Southern Harvest will be selling a range of fresh produce from their farmer members. Photo: Southern Harvest.
Canberrans often talk of escaping the cold in July, but a new Winter Market at Dairy Road aims to convince Canberrans that winter can be a delicious and joyful time! Truffles, new-release wines, and a mouthwatering range of fresh produce will feature at the market, which is a collaboration between Southern Harvest, The Truffle Festival and Dairy Road.
Food and farming cooperative Southern Harvest is dedicated to bringing customers together with the people who grow their food.
President of the cooperative, Louise Rose, says that people often have misconceptions about the Canberra region’s growing season.
“Winter is actually a great season for food in our region because of the cold and seasonality. Frosts make a lot of vegetables taste sweeter and there’s a whole range of brassicas that thrive in the cold. And fruits like citrus are beautiful at this time of year and they’ll help to keep winter colds away,” Louise told Region.
“And then, obviously, we’ve got wonderful specialty products like fresh truffles, which are only available fresh in the winter.”
Truffles will feature at the market. Photo: Blue Frog Truffles.
Working for the second year with The Truffle Festival, Southern Harvest is putting on the Winter Market as a way to showcase the spectacular cold climate food of the region and highlight all that is delicious about winter.
And truffles are definitely a highlight of the season! Canberra is fortunate to be one of the very few places in the world where truffles grow on the doorstep of a major city. And there will be plenty of truffles on offer at the market, with truffle growers showcasing how trained dogs find these treats, and there will be plenty of truffle products to taste and try.
Renowned French Chef Christophe Gregoire – formerly of Les Tres Bon in Bungendore – is an expert on truffles and even grows his own! During the market, he will be hosting two-ticket cooking demonstrations at the Mill House Theatre to teach participants how to get the most out of this unique ingredient.
“Truffle is a magic ingredient, but I don’t want people to be scared of it just because it’s expensive. I want people to experience the aroma and the texture and to learn how to cook this ingredient in some simple dishes. The flavours can be sweet or savoury; they are really unique, and we have this growing in our terroir. It’s so amazing!” Chef Christophe explained.
“I want to tell people the story of truffles because it’s so interesting, and we’ve been using truffles in Europe for such a long time.”
Sample wines from local wineries at the cellar door. Photo: Molonglo.
Around 50 stallholders will be housed in two spacious warehouses linked by a garden of food trucks. Customers can expect fresh produce like leafy winter brassicas and beautiful pumpkins from growers in the Southern Harvest network, as well as fine wines from over eight local wineries and gourmet ingredients like olives, black garlic and cheese.
Foodies will enjoy eating their way around the festival, with food trucks like Palacinke Crepes, Queer Food, Dilliwala Authentic Indian and Le Cheeserie taking part. Southern Harvest will host a community stall with information about their Bungendore shop, weekly farmers market and produce box subscription scheme.
Truffle grower Wayne Haslam, Southern Harvest President Louise Rose and Chief Minister Andrew Barr at the truffle festival launch earlier this season. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Local spirit brands Clark and Kealey Distilling, Ambrosia Distillery and Riverbourne Distillery will be attending, and there will also be non-alcoholic drinks options from Unscripted Fermentation, Waypoint Tea Co and Nourish & Breathe.
Dairy Road businesses are also getting into the winter spirit: try the truffle ramen at Canteen or the truffle gelato from Jasper and Myrtle Chocolates.
Live music from The Fringe of Squaredom, truffle demonstrations, art, and other activities will take place throughout the day.
The Winter Market will be held on Sunday, 28 July, from 11 am to 3 pm at the back of 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick. Attendance at the market is free, but Chef Christophe’s cooking demonstration is a ticketed event (book through Southern Harvest).
Visit the Southern Harvest website for more information, or follow The Truffle Festival – Capital Region and RSVP on Facebook.
Lucy Ridge is also an employee of Southern Harvest.
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