Join the queue if you're hoping to buy some freshly baked bagels or sourdough from That Bagel Place at the Capital Region Farmer's Market! Shane Peart and family offer a selection of beautiful baked goods for discerning customers. His sourdough loaves come in plain, wholemeal, fruit, kalamata olive as well as soy and linseed. There are also nine New York style bagel varieties including poppy seed, cheese, garlic, blueberry and cinnamon and raisin. Yum! You'll find That Bagel Place at Farr Place in Isaacs and their goodies at the Old Bus Depot Markets, Capital Region Farmer's Markets, Choku Bai Jo (Curtin and North Lyneham). One of my loves is good coffee and I was delighted to find Zedz Cafe at Adelaide Central Market. Barista, Dorcen Walters, from Kommon Grounds coffee, roasts the beans locally. Meanwhile, former fine dining and Hyatt chef, Franjo Novosel, puts his heart and soul into preparing market fresh, wholesome breakfasts, lunches, and baked goods for Zedz patrons. Specialities include juice of the day, muffins, tarts and other baked goods. There's gluten free, vegetarian and vegan food, sprouted lentils, activated nuts, and more. Zedz also do a secret sorbetto, currently they have Christmas Cake and Persian delight flavours. Look out for the fluorescent sign at the Eastern Grote Street entrance to the Market. Michael McNamara was busy stirring a huge pot of caramelised macadamia nuts when I stopped in to say hello at the farmer's market this morning. The Bateman's Bay Nut Roasting Company is owned and operated by Michael and his brother, Mark, who (Michael says) inherited the company eleven years ago from a former girlfriend. A nutty tale, perhaps, but true and one with a happy outcome. As you can see from Michael's wide smile, he loves what he does. "We started out with caramel peanuts and branched into caramel macadamias a few years ago," Michael tells me. "Now we roast one ton of macadamias every month!". Michael's favourite is wasabi and seaweed macadamias. Among the savouries are Kashmir chilli macadamias, garlic macadamias, roasted salted macadamias, and also salt and vinegar macadamias. The sweet range includes honey macadamias, maple toasted pecans (yum!), honey cashews, and Vienna almonds (double yum!), You'll find the Bateman's Bay Nut Roasting Company's cafe in the arcade at Batemans Bay (closed weekends). Market stalls are at the Capital Region Farmer's Market and also at Moruya Country Market every Saturday; Old Bus Depot Markets in Canberra every Sunday; and at Berry, Kiama and Mollymook markets. Alongside hand-made, organically tinted 'Warp and Weft' products from Peru, Mat Campbell is now selling his first commercial crop of organic garlic. Mat grows three varieties of garlic (hard neck, soft neck and Russian) on a small sustainable farm at Robertson in NSW and has recently received organic certification. I spoke with Mat at his stall at the Orange Grove Farmer's Markets in Leichhardt. He explained the background to Warp and Weft and how he and partner, Harriet, had travelled through South America and, upon returning home, were inspired to establish an ethical business practising principles of Fair Trade. You will find Mat and his Green Heart Organic Garlic at the Orange Grove Farmer's Markets in Leichhardt on Saturdays. Closer to home, Warp and Weft will be trading at the National Folk Festival over Easter. Dora Andonaros and her farm fresh apples Down-to-earth is how I would best describe Dora Andonaros, who has a delightful stall at the Capital Region Farmer's Markets on Saturdays and Southside Farmer's Market on Sundays. Dora and her husband, John, are hobby farmers who specialise in honey; selling it under the Melissa Pure Fresh Honey label. The couple were one of the first twelve who initiated the Capital Region Farmer's Market in Canberra. 'We sell a bag of this, a bucket of that,' Dora told me. 'Anything that is surplus to our needs'. Dora always greets customers with a big smile. Apples, onions, leeks, garlic, herbs (fresh and dried), honey, beeswax, figs and pretty posies are among the offerings on the stall. There is quite a team of skilled (and happy) cooks working on the Turkish Gozleme stall at the Orange Grove Farmer's Markets in Leichhardt. Working quickly and with fresh ingredients, we watched as the maker stretched out the dough for the flat bread and laid it down flat on the work bench. Then fresh spinach and cheese was piled on top, before the dough was folded and shaped, ready for the grill. Delicious! The queue of people waiting to buy Gozleme proved its popularity. Dominic and Mareeta Torcaso travel a long way from their property in Myrtleford, Victoria, to get to the Capital Region Farmer's Markets in Canberra every Saturday. But then I would happily travel a long way to buy their beautiful fresh produce! The Torcasos have been selling their produce at Farmer's Markets for the last three or four years. You will find them at the Hume Murray Food Bowl, Beechworth, Rutherglen and Wangaratta. There are capsicums, chillies, beans, potatoes (Nicola, Pontiac, Dutch Cream and Kipflers), eggplant, gourmet tomatoes and other delicious goodies on their stall. And the couple always greet their lines of customers with big happy smiles! Make sure you ask Dominic about his father's heirloom tomatoes. They taste like REAL tomatoes! Enquiries to mailto:torcasoproduce@hotmail.com 'These guys are really good!', a shopper told me as she bought her weekly supply of potatoes, rocket and herbs from Andrew Galan and Ged Hardy, of Geranda South Coast Fresh Produce. The gentlemen have a cracker of a stall at the Capital Region Farmer's Markets, where they sell an array of fresh herbs and vegetables. Just look at the quality of the lettuces in the photo and you can tell that everything they sell comes fresh from the farm. Choose from fresh lemongrass, mint, bok choy, rocket, dill, garlic, cucumbers, potatoes and lettuces galore. Visit them at either the Capital Region Farmer's Markets or the Moruya Country Markets. The Di Cerbo Family Guiseppe and Magdalena Di Cerbo, together with son Jo are clearly passionate about their produce. "I came to Australia in 1955 and I've been selling at markets since 1958... I once sold five or six semi trailer loads per week," Guiseppe tells me with a rich Italian accent and warm laugh. I really love these people! Their farm is located at Berri in South Australia, so they travel a long way to sell at the Capital Region Farmer's Market in Canberra. The Di Cerbo's bring fresh oranges, mandarins, dried fruits and a variety of vegetables to the market. See here for more information. Former chef, Peter Edmunds, says he fell in love with chocolate (and farmer's markets) when he and his wife, Michelle Fahy, lived in France for almost two years. The treasured ritual of eating a single handmade chocolate after dinner was something Peter and Michelle wanted to continue when they came back home. "On my return to Australia, I knew I wanted to do something with food and it had to be organic." Hence Lindsay & Edmunds handmade organic chocolates was born in early 2008. Lindsay & Edmunds handmade organic chocolates combine Peter and Michelle's passion for the "superior taste and environmental benefit of quality organic food, combined with his love of the French chocolatier". The single origin Belgian couverture is certified organic and Fairtrade. The range is extensive and the chocolate simply exquisite! The Lindsay & Edmunds commercial kitchen is located at Amberley Avenue, Fairbairn, Canberra, just near the 34th Squadron, and open between 7.30am and 4.00pm from Monday to Friday. You'll find Peter's Lindsay & Edmunds stall at the Capital Region Farmer's Market in Canberra every Saturday (which Peter cheerfully and rightly points out is "THE BEST farmer's market in the country"! They also have a store in the Canberra Centre. |
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