You can read Part 1 of this story here, and Part 2 here.
How can I wrap up the workshop without talking about the food? You guys know me better than this!
Over those three wonderful days, I’ve had some of the best food I’ve ever tasted, and it’s all thanks to the brilliant Sarah Glover. It was just fascinating and incredibly inspiring to watch her work and produce this amazing quality of food with so little to work with. I especially love her focus on using local, seasonal and native ingredients in so many of her beautiful recipes. She nailed every single dish and managed to keep all our bellies extremely happy and well-fed throughout it all.
Again, I’ll let the photos do most of the talking for me. I will post them in chronological order and will tell you a bit about each dish/meal. I managed to sneak in quite a few process shots, which tend to be my favourite kind, especially when the kitchen (as well as the cook) is so ridiculously photogenic! You can find some of Sarah’s beautiful recipes on here website here.
Commence drooling in 3…2…1…
On Arrival
We were welcomed to Moorabinda station with a lovely afternoon tea and treats. There were lavender and eucalyptus shortbread biscuits, salted chocolate and pecan cookies, a beautiful turmeric and bush lemon cordial as well as tea and coffee. The perfect snack after a long day (or two days in my case) on the road!
Welcome Dinner in the Woolshed
A stunning candlelit long table was set up in the old woodshed, and we enjoyed a dinner of spaghetti with a wallaby ragu (yes wallaby!), saltbush focaccia bread and a big salad. For dessert, we had turkey egg pavlovas with dried wattle blossom, whipped cream and dehydrated pineapple.
Day 1
Breakfast at the Ramsay’s Farm
We got to visit the Ramsays, a wonderful local family who live on a beautiful farm near Moorabinda. After Kim Ramsay milked her cow for us, we enjoyed that fresh-as-can-be warm, raw milk on steel cut oat bircher muesli with buckwheat and pecan granola and fresh fruit, as well as the most buttery, flaky scones ever with strawberry and blood orange jam. Lots of coffee and tea to drink, and also fresh orange juice that the Ramsay kids squeezed for us with oranges from their tree!
Lunch Picnic in the Riverbed
We visited a nearby dried out riverbed lined with gumtrees, and the ever-creative dream team proceeded to set up the most wonderful picnic for us. Sarah made a slow cooked beef short-rib pie with shortcrust pastry, wallaby and proscuitto meatloaf with bush tomato relish, locally grown vegetables with quark (a type of local cheese), a radicchio salad, and my favourite: a plum and sage upside down cake served with creamy mascarpone.
Dinner by the Campfire
The ultimate setting for dinner during the chilly nights out in the Australian bush. We were treated to a whole lamb asado, which was raised by the Ramsays on their farm. It was slow cooked for pretty much the entire day over the open fire until it was just fall-off-the-bone tender. Served with quinoa tabbouleh, fresh tomatoes, tzatziki and warm roti bread, we each got to make our own sandwiches and enjoyed them huddled around the fire, having endless talks and laughs and reluctant to go to bed.
Day 2
Breakfast In the Paddock
Another stunning long table was set up in the paddock outside the shearer’s quarters. We devoured the most insanely fluffy freshly baked cinnamon buns with candied orange and wattle blossom and the palest pink blood orange icing, along with a breakfast salad with edible flowers, all served with lots of Megan’s cardamom scented coffee.
Lunch on the Verandah
After a long day full of sessions of styling and photography, we needed a pick me up! Sarah cooked up a pearl barley and split pea risotto with green nettle sauce, broad beans, garlic chips, dried saltbush and black olives. This was such a delicious and unique dish that I find myself craving often.
Dinner in the Dining Room
This was a strictly no-cameras-allowed dinner. I think we all needed a moment to forget about taking photos and just sit and enjoy a meal together with lots of conversation. We had beef hanger steak with fennel and potato puree and balsamic sauce. It was incredible, you just have to take my word for it!
As for dessert, we had a raw salted caramel pumpkin and pecan pie made by Sarah, and a dark chocolate and espresso tart that was made by Annabelle. Luckily, I have tons of photos of these because we used them in the styling and photography sessions earlier in the day and got to photograph the process of making the pumpkin pie!
Day 3
Sunrise Breakfast in the Paddock
This was our final meal together, so we decided to get up super early to make the most of the day and the magical morning light. I’m so glad we did! It was just the most picturesque setting I have ever laid eyes on, and the perfect end to the most amazing three days ever.
We had local turkey, guinea fowl and chicken eggs braised in a vibrant green kale pesto with radishes, wood fired toast, and a fresh fruit and edible flower salad with thick yoghurt.
You can read Part 1 of this story here, and Part 2 here.
