Jack and Miriam Neilson own and run Pasture Perfect Organic Pork, raising 100% free-range Berkshire pigs on their certified organic property in northern NSW.  Their products are carried by several Sydney retailers, listed here.

We decided to grow free-range, organic pork because… we had a bit of an epiphany while we were travelling in South America.

We had been fattening cattle in central Queensland, and had decided to stop using chemicals because we were both having bad reactions to them.  Then the property was sold, so we took some time out to travel.  While we were in South America, we realised how badly we’d been eating - suddenly there was all this great fresh food in the markets, and we were eating so well, but also losing weight.

At the time no-one knew their producers in Australia.  There were no farmers’ markets like today.  We wanted to bring that connection back with us - great food, produced ethically.  We figured beef production was already pretty good, as most cattle in Australia are still grass fed, but we thought there was an opportunity with organic, free range pigs.

Pasture Perfect Organic Pork is different from supermarket pork because… our pigs always have access to pasture; they are totally free of chemicals, including antibiotics and even vaccines; and they’re Berkshires, which means they have great flavour.

Demand in the current economic environment is… holding up ok.  We’re not seeing a downturn due to economic circumstances, but we haven’t yet got up to full production.

The most satisfying thing about raising free range, organic pork is… getting out and spending time with the animals.  It’s like watching little kids playing - they’ll run around in circles in the grass, sometimes so hard they lose their balance and fall over.  Then they’ll look around to see if anyone saw them.  I’d describe it as joyous.  They really love being out in the pasture.

The most frustrating thing is… finding business partners who share our passion for making great product every time.  Our cured products are made without preservatives, and it’s our name on them, so getting it wrong could be the end of the business for us. It’s been a long battle to find a processor who really cares.

The best meal I’ve had this year was… a producers’ lunch at Universal with Christine Manfield.  There were producers from all over Australia, as well as top chefs and wine people.  The degustation and matched wines were beautiful.  I felt really blessed to be part of it - we don’t often get to experience fine dining, given where we live.

My most treasured food memory is… really more a set of memories.  I learned to cook by bringing a new flavour back into the kitchen and trying to recreate it from smell and taste, using the herbs and spices on hand, rather than by following recipes.

Slow Foodies should check out… The Weston A Price Foundation and their book, Nourishing Traditions.  It has some great information on how modern conveniences have undermined traditional health and cooking.

The one thing Slow Foodies can do to make food in Sydney better, cleaner and fairer is… to get to know how your food is produced.  As soon as we start closing our eyes, we start running into problems.  Seek out good food, and savour it - really appreciate it!

Krinklewood vineyard is a family-owned, biodynamic vineyard, in which every member of the family contributes to the daily operations of the business. Rod and Suzanne Windrim first planted wine grapes in 1981 in the Hunter Valley. In 1997 they increased the vineyard to 48 acres in the Broke-Fordwich region, where they grow Semillon, Chardonnay, Verdelho and Shiraz, with younger plantings including Viognier, Mourvédre and Tempranillo.

I decided to grow and make biodynamic wine because… I wanted to make the best possible wine from Krinklewood. I was inspired by vineyards in Burgundy that were using biodynamic principles to grow grapes; in France they have a higher disease pressure than in the Hunter, which gave me even more confidence. In 2001 I discovered ‘Wine From the Sky’, a book by Nicholas Joly which sparked me to do a Steiner Agricultural course that same year. From that moment, I was absolutely hooked on Biodynamics, and in 2002 I began operating within the biodynamic cycle and using the biodynamic preparations.

Biodynamic practice is better for the environment, better for the people who live on and work on the property, and can give us better quality wine that truly reflects the terroir of the vineyard. It didn’t really take much convincing…

“Biodynamic practice is better for the environment, better for the people who live on and work on the property, and can give us better quality wine that truly reflects the terroir of the vineyard”

Krinklewood wine is different from the mass-produced wine you might find in a bottle shop because… no chemicals are used in the vineyard to grow the grapes. Biodynamics also allows the wines to express the uniqueness of the vineyard site, known as terroir.

Demand for Krinklewood wine in the current economic climate is… very strong. In the past few years some of our wines have been selling out before the next vintage is available for sale which we feel good and bad about - good that the wines are in demand, bad that we are unable to produce enough.

The most satisfying thing about producing wine is… working biodynamically. It is extremely motivating and addictive. It has allowed us to be almost totally self-sustaining and as a result our farm has healthy soil, plants and animals - which is without doubt reflected in the quality of our wines.  Viticulture is an ongoing learning process, as is winemaking. The more you know the more you want to know!

The biggest frustration in producing wine is… not being in control of the weather!

The best meal I’ve eaten this year was… with a bunch of like-minded winos, hell-bent on having a laugh and enjoying some great wines. We were at Lolli Redini Restaurant in Orange, and I had the roasted Dutton Park duck with Sicilian vegetable caponata, crisped truffle Parmesan polenta and glazed quince. It was fantastic !

My most treasured food/wine memory is… enjoying a roast chicken dish for a Sunday lunch in Chez Blanc in Borg-en- Bresse in France. It was a wonderful restaurant and after reading about their free range chicken for so long, it was great to finally experience it.

“Bresse chickens are treated like fine wine. They have an appellation, a particular place where they come from, and they are a particular breed. Plus, they get to eat real food and walk around the countryside, all regulated by law.”

“Bresse chickens are treated like fine wine. They have an appellation, a particular place where they come from, and they are a particular breed. Plus, they get to eat real food and walk around the countryside, all regulated by law.”

Slow Foodies should check out… Wine from the Sky by Nicholas Joly, and the following websites:

www.krinklewood.com

www.biodynamics.net.au

www.biodynamics2024.com.au

The most important thing about the sustainable food movement is… not only sustainable food that is important, but that food must also be nutritionally enriching, i.e., to be sustainable is not enough if the food is not nutritionally beneficial.

To make food and wine in Sydney better, cleaner and fairer, Slow Food members should… support certified growers at farmers’ markets and genuine certified food and wines. Restaurants could also give better support to certified organic and biodynamic food and wines.

“Support certified growers at farmers’ markets and genuine certified food and wines.”

Rob and Nita Lennon own and run Gundooee Organics, producing organic wagyu beef at Dunedoo, north of Mudgee in Central NSW.  They are finalists in the Vogue Entertaining and Travel Produce Awards.  Winners will be announced May 11.  We caught up with Rob at Taste of Sydney in March.

We started producing organic wagyu beef because…  organic farming is a way of thinking and a way of life that’s right for us.  I don’t come from a farming background - my parents were accountants - but I always loved going canoeing and camping around the Gloucester area.  Eventually I thought, I love being out of the city, why not find a way to live out here?  So I got my truck-driver’s license and used to carry wheat from all over NSW.  Then I studied farm management at Marcus Oldham Farm Management College in Geelong, and spent the next 10 years managing mixed farms through central and northern NSW.

There was never any question that we’d take the organic route.  It’s the vibe!

When we bought our own land 10 years ago, there was never any question that we’d take the organic route.  It’s the vibe!  Organic growing is a passive approach.  It creates the right environment for what we want to exist or grow, instead of focusing on getting rid of what you don’t want - a positive approach to things.  Farm systems are complex - if you do one thing, it’s hard to quantify the effects.  If you kill one thing, you end up having to kill more.

We’re encouraging deep-rooted perennial grasses which access nutrients and moisture deeper in the soil profile.  This gives the cattle feed a more complex battery of nutrients, and also allows pastures to hang on to provide grazing through dry periods, and bounce back faster when we do get some rain.  We use grazing management and ‘competition’ to control weeds, one example being in an old ‘sheep camp’ area where we replaced a huge Paterson’s Curse invasion with native pasture without any inputs. And we’re experimenting with pasture cropping - using the same land to grow feed crops for the cattle in our native pasture paddocks.

Gundooee beef is different from supermarket beef because…  the cattle are fed on native perennial pastures, and it’s wagyu.  Both the pasture and the breed combined provide great flavour, as well as providing some great health advantages including a good Omega 3 : 6 fatty acid ratio.  We also take great care with stock handling.  I’ve followed the animals though the slaughter line [at Cowra abattoir] - I figure if they’ve got to go through it I should face up to it too.  They’re completely calm throughout, and that makes a huge difference to the quality of the meat.

The most satisfying thing about producing food is…  days like today [at Taste of Sydney], spending time talking with people who are interested in what we do.  Our nearest organic neighbour is about 100km away, so it’s great to chat with people who care about organic food.

The most frustrating thing about producing food is…  the gap between producing “animals” or “carcasses” and producing food.  The system isn’t really set up to reward producers for producing food.  The focus on consistency and quantity at the lowest cost doesn’t encourage producers to take pride in the quality and flavour of what they grow.  It’s consumers wanting to know more about what they eat that leads to farmers making the effort to produce great food.

It’s consumers wanting to know more about what they eat that leads to farmers making the effort to produce great food.

The best meal I’ve eaten this year was…  no doubt a barbeque with family and friends at home.  They call me Barbeque Bob, because too many barbeques is never enough.  Some of our beef and a fresh salad and baked vegies - you can’t go wrong.

My most treasured food memory is…  throwing some green eucalyptus leaves on the (wood-fired) barbie.  My Mum used to love the smell.  She’s gone now but we still do it.

Slow Food members can make food in Sydney better, cleaner and fairer by…  promoting the vibe!  Don’t take it too seriously - just turn the tellie off, enjoy the experience of gathering and preparing food, and then spend the time with family and friends having a nice meal.

You can find ‘Gundooee Organics’ wagyu beef at…  Sydney restaurants Bécasse, Etch, Plan B, Longrain, and Sean’s Panorama, and occasionally at Glebe Point Diner and Bei Amici.  Also now in some Canberra restaurants including the Ginger Room.  It’s also available through five butcher shops in Sydney:  TJ’s Quality Meats in Balmain, Hudson Meats in Cammeray and Surry Hills, Pino’s Meats in Kogarah, Dulwich Hill Gourmet Meats and now T&R Gourmet Butchery in Double Bay.

Food miles are a big issue for us, so we’ll never export, and won’t send our beef to Melbourne or Brisbane.  How many foods can you get in Sydney but not Melbourne?

How many foods can you get in Sydney but not Melbourne?

Michael Champion runs Champion’s Mountain Organics.  In this month’s interview he gives us his run-down on what it’s like to produce great food.

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