Sydney Eat Street: Southern Highlands Food and Wine Festival
The Southern Highlands Food and Wine Festival is back with more food, drinks and live workshops to tempt all tastebuds — with dishes like the South Coast Lobster Tail Crumpet.
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The Southern Highlands foodie festival is back, this time at the Moss Vale Showgrounds, with more food, drinks, and live workshops with Australia’s oldest salt maker and Moss Vale-based Olsson’s Salts.
General admission to the festival village is $30. VIP tickets ($150) include access to the VIP Marquee, a glass of bubbles on arrival, a set of Riedel glasses, and more.
Olsson’s Salt Sessions ($20-$50) will feature talks and demonstrations from some of Australia’s best-known chefs and suppliers.
— southernhighlandsfestival.com.au
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The Lodge at Berrima Vault House – “Signature Style” (Olsson’s Salt Session)
Innovation and creativity are at the heart of chef Tommy Prosser’s signature lobster crumpet – undoubtedly an unusual combination of two food groups, but both are individually and equally loved.
Generous pieces of South Coast Lobster Tail Crumpet, mixed with a chive mayo, sit atop a lightly toasted house-made crumpet.
In the mere months that The Lodge has been open, Prosser’s Lobster Crumpet has garnered a legion of fans.
“Every component stands up on its own. It’s a matter of layering and finding the commonality between the ingredients,” Tommy says.
He explains how the lobster’s flavour is not limited to the tail’s meat but can also be carried over to create a lobster oil and even confit the lobster tail to make a seasoning with Olsson’s fleur de sel flakes.
Tommy has more than 20 years of experience, starting as an apprentice at 13, through to the kitchen of Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe before coming to Australia, and eventually Berrima.
His menus are a celebration of local and seasonal ingredients, such as lamb from Maugers Meats, produce at nearby farms and of course, Moss Vale-based Olsson’s salt.
Tommy will reconstruct his lobster crumpet for his turn at the Olsson’s Salt Sessions.
Take note of his approach to the nuances of salt and how a mere pinch can make a big difference, not just as a flavour enhancer but as an element that brings the dish together.
Tommy’s session is on February 28 at 12.20pm in the Olsson’s Salt Session tent. If you can’t get there, stop into The Lodge at Berrima Vault House for brunch Friday-Sundays.
— 11 Old Hume Hwy, Berrima; berrimavaulthouse.com
Pecora Dairy – Cheese Masterclass” (Olsson’s Salt Sessions)
“A snapshot in time”. That may sound like an Instagram tag line, but according to Michael Cains of Pecora Dairy, it’s actually a pretty concise way of describing the flavours in their award-winning sheep milk cheeses, especially Yarrawa, the first raw milk cheese in Australia.
“Unlike pasteurised milk, which is standardised, and two-dimensional, raw milk allows the elements to express themselves,” Michael says.
“It’s an expression of the land because if you think about the variable that goes into a cheese, the flavours are determined by where the sheep were; what they ate, the weather at the time, the microbiology, and lactation changes, so no two batches are ever the same.”
There are, however, ingredients and methods that remain consistent throughout the process, such as the inclusion of salt to balance the acidity.
“Olsson’s is the only salt we use in all of our cheese. It’s a natural product, and they make it so it’s superfine, which means we can be very exact with the salting of our cheeses; bigger cheese might be more heavily salted,” he says.
Get a taste of Pecora Dairy’s cheeses, along with some insights on wine pairings at Michael’s Cheese Masterclass, Sunday, February 27, in the Olsson’s Salt Sessions tent. Or, if you can’t make it to the festival, stop in at Pecora Dairy Cheese and Wine, a newly opened cafe, providore, and wine bar.
— 91 Hoddle St, Robertson; pecoradairy.com.au
Maugers Meats – “Family Farming” (Olsson’s Salt Session)
There are few butchers more experienced than John Mauger, and as part of the Olsson’s Salt Session, John will be sharing his knowledge along with tales of the Mauger family’s three generations of farmers and butchers in the Southern Highlands, beginning with his father’s first butchery 50 years ago in Burrawang.
John will also demonstrate well-honed butchery skills, including Maugers’ signature sausages.
But don’t worry, it’s not just for show as which guests will get to try it along with chilled Elling Forest Apple Cider.
John began running the family’s shop when he was just 16 and continued for more than 40 years before handing the keys to his son, Mat.
John now focuses more on the development side of the family’s farm in Robertson, the foundation of Maugers Meats’ top-quality free-range, grass-fed beef and lamb.
In addition to the abundant selection of fresh meat behind the display cabinet in their expansive shop on Bowral, Maugers, has also acquired a dry-ageing cabinet in which large cuts are hung in a temperate-controlled environment for four to six weeks, a process that helps it retain moisture, rendering a tender and tasty meat which when grilled quickly over high heat, offers up an intense depth of flavour.
John’s session on Family Farming will be held at 12.20pm on February 26, but you can also call in on Mat at their new shop in Bowral.
— Shop 2-3 rear, 320-326 Bong Bong St, Bowral; maugers.com.au
Duck Foot Farm
Justin Hartley is doing big things on a small scale. Small-scale farming, that is.
After moving to the Southern Highlands more than 20 years ago, working as a landscaper, then at local organic farm, Moonacres, he’s finally found his calling, launching his small-scale farming endeavour in late 2020.
Starting with just a half acre in Moss Vale, using a no-tilling, no-digging approach to the land, he laid cardboard in tidy rows over the soil and then covered it with compost.
This farming technique allows for high-density planting a diverse range of produce, and as it’s nutrient-rich, it makes for tastier veggies.
Justin first sold his produce through local shops and veggie delivery services, but Duck Foot Farm is now a preferred supplier to hatted restaurants and renowned chefs in Sydney and the Southern Highlands.
A large part of his small-scale farming initiative is land sharing, in which bigger properties divide out sections just for farming.
Since launching the endeavour, Justin has been lauded not just for the production of premium produce but also for his emphasis on environmental responsibility, so much so that he now oversees three acres in three different locations, each one shared with him for just one dollar.
He points out that by nurturing these small, high-yield crops, not only is he providing farm-fresh veggies daily by keeping the product localised, he also eliminates much of the transport and distribution costs.
Justin will be selling some of Duck Foot Farm’s fresh produce alongside other growers.
You can purchase veggies on-site and either carry them with you or pick them up at the gate as you exit. If you can’t make it to the festival, Justin makes regular deliveries to The What If Society, but get in early as his farm-fresh veggies won’t last long.
Le Bistro Gourmand
Standing in front of Le Bistro Gourmand’s stall, you best be prepared for some pretty tough decisions as Gerald Melieres will have an impressive selection of both sweet and savoury French fare.
You could start with the hearty cassoulet, a rustic casserole with white beans and meat, a classic French onion soup, or maybe something lighter like their cured salmon on house-made blinis.
Then, of course, you could go straight to dessert where you’ll be tempted with such sweet treats as Crème Brulee, Raspberry cheesecake, Apple tourtiere and chocolate tarts. Decisions, decisions.
You can find Gerald and his French food at the festival, and if you still want more, visit his bistro in Bowral.
— 52 Station St, Bowral; lebistrogourmand.com.au
Ben Shephard - Wine Masterclass
To truly appreciate the nuances of wine in the Southern Highlands, you’ll need to roll back the years for this experience, which will be led by sommelier and Bistro Sociale manager, Ben Shephard.
With his years of experience in the region, Ben will be your guide as he takes guests on a journey through the area’s rolling hills one sip at a time.
Rather than just featuring one vineyard’s offerings over any number of years, he’ll be hosting a “horizontal tasting”, which is the art of sampling wines produced in the same year in the same region.
By utilising this format, you are better able to pick-up the subtle differences specific to each vintner’s styles and techniques. In addition to tasting wines, Ben will also explain the art of cellaring these cool climate grape varietals including Artemis Riesling (2013 & 2015), Tertini Pinot Noir (2016 & 2019), and Cherry Tree Hill Chardonnay (2016 & 2021).
Learn more at Ben’s Wine Masterclass on Saturday, February 26 at 4.20pm in the Olsson’s Salt Session tent or you can always get his insights with pairing wines with food at Bistro Sociale.
— 6 David St, Bowral; bistrosociale.com.au
Dawning Day Farms
The passion is palpable at Dawning Day Farms. It’s taken 20 years, but Mike and Katrina Archer have finally seen their dreams come to fruition: wines from their very own vineyard, and the ability to help those less fortunate by donating 10 per cent of their sales to worthy charities - (to date, they’ve already raised over $45,000).
Up until now, they’ve been producing wines in partnership with other vineyards in the region, but that will soon change with their 2021 vintage produced on their own farm.
To get a peek at the property that made their vision a reality, head to their cellar door and try some of the wines that are already in their repertoire including a rosé, chardonnay, pinot noir, shiraz and the popular (very cleverly named) Skin Shady skin contact wine.
Take a seat at one of the high-top tables that look out at the well-tended wines or pull up a chair in front of the fireplace and order a glass (or two) of wine along with one of their impressive grazing boards which includes Katrina’s very own original and chilli pickles as well as an abundance of artisanal products from local producers including Pecora Dairy cheeses, Birch Restaurant’s basil pesto dip.
Birch Restaurant’s basil pesto dip, Taluca Park’s biodynamic meats, and a fig jelly from their next-door neighbour.
You can visit them in the festival village or venture out to the centre of it all, Dawning Day Farm itself.
— 25 Rockleigh Rd, Exeter; dawningday.com.au
Originally published as Sydney Eat Street: Southern Highlands Food and Wine Festival
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