Producer Profiles - Meet the people who make / grow the things that you eat!
Strathbogie Ranges Estate
www.strath
bogierangesestate.com.au
Our award winning oil is intended to be used often and in everything - for the real foodie who wants to lavish their family and friends with premium, delicious oil everyday. The 4000 olive trees at Strathbogie Ranges Estate, Merton, have been tended and nurtured for 9 years with 2009 marking the first ‘vintage’. Doug Wallace has the boundless energy and Scottish stubbornness that has driven the project and Kevin Wallace, the natural and instinctive skills of a ‘tree whisperer’. The olives are processed at the Estate to ensure optimum quality and once the golden oil is produced I then take care of the packaging and selling of the oil. We welcome refill of our tins and 1L swing top bottles. See you at the market! Claire Wallace
Ashton Lodge Country Preserves
http://uge.asn.au/food.htm
Marg and her husband, Alan, jumped at the opportunity to move to Eildon, after 30 years of holidaying there. They started making chutneys and preserves to promote a mini golf business that they had bought.It didn't take long for their traditional, handmade preserves to become more appetising than putting, and the Ashtons closed the course after a short time to concentrate on cooking.
The tasty range includes about 20 varieties of chutney, relishes and jellies, depending on the season. For summer, this means peach and chilli chutney, while their best-sellers include roast pumpkin relish and beetroot relish, spiced damson jelly, plus rum and butter fruit mince for Christmas.
The Ashtons like to source their ingredients locally and estimate that 60 per cent comes from Victoria. They use locally grown fruit from neighbours when they can. Everything is handmade and involves a lot of chopping, stirring and kitchen finesse. It's this dedication to traditional, handmade practices that have made Ashton Lodge Country Preserves a local success.
