Welcome to Sharing the Table…
Finally! My apologies for the delay in this issue arriving in your ‘mailbox’ but to say we have been a little more than busy of late would surely be a gross understatement… The winter season brings with it a whole new gamet of additions to my ‘to do’ list - with the last autumn fruit waiting to be pickled and preserved, wine ready for bottling and the unruly garden needing attention after all the rejuvenating rain – and then there are the surprise listings of the Archibald Prize (what a highlight!), ABIA Awards, SA Hall of Fame nomination and our 100th show of The Cook and the Chef. Throw in new products and an entirely new function centre being built at the Farm Shop and things start to get a little crazy! Read on…
A Telegram from Aunty
I do love surprises and this week provided one I will certainly remember. Reaching the milestone of our 100th episode of The Cook and the Chef was something I couldn’t imagine topping in one week but true to form Simon found a way! Unbeknownst to me when we were at the Gardening Australia Expo earlier this year, Simon asked Peter Cundall to join us on our 100th episode and to keep it a secret from me, knowing I would be rapt to spend some time with Peter our ‘home turf’. What a double-header; Peter Cundall as a special guest on our 100th show, two totally unexpected, but absolutely wonderful happenings all on the same day. I really do love the unplanned aspects of life! A big thank you to everyone for watching too, not just for our 100th episode but for the entire lead up to such a fantastic benchmark, it couldn’t have happened without all the equally keen foodies out there ready to sit down to a meal with us every week. Here’s to the ratings climbing ever higher and many more episodes!
Cream of the Crop
One of the most satisfying things is achieving success against all odds. I mention this because I really did find every ‘odd’ there was to come up against over the 5 years it took me to release my ice cream range. To finally be able to come up with the homemade flavour of real eggs, whole milk and fresh cream we all adore and maintain that quality under commercial production was no easy feat. And I can’t tell you how many times I heard “ it can’t be done”. So to have our ice creams come up trumps in the recent Dairy Industry Australia Awards was so exciting, not just for me, but for all of my production team who are as equally hard-headed in finding a different way of doing things when they hear ‘it can’t be done’! Against the literal cream of the Australian ice cream crop I am so happy to say we won the overall Highest Scoring Premium Ice Cream trophy with our Quince and Bitter Almond, as well as two gold awards for the Premium Ice Cream section with Burnt Fig Jam, Honeycomb and Caramel and the Quince and Bitter Almond. Vanilla Bean & Elderflower and Passionfruit both picked up silver. Just great! Real food is always worth the effort – because as we all know, it’s all about the flavour!
Cooker Prize
Most things are best when shared and I really think success falls into that category too. So while we are on the subject of recognizing achievements, I most definitely need to mention the designer of Maggie’s Harvest, Daniel New. His design has been named best-designed illustrated nonfiction book in the Australian Book Design Awards - and most deservedly so! I remember first seeing the design and thinking how lucky I was to have my level of hard work and passion so obviously equaled with Daniel and his team's stunning design. In my mind, they really took cookbooks to a new level of lushness with Maggie’s Harvest. I remember when my always-imaginative publisher, Julie Gibbs, asked for something "special" for this book and Daniel thought of screen-printing on fabric an illustration of a pheasant in a tree. But it was Julie who wanted to take it one step further and suggested he try an embroidered fabric cover, which she had seen on a small-edition book from Penguin UK. Doing that for an edition of 50,000-plus books was a challenge as you can imagine but Daniel and the production team had the covers embroidered, padded and bound without changing his design one bit. He really is quite something and it’s not just his sense of the aesthetic that I admire; I knew we were perfectly aligned in our thinking too when he said to me he thought that even though each copy of Maggie’s Harvest has a protective coating it was going to look beautiful even if it got grubby. He understands so perfectly that my style of cooking is very much a ‘hands on’ affair!
Foodie FM
I wanted to include a quick note for all of our food club members able to tune into Sydney’s 2UE that I am excited be a semi-regular guest on Steve Price’s morning programme. If you’d like to listen in, I’m next talking to Steve on the 1st and then the 22nd of July around 10.30am (EST). And the topic is all things foodie of course!
Farm Grown
It goes without saying that Colin and I are so proud of what our daughters Saskia and Elli have accomplished with their Barossa Farm Produce business but I feel especially excited about their latest achievement-in-the-making, ‘The Farm’. Having grown up surrounded by the natural beauty of our farm (where our original family home is now the Farm Shop) the girls have always been aware of how wonderful the surrounds are for a special event and so came up with the idea of a purpose built function centre to really showcase all of the things they are passionate about – great food, great wine and a truly beautiful environment. Expanding on their existing catering business, ‘The Farm’ will specialize in hosting events that showcase menus based on seasonal produce with a strong regional influence. Saskia and Elli are just so good at creating menus to suit all different styles of events, from a cocktail party to conference lunches and of course beautiful weddings. We’re looking at a completion date of November this year so I’ll keep you posted on progress!
Harvest Helper
A couple of newsletter issues prior I promised to share any amendments to Maggie’s Harvest that popped up and just last week had a helpful letter regarding Victoria’s Celeriac and Chestnut Pie recipe on pages 372/3. For any of you who are interested in making this delicious dish here is how it should read…
After putting the peeled and diced celeriac into water with lemon juice, you will need to bring the celeriac to a boil with a little added salt and cook for approximately 4 minutes, until celeriac is almost cooked. Then add to the other sautéed vegetables.
I have let my publisher know for future print runs but wanted to make sure to keep you all in the loop too.
Edible Perks
Don’t forget that as a food club member you'll receive a complimentary bottle of Maggie's delicious Extra Virgin Olive Oil with every online order over $80.00 this month. Isn’t it delicious to be in the club?
Food Flash!
Look out for our shiny new Maggie Beer specialised food stands at independent grocers throughout the country. All your favourite Maggie Beer goodies at your fingertips, doesn’t that make shopping just that little bit yummier?
Eat Your Greens
Winter and comfort food go together like pasta and sugo. And what better way to get your greens than Maggie’s new Green Tomato, Verjuice & Sultana Sugo? A traditional Sicilian style, slow-cooked sauce, it is perfect for stirring through pasta, adding to hearty soups, or spooning over pizza bases. Go green this Winter!
Wine of the Month
Pheasant Farm Tempranillo
Made exclusively with single estate fruit from Barossa vines, this Tempranillo is full of intense dark fruit flavours such as cherries and plums, with earthy and herbaceous undertones and high tannin levels. Buy a dozen and you'll receive the bonus of two of Maggie's fruit pastes on us. Winter just got warmer.
