ESMEATKINSON
ShimaWasabi,Tas
“It’sa challengetokeepthemhappy,”saysEsmeAtkinson
ofthe10,000wasabiplantssheandhercolleaguescoax
intomaturityingreenhousesattheShimaWasabifarmin
Tasmania’snorth-west.Infact,theteamrefertotheroot
vegetableasa “moodyteenager”becauseofitsfickleness;
it hatesbeingexposedtotoomuchheatorlight.
ButAtkinsonhasworkedwiththeplantforlongenough
nowtoknowwhatwillkeepit fromturningupitstoes.
ShestartedatShimaasa harvesterbeforetakingover
fromfounderStephenWelshin2017.
Thecompanysellsabout 20 kilogramsa weekof
freshwasabiacrossAustralia.Butthehardworkdoesn’t
stopthere.“Oneofthebiggestchallengeswehaveis
educatingpeopleaboutwhatwasabiactuallyis,”she
says.“There’sa perceptionthatwasabiwillblowyour
headoff.Truewasabiis hotbutit’ssubtle,witha sweet
andalmostdelicateflavour.”Atkinsonsuggeststrying
it withsomethingotherthantheusualsushi.“I loveit with
a beautifulsteak,”shesays.It’sasversatile on the table
as it is temperamental in the ground.RALFFINK
OakwoodSmallgoodsCo,Castlemaine,Vic
Witha bagfullofbutcher’sknivesandhisdog,RalfFinklandedin
Melbourneunknown.A Germanfleischmeister,ormasterbutcher,hehad
leftGermanyforSouthDakotaaftertheGFC.Despiteeightyearsofsolid
trainingunderhisleatherapron,hisskillswerenotrespectedin small-
townUSAwherejerkyandbaloneyweretheclosestthingtocharcuterie.
Dejected,hesearchedforsomewherehisskillswouldberecognised.
In Melbourneheworkedwithtopbutchersmakingsalumi,andwas
onbigbucksworkingformanufacturerswhenhesawa 19th-centurymill
thathadbeenconvertedtoanartisanfoodhubin Castlemaine.“I had
trainedtobea fleischmeistersinceI was16.Justlikemyfather,”hesays.
“I knewI hadtoreturntomytrade.”Andsohereturnedtohand-making
smokedbacon,ham,weisswurst,blutwurst,leberkaseandfrankfurts
usingtraditionalrecipes.
Lessthantwoyearsbackatthesmoker,hehasteamedupwith
localpigfarmerswhoraiseheritageLargeBlacks.Finkis mostproud
ofhisjamón,madefrompigsfedonacornsfromanoakforestnearby.
“WhatI needareyoungbutcherstofollowin myfootsteps,”hesays.
“I have built the butchery and smokehouse. They will come.”CHRISBOLTON
ChrisBoltonFishing,QLD
“AllI everwantedtodowastogo
fishing,”saysChrisBolton.Andthat’s
justwhathedid,butit soonbecame
clearthattoearna livinglong-term,
he’dneedtodothingsdifferently.
Whilesupplyingwholesalersin
Cairns,herealisedthattryingtocatch
asmuchaspossiblewasn’tsustainable.
“Fisharea limitedresource.I realised
theonlyoptionwastogetmoremoney
fora higherqualityproduct.”
Boltonsawthedemandforfresher
fish,handledandsourcedwithcare.
Withthatinmind,hekittedouthis
boattokeephiscatchin thebeststate
possible.“Thefishareline-caught
thenkilledusingike-jime,a Japanese
processthatusesa spiketogothrough
thefish’sbrain,killingit instantly,”he
says.“Thefisharethenplungedinto
ice-coldsaltedwatertopreventthem
fromswelling.”
Boltonsuppliesmorethan 50 top
Australianrestaurants,including
Jonah’sandEster,withwild-caught
reeffishsuchasredemperorand
coraltrout.Boltonandoneothercrew
membercatchabout 20 tonnesof
fisha year,andheinspectseachand
everyone.“Thebiggestchallenge
is educatingpeopleonjusthow
sustainablefishingcanbesowe
don’t get shut down,” he says.Clockwisefrom
topleft:master
butcherRalf
Fink;coral
trout;Andrew
Wyszynski
withhisbees;
wasabiplants
atShimaWasabi.
PREVIOUSPAGES
Left:EmilyYarra,
ofBrightside
Produce.60 GOURMET TRAVELLER