May 022018
 

Judy interviews Ian Hemming, President of Diamond Valley FoodShare

Most of you won’t know Ian but, in my view, he is one of the most important food people in North East Melbourne because he shows what is possible. Each year, the Diamond Valley FoodShare, of which Ian is President, gives away around 70,000 meals to Banyule residents, with most of the food being collected from the two major Melbourne-wide food relief organisations, namely Foodbank and SecondBite.

Judy Vizzari has visited the FoodShare and interviewed Ian. Here is how she starts her writeup: Every Monday to Friday between 1pm and 3pm, Diamond Valley FoodShare is providing Banyule residents in need of emergency assistance with free food. We are all enriched by their work. Guy Palmer and I are visiting Ian Hemming, the FoodShare’s President – Guy to gather information for their listing in the Local Food Directory and me on a mission to find out more about the organisation, of which I know only a little. We arrive at the Council-owned Senior Citizens’ Complex in Greensborough War Memorial Park and are welcomed by Ian, who leads us into a room which has been allocated to the FoodShare. It’s a large room featuring a wide bench down its length, walls lined with fridges, a freezer, many labelled drawers, and cupboards which fill every available space – even below the benchtop. The room is bright and well organised and has a sense of military precision – Ian’s influence? Whilst Guy busies himself taking photos of the copious stock of neatly stored fresh and packaged foods, I notice an array of Community Award certificates displayed on a large noticeboard. I’m curious for details – who are the ‘volunteers, where does the food come from, how is it distributed and who is judged to be eligible to receive it? I ask Ian, who enthusiastically recounts the story.” Read the full interview.

I plan to visit SecondBite’s headquarters in Heidelberg West to have a look round. If you would like to come with me, email me.

News about local food producers

Lachlan, the marmaladier at J.B. Shackleton’s, a local marmalade maker from Wonga Park, won a gold medal for Australia in the 2018 World’s Original Marmalade Competition in the UK! Their winning marmalade was ‘Luxury Lime Marmalade’. Their commendation said “A remarkable preserve where the punch and brilliance of lime was upfront and proud. You could imagine eating it well beyond the confines of the breakfast table and imagine it favouring evening from desserts to evening cocktails.” In addition, they won silver medals for their Tahiti Lime and Sweet Orange marmalades, and bronze medals for some of their other marmalades.

Read about Lachlan’s previous wins on our website. Read J.B. Shackleton’s Local Food Directory entry. I have tasted quite a lot of their marmalades and they really are yummy. If you would like to contact Lachlan, you can email him.

Reader contributions

A WEEly good idea

Greta Gillies has written in: “Urine can be used to fertilise food crops in a number of ways. At it simplest, it can be added undiluted to the base of fruit trees. The Veganic Agriculture Network has a sensible and comprehensive article on the uses of urine in the garden.

Kinglake Produce and Artisan Market

Justin Bumpstead has written in: “It runs every 4th Sunday of the month, 10am-2pm, at Ellimatta Youth Space, 94 Whittlesea-Kinglake Road, Kinglake. We’re always looking for new producers to offer their produce for sale too.“. Justin is the owner of Bumpstead Family Apiaries, who are based in Kinglake. They have a stall at the market.

It would be good if there were more reader contributions to this newsletter. If you have something that you think others might be interested in, or you just want to see your name in lights, email me.

Are you ready for World Naked Gardening Day?

World Naked Gardening Da is on next Saturday (5th May). Here are a couple of gender-themed pictures from one of our local community gardens from last year. A special prize to anyone who can identify the garden!
    

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

Mary and Robert Stringer’s garden.

Joke of the week

Why don’t cannibals eat clowns? Because they taste funny.

Read all the jokes.

New events – Darebin Homemade Food & Wine Festival

The Darebin Homemade Food & Wine Festival is taking place from Saturday, 26th May to Sunday, 3rd June. Each of the events is discussed below, with clickable links to book your place. Click here to view/download a brochure of the full program.

Homemade marketplace

What: This market will feature local craft beer brewers, wine and spirits hand selected by Thornbury’s Carwyn Cellars, a carefully selected range of locally made food and produce, information stalls, coffee and music.
When: Saturday, 26th May, midday-4pm.
Where: Northcote Town Hall.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Thai street food

What: Cassie Pitman, from Melbourne food truck Pok & Kok, is passionate about traditional Issan (north eastern) Thai street food. She will demonstrate phad kee mao (drunken noodles) – a staple of street food stalls in Thailand. She will also take you through one of Thailand’s most famous dishes – som tam thai, or green papaya salad.
When: Saturday, 26th May, 12.20-1.20pm.
Where: Northcote Town Hall.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Darebin Bake Off

What: Are you Darebin’s best baker? Enter your home-baked sponge cakes, slices, biscuits and scones to find out. Entries will be judged by Noela McLeod and Laurell Cockerell from the Country Women’s Association.
When: Saturday, 26th May, 1-2pm.
Where: Northcote Town Hall.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Meet the makers

What: Go along and celebrate Darebin’s local home wine makers. Sample wine from entrants in the wine competition and vote for your favourite in the People’s Choice Award.
When: Saturday, 26th May, 1-4pm.
Where: Northcote Town Hall.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Salami demonstration

What: Learn the art of making your own homemade salami. This demonstration will cover mincing, mixing, filling and (most importantly) curing. Ask Home Make It’s master maker anything. Includes tastings.
When: Saturday, 26th May, 1.15-2.15pm.
Where: Northcote Town Hall.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Spätzle workshop

What: Angela Pradel’s parents migrated from the Tyrol region in the Italian Dolomites, close to the Austrian border, in 1961. She loves cooking traditional dishes for her family. Spätzle (‘primi piatti’) is a favourite. Angela will show you how to make spätzle with spinach. Once cooked, the spätzle will be tossed in a creamy sauce either made with speck and panna or burnt butter and sage.
When: Saturday, 26th May, 2.15-3.15pm.
Where: Northcote Town Hall.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Raspberry winemaking demonstration

What: Gary Campanella, Danny Cappellani and Mario Fantin from Eltham and District Winemakers Guild will introduce the basics of fermentation and demonstrate the steps to make raspberry wine with a tried-and-true recipe.
When: Saturday, 26th May, 3-4pm.
Where: Northcote Town Hall.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Gardening throughout the year and chilli pickling

What: The multicultural and intercultural group at Sylvester Hive are all about socialising, gardening, sharing food, food growing and preserving traditions. Enjoy a tour of the community garden, a talk exploring what they plant throughout the year, and a chilli pickling workshop. A lunch using fresh produce straight from the garden will be provided.
When: Sunday, 27th May, midday-3pm.
Where: Sylvester Hive Community Garden, Preston.
Cost: gold coin donation.
Bookings: Eventbrite.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Mushrooms are our future!

What: Ryan Creed and Julian Mitchell co-founded Life Cykel in 2015 after discovering how to grow gourmet mushrooms from waste coffee grounds. They now have 5 mushroom farms across the country promoting a circular economy in food production. Ryan will cover the mushroom production process, varieties, uses of mushrooms, and tips for growing mushrooms at home. The session will also include tasting samples and an opportunity to purchase Life Cykel home mushroom kits and products.
When: Sunday, 27th May, 2-3.30pm.
Where: Darebin Intercultural Centre, Preston.
Cost: $14.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Pizzaly woodfired pizza demonstration and tasting

What: Ever wanted to learn how to make your own classic pizza from start to finish? Join Pizzaly for a fun Italian afternoon learning techniques you can put into practice at home. Try your hand at topping and cooking your own pizza in a traditional wood fired pizza oven.
When: Sunday, 27th May, 3.30-5.30pm and again on Sunday, 3rd June, 3.30-5.30pm.
Where: Pizzaly, Preston.
Cost: $39.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Tibetan momo making

What: Learn the art of Tibetan momo making with Fiona and Samdup. Samdup grew up in Amdo, Tibet and will share a traditional family recipe handed down with love for generations. Using fresh organic ingredients, Samdup will teach participants how to make the dough, the fillings and demonstrate a variety of ways to cook these delicious dumplings. Kids welcome.
When: Sunday, 27th May, 4-5.30pm.
Where: Northern Soul Café, Thornbury.
Cost: $44.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

A vegan Mexican feast with Juanita

What: Popular for her monthly taco nights, Juanita from Juanita’s Kitchen will teach you how to make (and eat!) a Mexican meal, including perfect tortillas from scratch. Plus tips and ideas for creating quick and easy dips and salsas, recipes and a goodie bag to take home.
When: Sunday, 27th May, 4.45-6.30pm.
Where: Juanita’s Kitchen, Preston.
Cost: $63.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Kimchi mania

What: Lentil as Anything’s catering chef Chase will show you how to make kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish made of fermented cabbage. A kimchi themed dinner is included. Notes and recipes will be provided. Bring a large jar.
When: Monday, 28th May, 6-9pm.
Where: Lentil as Anything, Thornbury.
Cost: $39.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Introduction to homemade winemaking

What: Stephan Logoida will guide you through the whole process of home winemaking, covering all the most important moments of the winemaking process including selecting good quality grapes, fermenting and maturity.
When: Tuesday, 29th May, 6-7pm.
Where: Home Make It, Reservoir.
Cost: $14.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Yoko Nakazawa – Zen cooking

What: Explore the beauty of traditional Japanese cooking. Yoko Nakazawa, from Cooking with Koji, will show you how she uses the suribachi, an ancient Japanese cooking tool, in her meditative approach that uses all five senses and has an emphasis on being in the moment. Learn to make miso soup and seasonal vegetables with sesame miso sauce from scratch. Yoko will also demonstrate nukazuke, a pickling technique that uses rice bran. Vegan and gluten-free.
When: Tuesday, 29th May, 6.30-8pm.
Where: Melbourne Polytechnic, Preston.
Cost: $14.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Pulp fiction – what to do with leftover pulp?

What: Do you make your own nut milk or juices? Ever wondered what you can do with your left over pulp? Join Yoko Inoue, owner of raw food cafe Shoku Iku for this workshop which will cover a simple nut milk recipe and creative ways to use leftover pulp such as croquettes, chocolate cake, granola crackers and almond pulp cheese. A raw vegan workshop.
When: Tuesday, 29th May, 7-8.30pm.
Where: Shoku Iku, Northcote.
Cost: $84.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Introduction to homebrewing

What: Dean Smith will guide you through a simple home brew. He will demystify the process and talk about the many ways that you can produce your own beer at home. The workshop will cover the basic processes, ingredients and the hardware needed.
When: Wednesday, 30th May, 6-7pm.
Where: Home Make It, Reservoir.
Cost: $14.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Kaye Roberts-Palmer – save our citrus

What: Kaye Roberts-Palmer, the founder of Save Our Citrus Melbourne, will show you how to take care of your citrus trees including basic botany, tackling the citrus gall wasp and other pests, pruning, watering and fertilising.
When: Wednesday, 30th May, 6.30-7.30pm.
Where: Darebin Intercultural Centre, Preston.
Cost: $14.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Modern Scottish masterclass

What: Head Chef and owner of Wee Man’s Kitchen, Chris Orr, will take you through a crash course on traditional Scottish cooking. The ticket includes a three course meal.
When: Wednesday, 30th May, 6.30-9pm.
Where: Tallboy & Moose, Preston.
Cost: $93.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Paul West – whole cookery

What: Paul West is a Thornbury-based cook and food grower best known as host of River Cottage Australia (SBS, Lifestyle Channel). At this demonstration and tasting, Paul will explore nose-to-tail and root-to-stem cookery. Learn how to create dishes and minimise waste using offal and other underutilised cuts of meat and by using all parts of the vegetables that you buy or grow.
When: Thursday, 31st May, 6.30-8pm.
Where: Melbourne Polytechnic, Preston.
Cost: $14.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Tasting traditional beer styles brewed local

What: Tour the Tallboy & Moose brewhouse before settling in to enjoy a curated tasting paddle of locally-produced beer styles. You will learn about beer history, how beer was traditionally, and how it is made today. You will also explore how beer styles and flavour have changed as a result.
When: Friday, 1st June, 6-6.45pm, again at 7-7.45pm, and again at 8-8.45pm.
Where: Tallboy & Moose, Preston.
Cost: $14.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

RetroSuburbia – Aussie Street with David Holmgren

What: David Holmgren’s new book, Retrosuburbia: the downshifter’s guide to a resilient future elevates the importance of household food growing into an empowering vision for the future of Australian suburbs. It uses permaculture thinking to create home-based solutions by retrofitting our homes, gardens and behaviours. This event will see David in conversation with Darebin permaculture designer Kat Lavers – bringing his ideas to life.
When: Saturday, 2nd June, 10-11.30am.
Where: Reservoir Community and Learning Centre.
Cost: $14.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Olive preserving mediterranean style

What: Jessica Ridout (winner of the Darebin Homemade Food & Wine Festival’s 2015 best preserved olives) and Martin O’Callaghan (from Darebin Fruit Squad) will show you how easy it is to preserve your home-grown olives. You will also take home a jar of preserved olives that you make on the day.
When: Saturday, 2nd June, 2-4pm.
Where: Darebin Intercultural Centre, Preston.
Cost: $34.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

The art of vegan momos

What: Join Dechen as she shows you how to make traditional Tibetan momos and spicy sauces at this hands on vegan workshop. Afterwards, sit down together and enjoy all-you-can-eat momos.
When: Saturday, 2nd June, 3-6pm.
Where: Lentil as Anything, Thornbury.
Cost: $44.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Alphington Farmers’ Market tour and cooking demonstration

What: Take a guided tour through the Alphington Farmers’ Market. Along the way, you will collect seasonal Victorian produce to use in the Love Food Hate Waste cooking demonstration to follow. Learn how to shop waste free and make the most of your winter produce through storing tips and tricks, recipe ideas and creative ways to prevent food waste. Includes a tasting and ‘boomerang’ reusable market bag to take home.
When: Sunday, 3rd June, 10-11.30am.
Where: Melbourne Innovation Centre, Alphington.
Cost: $54.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

The Plummery – garden tour and tasting

What: Kat Lavers’ small-scale permaculture house and food garden, The Plummery, is featured in David Holmgren’s new book RetroSuburbia. In this tour, Kat will demonstrate how almost all the veggies, herbs, fruit and eggs consumed by the household are produced on a 280m2 block. She will also show how she recycles all organic waste, captures water and generates a large proportion of the household’s power on site. Includes produce tastings and a handout on growing winter veggies.
When: Sunday, 3rd June, 10-11.30am.
Where: Northcote.
Cost: $14.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Flavours and Stories from Iran, Iraq and Syria

What: Enjoy a sizzling Persian BBQ, a diverse range of Middle Eastern mezze, and an array of authentic Iraqi dishes. Listen to live traditional music and learn about the rich and colourful cultures of Iran, Iraq and Syria. Free to Feed’s chefs will also share stories of their individual journeys to Australia.
When: Sunday, 3rd June, 4-8pm.
Where: Free to Feed HQ, Thornbury.
Cost: $70.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Market on Kulin Nation (indigenous market)

What: Market on Kulin Nation is all about bringing the community together and celebrating what’s great about Indigenous culture through food, art and music. This free event will feature food stalls, art stalls and live entertainment as well as a cooking demonstration by Chef Zach Green over an open fire. Attendees can purchase food tokens to indulge in the food that will be available for sale.
When: Sunday, 3rd June, 4-8pm.
Where: Darebin Arts Centre, Preston.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Summary of upcoming events

Over the next week
Over the next month

View the complete calendar of upcoming events.

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