutely Barking

News from your FIDO

Denise Manson, Food Industry Development Officer

Following the launch of the AHF Guide and the subsequent publicity in September, there has been lots of requests for copies of the Guide both locally and interstate. It has certainly raised the profile of AHF and we are currently investigating the cost of a reprint. We have also had good feedback about the newsletter and lots of requests to go on the mailing list.

I have been getting out and about this month and meeting many more of you and it has been fascinating to see the processes that go into making all these fabulous products. Thanks very much to all of you for making me feel so welcome and your helpfulness in answering my questions.

I have recently attended two workshops. Lean Manufacturing looks at how to increase efficiency and profit and reduce waste. The Centre for Innovation which ran this workshop is currently offering a free site visit and intial discussions about how your business may benefit from this. I would recommend this very highly to anyone interested in increasing their profitability. Please contact me if you would like more details.

Flavour SA ran a workshop on costing last week which considered everything that needed to be taken into account when setting a price for your product. Again, contact me if you would like more details.

Adelaide Hills olive oil producers did very well in the 10th Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards announced last Friday. There were 112 entries, 61% coming from SA.
Beerenberg won gold and best commercial oil in the show, so big congratulations to them. Steve Harding picked up a silver on behalf of Premium Olives Australia and Rio Vista won a bronze medal. Modesty forbids me from mentioning that the group I pick with won four bronze in the micro producers category. Oops, I accidently did!

Terena Blanton-Downs gave a very witty and inspiring talk at the Adelaide Hills networking breakfast on October 31, about how she had developed Cocolat into the enormously successful business it is today. Two things that particularly stood out from Terena’s talk were her commitment to sourcing products from the Hills wherever possible, and the importance of turning up the hairdryer when your husband is giving you a hard time about taking on two shops in one week.

The start of this year's strawberry season at Beerenberg was celebrated on October 22 with a brunch in the middle of the strawberry fields. This was a lovely family event with music and cookery demonstrations and children running around filling every receptacle they could with strawberries.

As you all know I am hosted by South Central Area Consultative Committee and I have recently attended a State Gathering of ACCs where the key issues discussed were employment and ways to address the anticipated shortfall in the labour market. There were some very interesting presentations and a lot of lateral thinking about the best way to do this.

FIDO Funny

Definition of DICTATOR: ..................................... An amusingly shaped root vegetable

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Contacts

Drought Hotline

The South Australian Government has set up a drought hotline and web site to assist communities access information on support services, managing conditions etc.

The professional team of Networkers appointed by FarmBis in South Australia is there to help bridge the gap between training providers and primary producers.

Robert (Red) Hodge, Ceris Crosby and Annette Filby combine to offer a broad range of valuable experience in working with primary industries and regional communities across the State.

Red Hodge: Phone 08 8226 0375, Fax 08 8226 0333, Mobile 0417 230 072.
Ceris Crosby: Phone 08 8226 1449, Fax 08 8226 0333, Mobile 0428 106 269.
Annette Filby: Phone 08 8226 0378, Fax 08 8226 0333, Mobile 0428 104 625.

Events

To include your event in this calendar, email us.

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Administration

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