Eat Drink West: Ballarat’s Kate Davis matches farmers with consumers
Western Victoria farmers have a direct link to chefs and diners thanks to Ballarat’s Kate Davis and her new creation, Eat Drink West.
BEHIND every prosperous rural town there is usually one dynamic individual.
Restaurateur Alla Wolf-Tasker, for instance, helped make Daylesford Victoria’s go-to food destination. In the Grampians it was the proprietors of Royal Mail Hotel, and in Gippsland the creators of the Potato Festival put Thorpdale on the map.
Ballarat has Kate Davis.
Born and bred in Ballarat (“I have never lived anywhere else”) the 38-year-old’s trajectory matches that of her home town.
In 2012 she started the Ballarat Beer Festival, a one-day event in January showcasing about 40 craft brewers and attracting 6000 visitors.
Such was its success, she sold the annual event in 2015, and it continues to run each year.
When the City of Ballarat asked her to come up with an idea to promote Ballarat food in winter, Kate in 2015 created a month-long pie competition, with more than 10,000 pies consumed in venues throughout the city.
“Some very creative pies have come out of that like mac and cheese, or pear, elderflower and blackberry,” she says. “This year we made it into a toastie competition, which has been just as popular.”
Last year Kate created another key event on the town’s event calendar, Plate Up Ballarat, which this year offered 50 events and attracted 17,000 patrons, with each venue showcasing at least three locally-grown ingredients.
And it is on the back of the success of Plate Up that Kate has just concocted her most recent ingenious plan: Eat Drink West.
Eat Drink West is a website of western Victorian farmers — from Ballarat, Grampians, Hepburn, Moorabool, Pyrenees, Central Goldfields and Golden Plains — designed so chefs and consumers can access their produce.
“When we did Plate Up Ballarat quite a number of chefs were asking us for a list of producers that they could access. Chefs are busy and don’t always have the time to search for new ingredients,” Kate says.
“We discovered there wasn’t a centralised platform of producers across western Victoria so we have gone about to create one.
“I didn’t want the message of supporting local producers to just end with Plate Up in May. I wanted to be able to support them every single day.”
Eat Drink West — which this year was given a $50,000 Regional Development Victoria grant — also runs events to bring producers, consumers and venue operators together.
This month, for instance, an Eat Drink West “kitchen take over” event involved a menu devoted to local ingredients, which patrons could then purchase.
In February Kate will run a “speed dating” style event with chefs and farmers so they can meet face-to-face.
Producers pay a one-off $750 establishment fee, followed by a smaller annual subscription.
In return they get a web profile, highlighting their ingredients, backstory and farming practices, as well as professional video and photos (which they can keep), social media updates (on Instagram and Facebook), updates on newsletters distributed to venues and invitations to events.
“If producers are working flat out on their farms they don’t have extra marketing resources and that’s where we come in to help support them.”
Kate acknowledges that other regions in Victoria have been faster at highlighting the importance of food with a postcode — such as Daylesford.
But, she says, a decade ago Eat Drink West would not have worked in Ballarat.
“About seven years ago I asked venues why they didn’t support local producers and they were reluctant because it simply wasn’t accessible or affordable.
“Since then farmers have understood and are better equipped to work on the business side and supply operators. When a chef says they need this product tomorrow, a farmer now says ‘no problem’ and ‘this is the price’.
“It has been a quiet revolution, a growing collaboration, also driven by consumers who want amazing, fresh produce, who want to keep it local and make sure their dollar is flowing into the rural economy.
“The consumer-driven demand for local food has increased significantly and the desire to eat locally is here to stay.”
Ultimately, Kate says, Eat Drink West could be expanded to other regions in Victoria.
Given she didn’t grow up on a farm, why is it that she has made promoting the area’s food production her number one driver?
Kate says her main motivator is her love of Ballarat.
After finishing school she worked in retail, and as a new mum completed a six-week course in Sydney in event management.
Soon after that the self-made entrepreneur launched the beer festival, with two partners.
“It was a huge risk, not only financially but it was also an outdoor event,” she says.
“I was completely invested in it.
“For me, it was make or break because my name spearheaded the event and I did all the policies and procedures, as well as the event management.
“We made $5000 in the first year. I was so stoked I took all my friends and supporters out to dinner with that money.”
Since then Kate has developed her skills on numerous events, from the Avoca Turf Club, through to winery events in the Pyrenees and Grampians and even a Melbourne Spring Fashion Week event when it came to Ballarat.
“People tell me the reason events work is because of me.
“I don’t even know what that means.
“I think it’s because the skill is I’m passionate and I care.
“People tend to come on board and trust me because of the professionalism and integrity.
“It helps that I love food, wine, people and Ballarat.”
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