FLAVOURS
MEET T HE PRODUCER
GREAT RACE
THE APPLE THIEF’S
DAVID PURCELL IS
ALWAYS RACING
AGAINST THE BIRDS
TO GET THE BEST
FRUIT AT THE TOP
OF THE TREE FOR
HIS DELICIOUS
CIDERS. TRY THEM.
$6 FOR 330ML;
THEAPPLETHIEF.
COM.AURick Scoones, Warren Grange,
Manjimup, Western Australia
Farming initially put Rick Scoones
through the wringer. He’d bought his
43-hectare property Warren Grange
in Manjimup in 2011 full of dreams but
found the reality riddled with pitfalls.
“It was a slippery slope and I made a lot
of mistakes,” says the former marine
biologist. “I was overambitious, trying
to do things on too big a scale.” The
turning point came after he watched
a crop of butternut pumpkins rot on the ground, the
result of a commodity deal that soured. Chasing
cashflow, Rick planted different pumpkin varieties
and hit the jackpot when chefs at a local food festival
saw them. “Chefs get carried away by the colour,”
says Rick. His black futsu and galeux d’Eysines, two
of more than 20 pumpkin varieties he grows, are
highly sought after. Right now, Rick is preparing to
plant out his 2020 crop. In addition to pumpkins,
Rick grows a wide variety of heirloom cucumbers,
tomatoes, eggplants, capsicum and chillies and the
stranger looking they are, the better. Failure was hard,
but for Rick it was motivating. “I’m driven now by the
quest to survive,” he says. warrengrange.com.auTOP 3 TASTES
TASMANIA’S
EASTCOAST
AliceLaingfromTasmanSeaSalt
givesusthescooponherfavourite
tastesontheTasmanianeastcoast.
1 MelshellOysterShack(pictured
above)atDolphinSandsserves
delicious,succulentoysterswitha
viewovertheSwanRiverandwith
TheHazardsmountainrangebehind.
Travelthereona cycletourfrom
Swansea.melshelloysters.com.au
2 SeanKeating,theexecutive
chefatPiermontRetreat’s
HomesteadRestaurant, isusing
our smoked salt on home-cured
ocean trout. It’s a stunning dish,
served with sea vegetables that he
picks along the seashore.
3 The Splendid Gin Mesmeric is a
fantastic new gin. It’s infused with
Tassie botanicals, plus mandarin
and a subtle note of bergamot. Drink
it straight, on the rocks or with
a slice of orange. thesplendidgin.comGONATIVE
It’sprettyexciting
when Australian chefs
are acknowledged
internationally. I mean,
we know how good they
are; isn’t it time the rest
of the world did too?
Several of our top chefs,
including Rodney Dunn
from The Agrarian
Kitchen in Tasmania,
have been included in
The Garden Chef:
Recipes and Stories
from Plant to Plate
(Phaidon, $59.95), a
lush round-up of chefs
whose work is inspired
by their gardens. The
book is filled with a
sense of ingenuity.
These chefs grow food
in conditions as variable
as a plantation house
in Peru to an exposed,
bare hillside in Iceland.WHAT’S FOR BREAKFAST?
Coyo is the yoghurt you want when what you’re
seeking is organic, sugar-free and non-dairy. Made
from coconut milk in Yandina on Queensland’s
Sunshine Coast, Coyo does more than tick the
dietary boxes, it also tastes delicious. Serve it for
breakfast or with a poached pear. $11.55 for 500g.
Coyo also has a range of sugar-free and dairy-free
ice-cream, $12.99 for 500ml. coyo.comflavours
Follow Barbara on Instagram @foodandwords
CIDER, COCONUT YOGHURT, TASSIE
TASTES AND A GOOD BOOK TEMPT
BARBARA SWEENEY THIS MONTH.90 COUNTRY STYLE SEPTEMBER 2019