Australian Gourmet Traveller - (08)August 2020 (1)

How I eat

I stayedona WWOOFfarm

inTasmania,whichstandsfor

WillingWorkersOnOrganic

Farms.Thepremiseis thatyou

workonthefarminexchange

forfoodandaccommodation.

ThepropertyI stayedonwasrun

bya lovelyFrenchgentlemanby

thenameofGiles,andhewasthe

pictureofhealth.Theconnection

hehadwiththelandandhis

communityresonatedwithme

ona deeperlevel.SoI guessthatstarted

me on the horticultural path.

Youdidyourchefapprenticeshipat

VuedeMondeinMelbourne.Didyou

eatwellwhileyouworkedthere?

Thedietofanapprenticechefworking

100 hoursa weekis subhuman.I’dtaste

everysauceandotherbitsoffoodduring

service,butI wouldrarelysitdownand

eata fullmeal.Therewasa lotof

Vegemite toast and cigarettes.

Howdidyouwindupbeingthehoston

RiverCottageAustralia?I waslivingback

inTasmania,mindingmyownbusiness,

growing vegetables in my backyard and

workingasa chef,anda familyfriend

toldmeaboutthecasting.I applied

andoutofabout 1300 applicantsI was

luckyenoughtogetthenod.I received

thenewsasI wasgoingintoa busy

dinnerserviceoneFridayafternoon–

thatwasprobablythehardestdinner

serviceI’veeverdone,just trying to

digest the information.

Youalsocontributetofood-focused

episodesofCatalystontheABC.What’s

themostinterestingthingyou’velearnt?

Whatis involvedinfeedinga nation.

Agricultureis almost“backofhouse”

totheaveragepunter.Wegotothe

supermarket,webuyourfood,wego

home,wecookit.Andthat’smost

people’sexperiencewithfood.But

themechanismsthatexisttogetthat

foodtoyoursupermarketarehuge

andcomplicated.Weliveinanage

ofabundanceandplenty but our

food system is fragile.

Howhasyourcookingstyleevolved

sincehavingkids?I usedtotryand

impressmywifewithextravagantmeals

• I’dcookforhoursanduseevery
  singledishinthekitchen.NowI’m
  a hyper-efficientone-potcook.When
  I wasa chef,I scoffedat thenotion
  ofslowcookers.Ourssitsona little
  pedestalandI layfloralwreathsaround
  it every morning; we cherish it!

Inyouropinion,wherearethebest

farmers’marketsinAustralia?TheSage

FarmersMarketinMoruyainNewSouth

Wales.Theywereoneofthefirstmarkets

toberuthlessintheirapplicationprocess,

sothey’veendedupwith a very high

calibre of produce.

What’syournumber-onetipforpeople

wantingtogrowtheirownproduce?

Startsmall.I alsorecommendregistering

yourpatchonGrowIt Local,whichis

a socialmediaplatformforfoodgrowers.

It willconnectyouwithpeopleinyour

communitythatcanofferadviceorshare

information– it’sa fantasticinitiative.

Peoplewillbetrippingoverthemselves

to help you learn how to grow.●

Paul’sbook,TheEdibleGardenCookbook

& GrowingGuide(Plum;$39.99)is available

now.RiverCottageAustraliais currently

showing on SBS on Demand.

Paul West

EATING WITH

TheRiverCottageAustralia

hostonslowcookers,growing

produce and apprentice diets.

Yougrewupinthesmallruraltownof

MurrurundiinNewSouthWales.Whatdid

foodmeantoyourfamily?Mymumand

dadrana smallbusinesstogetherselling

firearmsandchainsaws,sofoodforus

wasa veryutilitarianaffair.It wasmeat

andthreevegeverynightoftheweek.

Mumwouldgethomeat 5.30pmand

dinnerwouldbeonthetablenolater

than6.30pm.Shedidn’thavetimeto

relishinthekitchen,butthat’snottosay

wedidn’teatwell.I hada verynarrow

culinaryworldviewgrowingup;I didn’t

eat olives or yoghurt until I left home.

Wheredidyourloveoffoodstemfrom?

When I was a 21-year-old backpacker

GOURMET TRAVELLER 31

INTERVIEW KARLIE VERKERK. PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS MIDDLETON.