The Canberra Collective: bringing farmers to the foodies

Posted on 7 November, 2014

The spotlight is on regional producers at next week’s Canberra Collective dinner at Sage Dining Rooms. In terms of food, Canberra is no longer the awkward sibling to Melbourne or Sydney, and restaurant owners Pete and Mike Harrington want you to know why. 

“Canberra should, technically speaking, over the next fifty years become the food capital of Australia based on its proximity to the farmers. The fact that we’ve got a farm 8km from the restaurant door – that’s a 600-acre farm, not just a little garden. Where else in the world, in a first world capital city, can you do that?” says Pete emphatically. 

It’s clear that the Harrington brothers are passionate about produce. This is the first of many regional dinners that the brothers have planned at their fine dining establishment in Braddon. Each one will showcase four local farmers who will talk through how they get the absolute best out of their produce. It’s an opportunity to ask Canberra’s top farmers all sorts of questions – from what makes a good oyster to why you should have honey bees in your backyard.

“It’s really about bringing the customers and the producers together to get an understanding of how much care gets put into what you see on the plate. We just want to champion the local area and have people engage more with what we’ve got down here,” says Pete. 

There’s no denying that Canberrans seem to take a keener interest than most in their food and where it comes from. “A lot of people are going to the same places, like markets, to find out about their food,” says Mike. Take for example, the Capital Region Farmers’ Market that runs every Saturday morning – it’s one of the biggest and most successful in the country. 

“We’ve got this beautiful area; from the Victorian highlands to the side of New South Wales – a great radius of producers, so the idea is to actually have people get where the food comes from – not geographically, but to meet the people and see what drives them to produce the best examples of whatever it is that they produce, whether it’s the winemaker or the oyster farmer.

“We only pick producers that are very passionate because the people that produce the best products are the ones that are trying to do something that no one else has done. If you can actually see that, you look at food through a new set of eyes,” Mike says. 

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-WPEIFVEf7XQ/VFtD1xDTPKI/AAAAAAAAKx4/5AgDH9bQFE0/s144-c-o/10549250_945649838797830_3962236402613977178_o.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/CanberraCollective#6078526713045925026″ caption=”They don’t get any fresher than this! McAsh Oystersfrom the Clyde River.” type=”image” alt=”10549250_945649838797830_3962236402613977178_o.jpg” pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_img_align=”center” ]

So what’s in store at next week’s dinner? Needless to say it’ll be produce-driven, but it will also feature ingredients from at Sage’s own farm in the Majura valley. You’ll get to meet Ewan McAsh of McAsh Clyde River Oysters on the South Coast. Not only are their oysters some of the most prized in the region, Ewan was also granted a Nuffield scholarship for excellence in agricultural production. “We’ve got a stronger relationship with Ewan than any other restaurant in Australia – he’s actually producing an oyster just for us,” Pete says. 

Pete’s not quite sure whether these ‘special oysters’ will be ready in time for next week’s dinner, but he promises that the oysters served will be at their peak of their freshness. 

There’s also Mitch Pearce of Canberra Urban Honey. Not only is he a fourth generation beekeeper, he’s also produced the first urban honey to receive an agricultural excellence award in the National Honey Show at the Royal Sydney Easter Show.

Also joining the dinner panel is Scott Gledhill of Wimbaliri Wines, a small, family-run winery in Murrumbateman. Scott’s no stranger to Sage Dining Rooms, in fact his wine already features heavily on their wine list. “His wine’s on par with what Tim (Kirk) is doing at Clonakilla; they’re pretty much across the way from each other.” Mike says.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Ht11RLCCYBY/VFtECL0ulnI/AAAAAAAAKyU/pGOp3TVcBr0/s144-c-o/Screen%252520Shot%2525202014-11-04%252520at%25252011.20.15%252520AM.png” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/CanberraCollective#6078526926390990450″ caption=”Wimbaliri Wines is a small, family-run winery near Murrumbateman.” type=”image” alt=”Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 11.20.15 AM.png” pe2_single_image_size=”w614″ pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_img_align=”center” ]

Last, but not least, there’s a “surprise guest”, who the boys are remaining tight-lipped about. Of course, I’d imagine that they’re going to have some rather impressive credentials to be joining the ranks of the three farmers above. 

In fact, Pete and Mike are not even saying who’s heading up the kitchen for next week’s dinner – apparently the identity of the chef that’s joining the Sage team next Wednesday is very closely guarded. But, for once, it’s not about the chef, it’s about the celebration of Canberra’s best produce and the the opportunity to pick the brains of some of the region’s top growers. 

the essentials

What: Canberra Collective
When: 6pm, Thursday 13 November 2014
Where: Sage Dining Rooms
How much: $149 for four courses with matching wine or non-alcoholic soft drinks
Tickets: From Out In Canberra.

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