I firstmetMaggieBeer 20 yearsagoat
a fundraisingdinnerin Sydney,where
wewerebothcooking.Herbigheart,
effervescence, deliciouscookingand
naturalwaywithfoodmadeanenormous
impression.White-cookedchickenwas
oneofourBillyKwongstaplesandbeing
abletocooktheclassicdishusingthebest
qualitybirdswasessentialtoitssuccess.
I metMaggie’sfamilyandbeganusingher
daughterSaskia’sdeliciousBarossaFarmchickensonmymenu,
wheretheyremaineduntilweclosedlastyear.Maggiehastaught
somanyofustheimportanceofcookingwithinstinctandfollowing
theseasons.WatchingMaggiecookin hercountrykitchenis one
of life’s true joys and her approach to food and flavour is timeless.W
itha careerspanningmorethanfour
decades– andverymuchstillgoing
strong– MaggieBeerholdsa special
placeinAustralia’sculinarylandscape,
introducingmanytothejoyofcookingwithfresh,
seasonalproduce.
Thatseasonalapproachis parforthecoursethese
daysbut 40 yearsago,Beerwaswildlyaheadofher
time.SpeakingfromherhomeinSouthAustralia,
Beerlaughswhenaskedif sheeverconsideredherself
radical,beforeturningseriousas she explainshow
movingtotheBarossaValley
changedherlife.
“Thegiftofcomingtolive
hereandwhatI learnttovalue
fromthefirstmomentthatwe
gotherewaslivingtherhythmof
theseasons.InthewesternsuburbsofSydney,I’d
neverseenthat.Seasonalitydidn’tmeanasmuch
becausethingsweresolimited,”sheexplains.
“Inthe60s,youdidn’tseebasil.I’dneverseen
basilorzucchini.Cominghere,it wasallaboutthe
seasons.Ourneighbourwouldbringdownalmonds,
whichhehadpickedandcrackedthatnight.I’dnever
eatena freshalmond.”
Beerwas 25 whenshemetandmarriedher
husbandColin,aftera whirlwind16-weekromance.
ThecouplewerelivinginSydney,whereBeerhad
a seriesofhigh-flyingjobs,whentheydecidedto
movesouthandtakeuppheasantfarming.
Beerhadoriginallyplannedtostudyoenology
and become a winemaker when they moved to SouthAustralia.Instead,pregnantwithhereldestdaughter
Saskia,shefoundherselfcookingpheasantstotry
andboostsales.
“Noonewouldbuythepheasantsa secondtime
becausetheywouldusesomeoldrecipebookthathad
norelevance,”sherecalls.
Withnoformaltraining,Beerbelievesherinstinct
forfoodandflavouris inherblood.Herpaternal
grandmotherwasanexcellentcook,shesays,aswas
herfather.“I inheritedhisinstinct,definitely.AsSassy
didmine.I canseethelineage.
“Myfirstmemoriesoffoodwerealwaysthateven
whenwehadnomoney,thefoodwasgood.We
wentthroughtimesofaffluenceandtimesofreal
hardshipbutthemoneyforfoodwasalwaysput
beforeanythingelse.”
Thosetimesofhardshipincludedthefamily
businessgoingbankrupt,whichledtoBeerbeing
withdrawnfromschoolat 14.“Thatveryhard
childhoodgavemea hugeamountofgritbecausemy
olderbrotherandI justwentouttowork.Myaunt
renteda houseforusandwekeptthefamilytogether.
I suspectthat’swhatmademesucha drivenindividual.
ButI wasalwayssearchingforwhatit wasI wantedto do.”
Beerspent 20 yearsintheworkforcebefore
realisingshecouldturnherpassionforfoodinto
a livelihood.Afterseveralyearsofstrugglingtosell
theirpheasants,sheandColinopenedtheFarmShop
in1979,beforeopeningPheasantFarmRestaurant.
Beerranthekitchen,followingherinstinctsand
guidedbythe seasons,turningit intothecountry’s
leadingrestaurant– asdeclared
byGourmetTravellerin1991,when
it wonRestaurantoftheYear.
Twoyearslater,Beerclosed
therestaurantat theheightofits
popularity, a movesherepeatedin
2009 whensheendedherpopulartelevisionseries,
TheCookandTheChef.
“Walkingawayat theheightofourfamewasthe
bestthingtodo.Justaswehadwiththepheasant
farmaswell.Yougooutonsucha highandthere
arenoregrets.”
Thatsuccesshascomefroma classiccombination
ofhardworkanddetermination.
“It’sbeena longjourneyover 40 yearsandit’s
beena greatjourney.It’sjustbeenonefootinfront
oftheother.Hardworkneverscaresyouif youenjoy
the work.It canbeexhaustingbutif you’removing
forwardandif you’redoingsomethingthatyoulove
thenhardworkis justwhat is needed and you never
think twice about it.”●“Thatveryhard
childhoodgaveme a
huge amount of grit.”GOURMET TRAVELLER 35WORDS JOANNA HUNKIN (MAIN) & KYLIE KWONG (INTRODUCTION). PHOTOGRAPHY PENNY LANE (KYLIE KWONG) & DRAGAN RADOCAJ (MAGGIE BEER).