Mothers' Day lather
Mothers' Day is one of those events that puts me in a lather of conflicting emotions and intentions.
2018 Delicious Produce Awards NSW State Winners!
Congratulations to all the state winners in all categories, all of whom now progress through to compete in the national judging. Naturally, we're particularly stoked about the ones we're fortunate enough to represent.
The 30 hour proposal & South Hill vealers
A fascinating and detailed explanation of how South Hill Farm Wildes raise their veal calves - written by Clara Bateman.
The Miracle of the Ruminant (musings on veal)
It still astonishes me that a creature with the heft and majesty of a fully mature cow (or moose, or elk, or water buffalo) may be understood as a synthesis and distillation of every thing that is good in the simple pasture and forage that it is offered.
Where, oh where, did the offal go?
"The vealer bodies arrived this morning, great condition, but no offal, AGAIN”, said Grant, in a despairing tone. This has been a conversation he and I have had, more times than I care to recall, over the past five years that South Hill, Wildes Meadow has been supplying our produce to Feather and Bone.
Saulsbury Sebastian: 'Best Pig in Show', 2018 Royal Easter Show
Meet 'Saulsbury Sebastian', a superb specimen of Saulsbury Berkshire pig and this year's porcine RAS star.
Plate to Paddock - consumers as change agents
Two interesting newsletters came across our desk this week which, on the heels of our fruity rhapsodising about the beautiful carcasses, made us think about slaughter.
Beastly beauty
We've seen the farms where these animals lived and know the people who manage them so, for us, it's not just the physical beauty of these carcasses that moves us so much. It's also what they represent. The farms where the animals hanging in our cool room lived are regenerative oases in a scarred farming landscape that has, for the last 200 years, been largely managed with tools and systems designed for younger European ecosystems with plentiful water and fertile, volcanic soils.
Once upon a time...
...there were lots of different varieties and breeds of domestic animals in Australia. We celebrate rare, pure bred Tanglewood Large Black pigs and the welcome diversity they bring to the genetic landscape.
Kiss off-piste! No Grasslands Sommerlad poultry this week...
Ok, I admit it. That headline was a craven attempt to get you in. But Brian Kiss from Grasslands Poultry did actually go off-piste and this is a serious story about the challenges farmers have to deal with in their efforts to supply us with the gorgeous food we eat each week.
Christmas & the definition of luxury
Christmas fills me with conflict. I want to hide under the table with a bottle of gin, stuff my face with gorgeous food and do penance for the excessive consumption and our role in promoting it - all at once.
The Mystery of Spent Layers
In which we reveal our ignorance and find out what happens to egg chickens when they stop laying.