tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78419963000940431242012-01-31T23:33:51.357+11:00Meet the producers themselves and share some interesting food experiences with us!Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comBlogger1441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-65789878791324152042012-01-31T23:23:00.002+11:002012-01-31T23:33:51.370+11:00

Are you a cheese lover? Do you seek out new and interesting cheeses - or do you have your favourites? We have a growing number of good cheese makers in Australia and we are lucky to have FOUR in our area - and another one coming soon! To showcase our Southern Highlands cheeses we are running another Cheese Appreciation Workshop on Sun 26 Feb where you can try many of our local cheeses and

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-32119294994819799102012-01-22T19:19:00.000+11:002012-01-22T19:23:40.602+11:00

Another successful FoodPath Day Tour today and we were lucky with the weather. Some light rain but only intermittent and it didn't stop us at all. Picked delicious blackberries at Montrose. Jasmin gave us lots of tastings at The Sutton Forest Country Store and it was great to include Kym from Sutton Forest Olives today. How nice to meet the grower in the olive grove amongst the trees

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-67868034504126392922012-01-21T23:55:00.000+11:002012-01-22T00:02:15.296+11:00

Rosie picked up our postcard at a local cafe and had it on her fridge thinking it was something she would like to do one day - and when it came to her birthday, thought of this as something different to do with her  family and friends. What a great idea - and we had a fun day! We started with coffee at the Exeter General Store, then on to Montrose Berry Farm where we had a tasting of their

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-48015265750163339502012-01-15T23:21:00.000+11:002012-01-15T23:21:25.576+11:00

Our Day Tour on Sat 21 Jan has been booked out for a private birthday group! There was considerable interest in this day despite the fact that there were no firm bookings. We decided to offer another tour for the next day Sun 22 Jan 2012 and were able to organise a similar itinerary. Now we have several people booked and paid! This is very exciting for us - it is the first time we have had two

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-52615980645436699272012-01-15T20:19:00.000+11:002012-01-15T20:19:48.944+11:00

We have updated the FoodPath website Tours page to include all our tours and workshops confirmed so far. This year these will be run on a regular basis every month so we have simplified the Tours page to reflect this. Please give us some feedback - hopefully this will make it easier to follow? One good thing about running this business is that we get to go on all the tours - and they are all

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-40112496078733682842012-01-11T00:08:00.000+11:002012-01-15T00:39:47.558+11:00

As always the Family Farm Tour was good fun - see the album of photos on Facebook if you can. Search for the "FoodPath Culinary Food Tours" page. Cloe a large gentle Maremma dog took a shine to the oldest child in the group - also named Cloe and we got some good pics of them together. Brave little Molly did not seem phased by being eye to eye with 4000 chooks! Warryn did a great job

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-66745608194420074632012-01-09T00:08:00.001+11:002012-01-09T00:18:43.438+11:00

Looking forward to our Family Farm Tour this week. Why don't you bring your children along and show them where their food really comes from! You will be amazed by their curiosity and the questions they ask. Time:10am - 3.30pm. Meet at Berrima Price: $35 adult, $20 child BYO Picnic Lunch Contact us on 0419 617 021 to book or for more information.

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-76430636523435432162011-12-14T23:14:00.004+11:002011-12-14T23:14:42.003+11:00

The berries are ready to start picking... feel like some fresh loganberries, boysenberries or blue berries? We had lunch at the Moss Vale Community Garden last Fri and for dessert Jill (another Jill, not me) took us around the garden gathering berries from the vines. We found raspberries and Marion berries (no, I hadn't heard of these either). Can't get fresher than that! They also had some white

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-36396662240822870292011-12-14T00:09:00.002+11:002011-12-14T22:54:33.924+11:00

What a great week we had in Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges. Certainly lots to see and do. We visited a Swiss/Italian farm "Lavendula" which had beautiful lavender beds and espaliered fruit trees, geese wandering around and interesting old stone buildings. Had a tour of the original house and learnt the history back to gold rush days. Relaxed over an antipasto platter of local produce.

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-24956321160995760622011-11-25T23:05:00.001+11:002011-11-25T23:12:21.895+11:00

We are off to Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges for a few days next week. Another food bowl like the Southern Highlands! Can't wait to explore the food and the Italian/Swiss history too. Wish there was someone down there running tours like FoodPath do so we could get behind the scenes - no doubt meeting the locals given you a broader experience. Sadly we can't find any - but a friend has given us

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-45468762150517341712011-11-12T23:28:00.001+11:002011-11-13T00:09:58.006+11:00

Today we had another Market to Table Tour. We normally have these on the 2nd Sat of the month. We start with a tour of the market in Bowral where Jill talks about each local producer and takes you to meet them. Patricia buys the ingredients for the lunch. Then we moved on to the Fitzroy Inn for a cooking class and lunch. Today there was a new stallholder with smoked meats from Camden way.

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-236907399868304222011-11-06T19:10:00.001+11:002011-11-06T19:26:32.194+11:00

EXCITING NEWS - WE HAVE A NEW ARTISAN SHEEP’S MILK CHEESE MAKER IN THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS Just released – a soft curd sheep’s milk cheese made by Michael McNamara, a new artisan cheese maker in the Southern Highlands.  Michael and Cressida are passionate about their sheep and excited about their new business and FoodPath has been waiting anxiously for their cheese to become commercially

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-87181570393480297292011-11-03T09:44:00.000+11:002011-11-03T09:46:44.369+11:00

Now that the Crave Food festival is over we have time to focus on the Southern Highlands and what we can offer you! Coming down for the weekend? Maybe you live here? Planning a wedding? Reunion? Family get together? Xmas party? Conference? We have something for everyone... Just contact us to discuss. There are many options - winery tours, farm visits, gardens to wander in, art studios to

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-6897141891328579582011-11-01T22:45:00.002+11:002011-11-02T00:27:16.392+11:00

Well, we are still recovering from an 8 week lead up to the huge long table lunch for 500 people at Eveleigh Market site in Sydney on Sun 30 Oct!    Five tables of 100 people - each representing a different region of NSW - Southern Highlands, the Riverina, Mid Central Coast, Central West and Souther Coast. What a great effort to pull this together. Good collaboration

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-81258805802972128152011-10-23T23:58:00.000+11:002011-10-23T23:58:19.601+11:00

Sadly today was our last Preserving Workshop with Steve Hogwood of the 1910 Bottling Company. He has got busy in Sydney as his business continues to grow. But all is not lost - if you have a bunch of friends or workmates and you would like a class, we can put one on for you...... we just need 8 - 10 people. We had a great Pickling Workshop today at the Cheese factory at Robertson. Lots to learn

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-70699665492764869852011-10-17T22:52:00.001+11:002011-10-17T22:54:55.514+11:00

After nearly a year Steve Hogwood has decided to move his Preserving Workshops to Sydney. Sad news for us. However he has agreed to run workshops for FoodPath in the Highlands if we have a corporate or a group booking - minimum 12 people. Our workshop next Sun 23 Oct is to be our last - so if you have been meaning to come, this is your chance! A Pickling Workshop from 10am - 1pm. Will be fun. Let

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-73308688691233075022011-10-13T16:24:00.000+11:002011-10-13T16:26:43.908+11:00

Next weekend will be fun in the Highlands. We have a Day Tour on Sat 22 Oct and a Workshop on Sun morning 23 Oct. The Day Tour starts at the Moss Vale market where we take you to meet the local producers. Then we move on to a great little farm near Moss Vale. This is featured in the Illawarra Mercury Food and Wine Supplement today if you have access to that... We are lucky to be able to visit

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-36563258514003960982011-09-29T11:05:00.000+10:002011-09-29T11:14:22.669+10:00

How disappointing that the weather has been so miserable for the school holidays so far. Disappointing for Tulip Time and the open gardens too - mind you the tulips are beautiful, best I have seen in my 14 years in the Highlands! We say we will do the Family Farm Tours rain, hail or shine but it was very soggy underfoot yesterday so we have changed our minds. Not very pleasant so we have

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-60607640465904562562011-09-20T00:08:00.003+10:002011-09-20T00:12:15.598+10:00

Had a phone call this morning from a very excited Kym Burrows, reporting that they had won two awards for their Sutton Forest Olive Oil at the Royal Canberra Show! They won a Gold for their "Robust" olive oil and a Silver for their "Fresh and Fruity". We visit Kym at her olive farm with our tours It was the first time Kym had entered a show with her oil and they came 2nd and 3rd in the whole

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-85356217091158000552011-09-19T23:39:00.000+10:002011-09-19T23:40:52.420+10:00

Had a nice day yesterday at a Sustainability Festival at Penrose, one of the Southern villages in the Southern Highlands. I was representing Southern Highlands Harvest which is a council initiative encouraging locals to "eat local". We have developed a database of 33 local growers so far and where you can by their products and I was handing out this information to the enthusiastic public.

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-59493246002631703292011-09-12T14:16:00.000+10:002011-09-12T14:19:23.956+10:00

I am feeling very happy today looking back over the past four days. Such a variety of activities and everything went swimmingly. Great feedback coming in from the Probus tour on Thurs which I have forwarded on to our "partners" on the itinerary. Without them and all of us working well together it would not happen Now more forward planning - never a dull moment.

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-10077698752504509092011-09-11T19:56:00.001+10:002011-09-12T13:33:29.390+10:00

Another very successful Cheese Appreciation Workshop today this time held in a beautiful setting at Sturt, Mittagong. The group was mixed with members from Coffs Harbour, Sydney, Yass, Berry, Kangaroo Valley and the remainder from the Southern Highlands. Three  women had come from various directions to have a weekend together as a school reunion - and they came to TWO of our activities

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-41902292168366232262011-09-11T19:33:00.003+10:002011-09-11T19:40:31.215+10:00

What a busy week! First we have had a group of 17 women come on a customised tour with us while their partners played golf. That was a new itinerary which was a great success and we will definitely be repeating! We ran TWO Farmers Market Tours yesterday at Bowral Public School! One was as part of a Market to Table Tour and was followed by a cooking class with Patricia from the Blue Bowl Cooking

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-65821902668425628912011-09-04T20:16:00.000+10:002011-09-04T20:16:47.082+10:00

Have just been updated on the truffle situation in the Highlands. Flash the dog has found his first real truffle - very exciting! We saw Alan training flash on our last tour but you don't know for sure until they actually find the real thing. Much celebration in Robertson where a large truffle was found near the surface. Now they have their first should be more to come. One local truffle farmer I

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-11705681343353412852011-08-28T19:57:00.009+10:002011-08-28T20:13:37.275+10:00

There are 14 cellar does in the Southern Highlands to visit Don't forget we can organise a tour or activity just for you and your friends, family etc. Yesterday we had a group of friends who came from New Zealand, Melbourne and Sydney! They wanted to do something different to celebrate a 40th birthday and how nice for us that they chose the Southern Highlands! After discussing several

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-44472036753632587962011-08-28T18:03:00.007+10:002011-08-28T18:53:50.132+10:00

Busy busy this weekend, but it was all fun.First we had a tour of the Moss Vale Produce Market. Some changes since last month - The pumpkins are finished so Louise and Luke from Marulan were not there Don't pumpkins look great as a decorative feature! Pam and Paul of Doolan Country Jams & Chutneys Phil is between seasons with his organic vegies so said he had a limited supply - but he

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-25613705631641656832011-08-20T20:58:00.003+10:002011-08-21T14:48:03.958+10:00

How cute is the little book of letters that was launched last night in Bowral. The letters were written by a chook - Isobel, the CEO of the hen house at Berrima Ridge a free range egg farm outside Berrima. There was definitely an "egg" theme with Tony Capps serving delicious egg based canapés and platter with a nest of Patrice Cook's eggs. We have three of Patrice's chooks in our display at

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-14686308097070009722011-08-13T23:53:00.000+10:002011-08-13T23:53:51.875+10:00

Had a great day on Fri being the participant rather than the organiser! I went to historic Glenmore House at Camden to spend the day with Mickie and her class, making Seville orange marmalade. First we picked the huge oranges from the trees then it was a joint effort as we washed the fruit, cut and squeezed the oranges, removed the pith and seeds, cut the rind into thin strips, tied the seeds in

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-33076611623519560532011-08-06T19:29:00.021+10:002011-08-07T23:17:34.693+10:00

Well we were lucky to have fine weather for our first "Day in Canyonleigh" tour today - but we still needed our jackets at times. It is the Highlands after all :) We had a lovely day.... Delicious morning tea at The General Store thanks to Gisanne and Louise, then on to visit Laird and Jenny at Glenfion vineyard. How interesting to find out about their wine business, their son Andrew's beer

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-33777537131363295962011-08-05T23:58:00.003+10:002011-08-06T19:07:02.400+10:00

Our two Mushroom Tunnel Tours last Tues 6 Aug 2011 were a great success! You might wonder what there is to see on such a tour but let me tell you that the tunnel itself is very interesting, as is the history of the tunnel and of this business Li Sun Mushrooms. It is quite a long walk - 500 metres each way but we take it at a gentle pace. Noel Arrold, the business owner and Micro Biologist is an

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-86935427872926974742011-08-05T23:50:00.002+10:002011-08-05T23:53:14.109+10:00

Another fun session with Steve Hogwood at the Fruit Bottling Workshop last Sat 30 July. The 1910 Bottling Company makes a great product - look at these! This time we were bottling pears and I was asked to judge the best. This was not easy I can tell you! I had to look at the pattern, the number of air bubbles, whether the jar was packed to the rim with fruit, etc. Sizing up the finished

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-53078732892363959792011-07-26T22:15:00.001+10:002011-07-26T22:31:59.965+10:00

Tracy from Gumnut has done it again. We had a group of ten at our Croissant Workshop this morning and they all had fun! Lots of note taking and they all went away with a bag of croissants and pain de chocolate - and knowing how to make a croissant at home. They also know how to pick a good croissant when they buy and how to appreciate it and savour the qualities of the soft centre, the crunchy

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-85705938790929216292011-07-25T22:41:00.000+10:002011-07-25T22:41:35.470+10:00

Wow, we have a busy week coming up - 1. Another Croissant Workshop tomorrow with 12 people, which is a good sized group. Coming along is a chef who wants to be able to surprise his daughter by cooking her croissants for breakfast! Lucky girl. This workshop is good for those who like to cook and also for those who are just interested. Watching skilled people "strut their stuff" s something I

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-28131653526053731822011-07-03T16:21:00.003+10:002011-07-25T22:27:55.096+10:00

Wow, we had fun this morning at Howards Lane vineyard tasting 11 cheeses and learning how to be a "discerning consumer". We had a great group who were all keen to learn and the setting at Howards Lane is stunning - especially on a beautiful day as it was today. Nick shared his passion for cheese and his extensive knowledge in a friendly and relaxed environment. One comment was "This session

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-47556385392105368472011-07-03T15:48:00.001+10:002011-07-03T15:51:44.855+10:00

We had fun on Friday night rugging up and setting off for Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands. The main street was closed off with braziers burning and shops were adorned with Xmas light and snowmen. The street was lined with stalls and we helped on the Southern Highlands Food and Wine and Southern Highlands Harvest one. We had lots of great local produce and were able to promote our members

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-61214038852409661512011-06-26T22:38:00.001+10:002011-06-26T22:40:11.978+10:00

I forgot to tell you about our Croissant Workshop on Tues 7 June - things have been pretty hectic if that is an excuse? Tracy Nickl owner of the Gumnut Patisserie ran this for us and it was booked out by a private group. They were a bunch of friends from Burrawang who contacted me to say they are unable to do things outside school hours - so I came up with something that they could do on a

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-60036840302765181892011-06-26T22:17:00.000+10:002011-06-26T22:17:17.050+10:00

Today we had another Fruit Bottling Workshop with Steve Hogwood from the 1910 Bottling Company and again everyone had a ball. The feedback was excellent! Some want to come back for more! Steve has a range of topics he can teach - preserving lemons, pickle making, etc. Today they bottled tomatoes. It was nice to see everyone roll up their sleeves and get to work and have fun doing it. The people

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-17310470737074536562011-06-22T23:25:00.002+10:002011-06-26T22:22:43.674+10:00

We are very excited because Noel Arrold, Micro-biologist and business owner of Li-Sun Mushrooms has agreed to us taking a tour to the famous Mittagong Mushroom Tunnel on Tues 2 Aug 2011! These tours are very popular and there is limited access to them - so we are very pleased to announce three dates for these tours - Aug 2, Oct 25 and Jan 10, 2012. We will be taking a bus from the Visitors

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-64069935113351411702011-06-02T18:51:00.001+10:002011-06-02T19:03:24.845+10:00

Our FoodPath Fruit Bottling Workshop on Sunday 29 May with Steve Hogwood of the 1910 Bottling Company was a great success. We have lots of great photos which speak for themselves. Have had great feedback from the participants which was very gratifying. The next workshop on Sun 26 June is almost full already. We have to limit numbers to 10. During the workshop we had coffee from our

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-76001765269728503332011-06-02T00:13:00.010+10:002011-06-23T00:14:40.935+10:00

We have our first Winter Food and Wine Wander scheduled for Sat 2 July. It is going to be a good day! We start by visiting a beautiful property between Bowral and Berrima where Lyn and Al have an olive grove and produce olive oil under the label Currawong. They also have a huge shed that is worth a look, because this used to be one of the biggest cattle properties in the Southern Highlands. Lyn

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-14686954739509963962011-05-29T23:35:00.008+10:002011-06-02T19:20:33.154+10:00

Wow, what a busy weekend we had - 3 tours in 2 days!! We are just coming up for air. On Sat we had a private group who did 2 FoodPath tours - a Farmers Market Tour in the morning and a Food Focused Walking Tour in Bowral in the afternoon.  How special to have Jim there with his fresh hazelnuts! This only happens for a short period when they are in season. Jim does not grow commercially but

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-12770246484979841382011-05-26T08:06:00.001+10:002011-06-02T08:25:38.655+10:00

We were very lucky with the weather for our day tour on Sat 21 May and it was clear and crisp. A great group who were all very enthusiastic and want to come back for more! This was very exciting for us because word is getting out about what sets our tours aside from others. We take you to another layer of experience and learning while we all have fun! We visited Kym at her olive farm. She was

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-78751985453432395322011-05-15T00:00:00.002+10:002011-05-15T00:03:07.806+10:00

We have our final farm tour for Autumn next Sat 21 May and we are looking forward to it. It is virtually booked out which is exciting - maybe room for 1 more?  Kym at Sutton Forest Olives is just about to harvest so we will be able to see her trees laden with olives. Alan is busy training his dog to find truffles in anticipation of the season - he rubs some cotton wool with truffle oil then

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-8580013756983484362011-05-14T23:51:00.002+10:002011-05-14T23:55:01.811+10:00

Who was watching Better Homes and Gardens on Ch 7 last night? Our local potato growers Norman and Robyn from Robertson provided the backdrop and product for a feature on potatoes. Pity they weren't mentioned by name - but we knew who they were. What a beautiful property. Hope to take a FoodPath Tour to visit them sometime. You can see Robyn and Norman's "Highland Gourmet Potatoes" at the Bowral

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-1168215924985721102011-05-14T23:40:00.001+10:002011-05-14T23:42:02.976+10:00

Went to a great dinner last Sat with the Phatt Duck chef Stephen Crook and his wife Teena. Very special!  The venue was The Potager at Berrima where our hostess was Elouise. Two long tables were elegantly set in this historic little cottage tucked away behind the General Store and filled with pretty and quirky things for sale.  Loved the fact that Stephen came between courses and told us where he

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-36260088378663639232011-05-10T21:53:00.001+10:002011-05-10T21:55:48.995+10:00

Just coming up for air after an amazing few days! Sydney Weekender on Saturday included a FoodPath workshop with Stephen Hogwood from the 1910 Bottling Company. Steve is passionate about bottling only organic fruit that he sources locally wherever possible. The enquiries from the FoodPath website have been coming thick and fast - which is very exciting. There has been great interest in all of

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-62962274283213475552011-04-26T20:35:00.002+10:002011-04-26T22:12:05.622+10:00

Wow - Gumnut Patisserie has done it again! FoodPath's Nick was a judge at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show again this year and therefore he was invited to the Awards Lunch today, so ...... Hot from the press I want to tell you that Gumnut Patisserie won so many awards I almost lost count! Traci and Vikki the business owners have done it again - they really are amazing. I counted 5 Gold, 17 Silver

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-68395203156002743042011-04-23T19:47:00.002+10:002011-04-23T19:57:23.046+10:00

Went to the annual Burrawang Easter Fair today. It was very busy with lots of stalls and packed with visitors and locals who like to come every year! Having to park in a nearby paddock gave us the opportunity to discover what a pretty little town Burrawang is! We don't usually walk around the back streets when we go to visit. Nick and I helped on a stand promoting the Southern Highlands wine and

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-24844135032851572282011-04-08T23:23:00.004+10:002011-04-11T21:43:24.913+10:00

Ever bought pretzels from street vendors in your travels? I remember them particularly in Greece - so we were delighted when Andrew and Sue installed a new bread oven at their great little deli in Bowral - Il Topolino and started making, amongst other things, pretzels! Nick loves them and comes home with a box of them every other day. Andrew is also making bagels, sourdough loaves, butter

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-65499472615505714102011-03-26T20:46:00.004+11:002011-03-28T21:29:44.255+11:00

Picking is actually the wrong word. You actually gather chestnuts that are lying on the ground. When they are ripe they fall. You rub the spikey husks with your boots until you can see the beautiful shiny chestnuts inside, then carefully pick them up with your gloved hands. At the farm we were given a bucket each and shown which trees were ours. We donned our gloves and off we went. It was so

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-48399040886965787002011-03-20T00:13:00.001+11:002011-03-20T00:31:45.518+11:00

Today was a great FoodPath Day Tour despite the weather. We were so lucky that it didn't really start to rain until lunchtime. The rest of the day we were under cover so it didn't really matter. Our group was made up of people from Balmain, New Zealand and the Southern Highlands. A mother and adult daughter were part of the group. We often have family groups getting out of Sydney and doing

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-11475226256000000832011-03-15T11:16:00.002+11:002011-03-15T11:47:46.389+11:00

Well our first Market to Table Tour was good fun! First we met at the Bowral Producers Market where we took the group to meet the producers and to buy ingredients for lunch. Saw Steve Hogwood with his bottled fruit (he runs our bottling workshops monthly). Nicki was there from Cuttaway Creek Raspberry Farm with her raspberries. So fresh - they were divine. We bought some for lunch. Also some

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-49095795658646629332011-03-10T22:52:00.001+11:002011-03-10T23:06:58.087+11:00

This Saturday we have our first Market to Table Tour with the Blue Bowl Cooking School. We have checked out who will be at the Bowral Public School produce market and Patricia has decided on the recipes - so all that remains now is for us to find the ingredients and take them back to the Fitzroy Inn for our cooking class and lunch. I am looking forward to this. We will be having these once a

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-86547899950362328992011-03-10T22:42:00.002+11:002011-03-10T23:04:38.797+11:00

Well we are still in recovery mode! On Wednesday this week, 9 Mar we had two things running concurrently. Fortunately Nick could be at one and I was at the other. First we had a film crew come to shoot one of our Fruit Bottling Workshops for the program Sydney Weekender. We got a group of nine women together to make up a class at the Howards Lane tasting room out of Mittagong - a beautiful

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-70811456591909794202011-03-06T00:07:00.000+11:002011-03-06T00:07:19.318+11:00

Everyone wants to see the famous mushroom tunnel in Mittagong - well now is your chance! Southern Highlands Tourism has negotiated with the owner to run two tours next Wed 9 March - and they have asked FoodPath to host them. We are very excited! The entrance to the old disused railway tunnel A bus will be leaving the Visitor's Information Centre at Mittagong at 9.30am for the first tour and

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-66960573201917194872011-03-05T23:44:00.001+11:002011-03-05T23:46:12.054+11:00

Exciting news - Channel 7 is coming to the Southern Highlands next week to film one of our Fruit Bottling Workshops with Steve Hogwood, for their program Sydney Weekender! This will take place at Howards Lane vineyard in their tasting rooms, a lovely setting looking out over the veranda to the vines and the bush beyond. Wallabies come down in the late afternoon to graze. We have discovered a

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-48891566104856753082011-03-05T23:02:00.002+11:002011-03-05T23:24:29.668+11:00

We had our last tour at the Moss Vale Produce Market last Sat before it changes again. Our markets in the Highlands have been through a topsy turvy time to say the least. Let's hope it settles down soon! The Showground Trust have taken over the Moss Vale Market so it will be interesting to see if it becomes even more rural, which would be good. Despite being the last day there were eight local

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-69227470485898959302011-02-17T22:44:00.002+11:002011-02-17T23:06:20.536+11:00

The results are out for the Cheese and Dairy Produce Awards at the Royal Easter Show - and the Highlands did extremely well. ALL OF THOSE WHO ENTERED WON GOLD!  (In alphabetical order): Bill Smillie of Highlands Organics at Moss Vale won Gold for his organic cow's milk Fetta. Mark and Lesley Williams of Small Cow Farm at Robertson won Gold for their Fettice - a Fetta style cheese.  Michael and

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-52509735935644147412011-02-08T13:19:00.004+11:002011-02-08T14:09:08.816+11:00

Would you like to do something different? Like a day in the country meeting the real people behind the food we eat? Come and meet 16 baby Boer goats! Hear Alan talk about his truffle trees and his hopes for a first "crop" this year at his beautiful property near Moss Vale. Tiny Boer kids were a great attraction on our last FoodPath Tour Enjoy a leisurely long table lunch at the stunning Mount

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-70077077991928087452011-01-24T22:26:00.000+11:002011-01-24T22:26:23.383+11:00

We have just prepared a program of tours and workshops for the next 6 month and these will be on the website any day now. We have between 4 and 8 activities on each month! We are introducing  series of workshops on Sunday afternoons - check the program for details. These will be run by excellent teachers - - Fruit bottling and food preserving with Stephen Hogwood - Wine education with our

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-79436309235802055212011-01-23T10:54:00.001+11:002011-01-23T11:21:43.447+11:00

Well our second Family Farm Tour was great fun too. Same itinerary as on 8 Jan but with the added treat of seeing the 9 tiny baby goats at one of the farms. Very cute and lots of photos taken by adults and children! The birthday girl holding a baby goat! Cute little baby Boer goats! Our picnic lunch was very pleasant sitting under the trees by the lake at Eling Forest winery. Lunch under

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-32024350504471805242011-01-09T19:12:00.003+11:002011-01-17T00:05:31.058+11:00

Wow, what a great day we had yesterday. It was a bit overcast early in the morning but cleared to a beautiful day here in the Southern Highlands. Rachel and Greg Power from The Great Aussie Road Trip joined us with their 3 children, which was fun. They have travelled far and wide and it was nice to be able to welcome them along on one of our FoodPath tours. Another family - Janelle and Dion and

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-438395746206672622011-01-04T21:41:00.008+11:002011-01-05T00:48:29.102+11:00

Happy New Year everyone! Now the festivities are over are you looking for something to do during the holidays? Come along on a FoodPath Family Farm Tour! We have one this Sat 8 Jan and another on Sat 22 Jan.  Six Maremma dogs help to protect the 4000 chooks from the foxes We will be visiting a free range chook farm and meeting the beautiful Maremma dogs who protect them from the foxes. For

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-47426994787041625542010-12-22T23:06:00.001+11:002010-12-22T23:11:22.331+11:00

We are very happy that Norman has agreed to FoodPath taking people to see his potato farm at Robertson. This will have to be on a Sunday in January or February because on Saturday they are busy at the markets. I think it will be very interesting to show childen where their potatoes come from and let them dig for themselves to find some! We will try to include this in one of our family tours in

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-5143330049554214302010-12-18T23:00:00.002+11:002010-12-18T23:05:43.970+11:00

We are happy to announce that we have been able to organise to take a group (max 22 people) chestnut picking in the Southern Highlands on Sat 26 Mar 2011. This is lucky because it is very popular. Chestnuts on the tree Busloads of Europeans come down from Sydney to gather nuts and cook them on the large braziers. On 26 Mar there will be 200 others there! Roasted chestnuts We are having a

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-84560972350417304402010-12-14T22:25:00.000+11:002010-12-22T22:43:48.004+11:00

On 12 December we had our Slow Food Terra Madre Day activity in the Southern Highlands. Terra Madre means Mother Earth and Terra Madre Day is celebrated across the world on or close to 10 December each year. Check the Terra Madre section on the Slow Food International website. Last year we had a regional dinner at The Post Cafe in Moss Vale to support and showcase local producers. Greg and

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-19198107560274182012010-12-08T23:13:00.000+11:002010-12-08T23:13:00.466+11:00

We are kick starting the year in 2011 with two Family Friendly Farm Tours in January - on Sat 8 Jan and Sat 22 Jan. Come with us to visit some farms and meet the animals and their owners. Feed the chooks and collect the eggs at the free range egg farm near Berrima. Bottle feed the calves at a dairy near Burrawang. Enjoy a picnic lunch in the beautiful grounds at Eling Forest winery.

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-14463742507911010612010-11-30T10:00:00.001+11:002010-11-30T10:04:52.904+11:00

It has been  a great week and it is only Tuesday! Yesterday at a Member's Breakfast one of our wonderful Slow Food members put up her hand to take over the running of the local Convivium (group/chapter). I have been the Convivium Leader for the past two years and a committee member for 7 years and it was time to step down. Too busy! It really looked as though the Convivium was going to close

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-69857212166286576522010-11-20T23:27:00.000+11:002010-11-20T23:27:51.215+11:00

Today was the 2nd day of the Food on Clay Event organised by Dee, the Resident Potter at Sturt - the fine Craft Centre at Mittagong. The idea of this event was to fill the bowls that were made 2 weeks ago with food and enjoy a shared lunch. Based on the "Empty Bowls" project which is celebrated around the world. Lunch included some delicious salads organised by Monique and antipasto made by

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-15176362371602598322010-11-18T22:36:00.002+11:002010-11-18T22:50:03.983+11:00

We were happy to be invited by Provodore Ian Feary to see his Cheese Room at The Old Cheese Factory at Robertson yesterday. Ian has had a successful business in the Southern Highlands for many years now, but has only recently taken over the lease of the cheese section of the Old Cheese Factory. Ian Feary (right) with his mother Christina and FoodPath's Nick. Friends and customers enjoying a

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-82185456881263961532010-11-13T22:58:00.002+11:002010-11-14T09:43:53.860+11:00

We have been looking forward to this day for months and thank goodness the weather was better than last weekend! John and Julia are members of Slow Food and are passionate about breeding animals that are at risk of extinction. They have Cornish pigs, Hampshire Downs sheep and White Park cattle + some rare breeds of poultry. By breeding them up and selling them they are helping to preserve the

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-23926953515400078152010-11-13T00:12:00.001+11:002010-11-13T00:15:38.575+11:00

Wow, we were thrilled with the amount of media exposure we have had this past month! First a piece and photo in the Good Living section of the SMH on 19 Oct during the Crave Sydney International Food FestivalThen we featured in episode 3 of "Making Tracks", the TV series with Nicky Buckley, husband Murray and their kids.  This was filmed in the Southern Highlands over the (wet) Oct long

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-86726009889758003512010-11-12T23:48:00.001+11:002010-11-12T23:50:39.414+11:00

Every now and then we explore our local area to find new producers to include in our FoodPath food tours. Next year we will also be expanding our business to incorporate more food workshops and events as well as food tours.  Today we visited a beautiful property today out of Mittagong - Diamond Creek Estate. Helen and Ken run a well established vineyard and olive grove. They do not have a cellar

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-19652731153141527132010-10-23T21:32:00.005+11:002010-10-27T21:26:43.239+11:00

Well, what a great day we had today with the FoodPath Tour registered with the Crave Sydney International Food Festival 2010! We started at the Moss Vale Produce Market meeting many local producers and food related businesses. Jo and Geoff love baking bread and on weekends they try out recipes they are not allowed to use in their franchise bakery during the week. They are always friendly and

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-88180823277753074472010-10-22T23:13:00.000+11:002010-10-22T23:13:47.296+11:00

Had another Food Focused Walking Tour in Bowral today visiting a wide range of specialty food shops - ice cream, tea, a great little deli, a cookshop, a cheese store and a sourdough shop. Also popped in to our multi award winning patisserie and also a new tiny coffee shop whose owner has left the corporate world and enjoys dealing directly with the public in an honest uncomplicated way. It is the

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-59420979487901236062010-10-12T22:37:00.004+11:002010-10-12T23:03:53.297+11:00

Last Sat we hosted a journalist from Sydney who was interested in meeting local producers. It was fortunate that this coincided with our first Farmers Markets tour in Bowral (2nd Sat) because this was a perfect opportunity to see many local producers in the one spot. Ben really enjoyed it and wanted to linger longer but we had a tight schedule so had to move him on. During the time at

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-89280920961409903092010-10-03T23:06:00.012+11:002010-10-04T00:15:53.924+11:00

We were thrilled to be asked to host a film crew from Melbourne when they spent the long weekend in the Southern Highlands filming for a travel series "Making Tracks" that is going to air on Channel 10 in late October 2010. The story follows a family of five, Nicky Buckley with her husband and three children, as they travel around Australia. Standing on "the rock" is always a drawcard for the

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-35616094251049971882010-10-03T22:41:00.001+11:002010-10-03T22:44:24.653+11:00

Wombat Hollow is a converted woolshed full of character We were thrilled to have repeat visitors for our day of FoodPath activities on Sat 2 Oct - including Charlie Brown & her family. We spent the morning at Wombat Hollow, beautiful setting for a rainy day with fire blazing. Steve running an interesting fruit bottling workshop Steve ran a very interesting interactive workshop on fruit

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-48782523965496603332010-09-30T23:08:00.000+10:002010-09-30T23:08:17.712+10:00

Dress designer extraordinaire Charlie Brown came on one of our FoodPath Tours a few weeks ago and is coming back for more, bringing her family with her this time! We are looking forward to having her and have planned a great day on Sat 2 Oct. We are spending the morning at a unique bush setting at Kangaloon where we will have morning tea, a walk and talk, a fruit bottling workshop and share a

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-61913807184378471712010-09-30T22:53:00.001+10:002010-09-30T23:10:08.083+10:00

A Southern Highlands first - join FoodPath and Blue Bowl Brown Sugar Cooking Classes Market to Table Tour on Sat 27 Nov 2010. Meet at the Moss Vale Growers Market to meet local producers where we will sample and collect our delicious ingredients for a demonstration style cooking class and lunch at a unique bush setting in Kangaloon. Tour includes morning coffee, tastings and lunch. Time: 9am -

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-62710386147519786222010-09-19T22:07:00.001+10:002010-09-19T22:15:25.350+10:00

On Saturday we had a great group who booked out our regular Sat FoodPath tour for a Hen's party. A new one for us - but the bride-to-be had seen the film Food Inc and decided that she wanted to do one of our tours as part of her Hen's weekend. We were thrilled. We had a lovely day. The weather was perfect although a little chilly out of the sun - it is the Southern Highlands after all! We went

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-91444741928200966282010-09-13T08:52:00.002+10:002010-09-13T08:53:38.782+10:00

School Holidays Family EventSat 25 September 201011am – 2pmCome along and have some fun! Enjoy this unique farm experience. Visit a milking sheep farm on Jamberoo Pass between Robertson & Kiama where Cressie & Michael breed Eastern Friesan sheep & make ewe's milk cheese. Lots of lambs for the children to pat & feed. Watch a sheep being milked. Join in some organised games and a sing-a-long.

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-52281619294747259412010-09-13T08:41:00.005+10:002010-09-13T16:10:46.673+10:00

On request we have developed an extra FoodPath Tour on Sat 2 October - the Sat of the long weekend. We are offering this in 4 options, in case you don't have all day. Join us for a day in the beautiful Robertson area of the Southern Highlands. First we visit a wonderful and unique rural venue - Wombat Hollow. Have a walk and talk then enjoy a fruit bottling workshop learning about traditional

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-62586842492880699042010-09-13T08:35:00.003+10:002010-09-13T16:12:30.553+10:00

At last the hard copy program was released in the SMH on Sat - BUT with a mistake! Our package with Peppers on Sat 23 Oct in the official program is wrong. Please read on for the correct info. Hopefully it will be corrected in program on the SMH webpage. Date: Sat 23 Oct A special event, part of the SIFF Regional Program for 2010 - A FoodPath Day Tour followed by Dinner at Katers Restaurant

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-30831706024479204332010-09-01T19:07:00.002+10:002010-09-02T00:06:54.989+10:00

Well what a good day we had on Sat with Charlie Brown and the gang! The weather was perfect which was very lucky seeing it had been a freezing week. The chooks put on a good show and Charlie loved the Maremma dogs. Lunch was good as always, such a beautiful setting. Charlie is coming back for more on the Oct long weekend!

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-90543593747117809342010-08-22T23:51:00.000+10:002010-08-22T23:51:32.273+10:00

Counting down now until our tour with Charlie Brown famous dress designer. We have a good group organised and I will report back on it afterwards, hopefully with lots of photos.

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-70615650531748676752010-08-22T23:41:00.002+10:002010-08-22T23:51:58.149+10:00

What a great idea - Sturt has started a Supper Club in their fabulous cafe! We love the Sturt Cafe and so do many others Actually it was a delicious 3 course dinner prepared by Martial and Bridget Cosyn who manage the cafe. Seared scallops, organic veal and Stephane's wonderful chocolate mousse. Very good - we'll be back! If you get the chance - it was good value at $65 per head if you are

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-28262276131226082342010-08-22T23:15:00.003+10:002010-08-22T23:27:43.656+10:00

Last week we had our regular Slow Food breakfast at the Tick Tock Bakery Cafe in Mittagong. This is a nice way to catch up with members in a casual informal way.  A wide range of smoked pork products The small Gypsy hams were popular Lilli looking excited .After breakfast we walked to the Polish smokehouse which Nick and I discovered recently Wednesday is the day when most of the smoking

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-14568161148557859722010-08-15T17:00:00.004+10:002010-08-16T00:11:01.975+10:00

Last night was the first of a series of seasonal "Cool Flavours" dinners planned by the newly revamped Southern Highlands Food and Wine group. This was a Winter Regional Dinner held at Southern Highland Wines. FoodPath's Nick Padol was asked to be MC for the night, commenting on the food that came from our local producers. There was a good crowd - 95 people in total. A wide range of cool

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-87457576236891036652010-08-05T23:10:00.000+10:002010-08-05T23:10:15.582+10:00

Well we are exhausted now - two FoodPath events in two days! Yesterday we had the Mushroom Tunnel Tour (see separate posting) and today we had our first corporate event - a team "bonding" event I guess you could call it. A group of 10 who worked in a State Govt Dept came down from Sydney for a day out from their work. FoodPath put on a Fruit Bottling Workshop for them with Steve Hogwood, who

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-62345206339182253432010-08-04T23:16:00.001+10:002010-08-05T23:28:22.761+10:00

Some of us met for coffee first then moved on to Bowral to join the rest of the group. Twenty six people came to our Mushroom Tunnel Tour and we were very excited about that. Five chefs, one hotel manager, one events organiser and 4 staff members from SH Tourism were included in the group. Noel told us the history of the tunnel and how he came to be in the business. He explained the details

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-39024675668159386902010-08-01T22:25:00.002+10:002010-08-05T23:29:35.980+10:00

How exciting - we have 24 people booked in to the FoodPath Mushroom Tunnel Tour this Wed 4 August, including chefs from two local hotels, representatives from SH Tourism, a group from Wollongong, more from Ulladulla and from Kangaroo Valley. It is nice to know the word is getting out about our activities. Half of the group are coming on to lunch with us at Sturt, a lunch including mushrooms from

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-46471271181257614222010-08-01T21:50:00.002+10:002010-08-01T21:59:26.541+10:00

How lucky are we! Today we had a Russian lunch prepared by our friends Tatiana and Steve. We provided the venue, they provided the food - what a great idea. Several friends joined us. We started with Borscht (a meal in itself) followed by two amazing pastry dishes - Coulibiak (with trout and barramundi) and Pirogue (made with pork and veal). It is special to experience traditional food from other

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-7730608431044696912010-07-24T23:08:00.000+10:002010-07-24T23:08:18.505+10:00

Last night Nick and I went to Bilsons to the Australian Association of Food Professionals President's Dinner. What a treat that was - with Maggie Beer there with husband Colin and also Margaret Fulton. Maggie gave an inspiring speech and Margaret was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Simon Marnie of ABC radio was the MC for the night. We have seen him a few times now at food events. For dinner we

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-79801770215348223212010-07-24T22:43:00.004+10:002010-08-01T22:14:34.608+10:00

 Today we had a lunch for Slow Food celebrating "Slow Fashion". Marg Connor, a wonderful felt maker and SH local spoke to us about her felt making and how she gets her inspiration - then treated us to a wonderful parade of her clothes. Such variety and so creative it was very special. It is not just having the skills to make the felt but having the creativity to put it together into a unique

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-27985493699682435852010-07-15T23:27:00.000+10:002010-07-15T23:27:17.188+10:00

Go to the Tours page to see the complete range of tours down for the month of August. Email us to make a booking, it's easy as 1,2,3.

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-50128067067087935022010-07-14T14:37:00.004+10:002010-07-15T23:37:21.913+10:00

Yes, these are sausages - just out of the smokehouse! What a hidden treasure in Mittagong. Smoked salamis and sausages, speck, black pudding, pork loin, etc, etc. All pork - no preservatives, just seasoning. A Polish family business using Polish recipes. Just had some for lunch - so fresh and yummy with pickles and crusty bread. Will have to include on a FoodPath tour. Only problem is that

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-80271260696171772852010-07-10T11:14:00.002+10:002010-07-15T23:23:38.912+10:00

Meet at the Farmers Market in Moss Vale and come with us to meet the stall holders. Enjoy some tastings and learn about the people behind the food we eat. Move on to the Bowral Primary School Market and do the same. Enjoy a coffee under the trees. Yes we do have two farmers markets on the same day - crazy! Kym from Sutton Forest sells her olive oil. Went to visit her during the week and we

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-10845208333524465932010-07-07T23:28:00.000+10:002010-07-15T23:36:29.885+10:00

Kylie Kwong was up in Bowral speaking at a lunch at the Centennial Restaurant on 7 July. She was launching her new book "It Tastes Better" in which she writes about the many producers she has visited and who she buys product from. Noel Arrold was amongst them with his exotic mushrooms. She was pleased to hear we are running food tours and supporting local producers as she likes to do.

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7841996300094043124.post-88138221741794677202010-07-07T23:05:00.002+10:002010-07-15T23:48:24.849+10:00

Arrangements are finalised now for a FoodPath Food Focused Walking Tour in Bowral, due to start on Fri 30 July 2010. There are so many specialty food stores that there are actually enough for 2 half day tours! Maybe we will have two tours and overlap at lunch. Come on this tour with us and learn the secrets of food shopping in this town. The proprietors will talk to you about their products

Jill Dyson,http://www.blogger.com/profile/12876439027357384761noreply@blogger.com