As us city city mice oohed and aahed with delight over the well-kept farms, the livestock and rows of vines and veggies, we were saddened by the evidence of the continuous march of the concrete cancer across the most arable land in NSW.

But that’s why we are there.  To see the beauty and bounty of this part of our city, and its potential to supply us with even more of our food, and to see the fight ahead of us to help save it.

Second generation Sydney farmer and long term warrior John Maguire at Enniskillen supplied is with coffee (actually it was his son and third generation farmer Adrian who showed his multi-skilling, turning out thirty coffees in record time) and also gave us the background of political opportunism and downright greed that still stalks this beautiful part of the world.  As John well knows, the forces of darkness never sleep – they just change their forms.

Next stop was a real revelation to most of us – but not to one of our number, Maud a visitor from Sweden who owns her own vegetable farm in Sweden.  Vicki and Joe Sultana and their children Jonathan and Samantha took us through their fertile Hawkesbury vegetable farm picking produce for us as we went.  Eggplants, corn and capsicum the main catches of the day – but what eggplants – plump and shining, corn – heavy with silk and good enough to eat off the stalk, and capsicum – little bright green numbers with, we later discovered, huge flavour.

And then it was off to vineyard corner, to Tizzana and Jubilee.  This was a real eye-opener to first time visitors.  Firstly the beauty of this corner of the valley, the same today as it was when Dr Fiaschi was drawn to it.  And secondly, not just the quality of the wines we were shown but the fact that there was wine at all in the Hakesbury.

Our last stop was 42 Bannerman where Sam Mammoliti and his family and their chef Jony Fontecchio brought all the produce of the region together to serve us one of the finest real Italian meals any of us have eaten this side of Lombardy – or Sicily I guess, as that’s where Jony come from.  Sandra’s rabbit with olives and rosemary, the little capsicum stuffed with pork and fennel sausage mix and a disc of St Alban’s goat cheese from Willowbrae, the zucchini flowers stuffed again with Willowbrae goat curd, the dessert of Jony’s Zia Maria cake were highlights of the meal which was, really, all highlights.  The city mice were gobsmacked, and will be back.

As will Slow Food Sydney.  We are planning to do more of these Hawkesbury Nepean rambles, the idea being to show as many people as we can the potential – and the problems – of Sydney’s unique farming region.