Paddocks Of Promise

Across Australia, paddock-to-plate dining is on the rise as diners experience the joy of eating produce mere moments after it has been harvested, writes Michael Harden.

- Michael Harden

It’s become almost mandatory for restaurants to have a mission statement about their produce. Mantras like “seasonal-regional” and “paddock to plate” get repeated so often they sound more like marketing than philosophy. But for the true paddock-to-plate practitioners, chefs and restaurateurs who embrace the time-consuming, expensive and often difficult task of growing as much of their own produce as they can while sourcing the rest from nearby producers, marketing is a distant consideration. Most are concerned with quality and the negative impact food production can have on the environment, but all have the same central reason for doing what they do: flavour.

“To serve a plate of mulberries to someone when they’re still warm from the sun, that have never been chilled or packaged or transported, that is why we do this,” says Dan Hunter, owner and chef of award-winning Brae in regional Victoria. “That food experience, that level of flavour, those textures, most people never experience because the produce you get in a shop is never picked when it’s ripe. To be able to experience this is a true luxury – the opportunity to offer just picked, perfectly ripe fruit and vegetables is why we’re here.”

There’s romance to the paddock-to-plate idea, all soft-focused chefs in pristine white drifting about gathering broad beans and strawberries in wicker baskets. The truth is sweatier and more expensive.