A short break travel story to the lovely Rutherglen wine region in Victoria, Australia, for Holidays for Couples.
Behind The Story: Boosey Creek Cheese
One of the best things about being a food writer is that, sometimes, you get to eat the fruit of your labours. (Quite literally the time I wrote this story about a Bolivian fruit called the achacha). Other times, it's less literal but just as tasty.
This article for Appetite for Excellence in Australia, is about a cheese factory called Boosey Creek. It's a tiny place where everything is done by hand. And they produce some of the freshest cheese in the country. This is because they also own a dairy farm and the milk from their grass-fed cows travels a single metre to the dairy. Yep, ONE METRE...
Behind The Story: Stoney Rise Winery
For a Pinotfile like me, visiting the Tamar Valley, and Tasmania in general is a real treat. Tasmania arguably makes Australia's best Pinot Noirs and sparkling wines.
So, it's hard to go to Tassie and not trip over great Pinots at every turn. And great Pinot winemakers too, as was the case at Stoney Rise winery...
Behind The Story: Cloudy Bay Sheep Farm
I hate to play favourites but I just loved Cloudy Bay Homestead's free-range lamb farm on the beautiful Bruny Island in Tasmania.
Maybe it was the serenity and natural beauty - big, empty horizons and green fields fringed by blue sea. Maybe it was that the sheep were so damn cute and fluffy. Or maybe it was because it was my birthday and I was just feeling good.
Behind The Story: Cameron's Oysters
Cameron's Oysters is one of the biggest and most established family-owned oyster farms in Australia, though most Australian have probably never heard of them. That's because their real business is in their hatchery, from which half of all Australian baby oysters (spats) come.
That's a lot of oysters.
Here's my story on visiting one of the most beautiful oyster farms in the world, in the lovely Tasmania.
Behind The Story: Huon Aquaculture
Seal and salmon spotting at Huon Aquaculture one cold morning in Tasmania. Afterwards we ate the salmon. But not the seals. Nor did the seals eat the salmon.
Huon is one of Australia's largest producers of salmon and has been rated one of the best in the world. So, getting to see and hear about their operations first-hand is a fantastic experience and one that's not readily available to the public. It was a real experience to write about it for Appetite for Excellence.
Freelancing: Will Write For Truffles
Food writing at its most fun - I went on a truffle hunt and cook for a sponsored story for Electrolux.
It was brilliant fun and I highly recommend it for anyone visiting Canberra in winter, who loves food and truffles (or the idea of truffles) and wonders where they come from and how to find, buy and cook with them. Delicious!