Melbourne Food & Wine Festival 2010: The Edible Garden; and Aussie Bacon Week

We all recognise and appreciate the joys of good wholesome food and the home garden is rapidly becoming the latest frontier in the pursuit of sustainability and provenance.

During our weekend to trip to Melbourne, Billy and I were keen to check out The Edible Garden in City Square, a public initiative to demonstrate how to grow, harvest and cook your own fruits and vegetables. Forget about hedges and thirsty flowers - a crop of rosy red tomatoes, fragrant basil plants and fruit-laden trees offer colour, smell and mouthfuls of deliciousness.


Admiring the plants and the artwork


Peppermint

There were lots of plants to touch, smell and discover, all helpfully labelled with identification tags.


Strawberry spinach


Wild corn


Table setting for lunch

The table setting for the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation lunch was particularly picturesque.


Pomegranates


You're never too young to enjoy a day out learning about food

Information leaflets are available for those wanting more information, and nursery staff are also on-hand to answer gardening questions. In Melbourne for the festival? Head down to check it out!





Aussie Bacon Week

Culatello by Quattro Stelle, Sydney
"Little Bum"

This week also marks the launch of Australia's first ever Aussie Bacon Week, a public awareness campaign by Australian Pork to highlight the ambiguity of Australian labelling laws.


Jamon by San Jose Smallgoods
Spanish-style Serrano jamon

The aim of the campaign is to ensure that the public are aware that up to 70% of bacon and ham products in Australia are made from imported pork products, much of it subsidised by overseas governments. The public should also be aware that:

Made in Australia means a product may have been processed or manufactured in Australia, but some or all of the ingredients are likely to have been imported from overseas.

Only Product of Australia means that the item has been processed or manufactured in Australia using local ingredients. A square pink and white Australian Pork label has been developed to help the public quickly identify locally sourced and manufactured Australian pork products.


Tartufo by Quattro Stelle
Lean pure pork salami with shaved truffle


Lardo by Pino's Dolce Vita
Cured pork backfat

In the meantime, it was a pigfest of oink-worthy proportions at Pendolino in the Strand Arcade. The Lardo by Pino's Dolce Vita was the tastiest sliver of richness you could imagine. The soft ribbon of cured pork backfat melted in the mouth with a soft and subtle soundtrack of garlic, bay leaf, rosemary and sage playing in the background. I needed a quiet moment after my first taste. I needed a figurative cigarette after the second.


Lachs Shinken by BB Products
Dry-cured, air-dried boneless pork loin
with a thin layer of pork backfat

The winners of the Awards For Excellence for Australian-grown bacon were also announced, an impressive field that included 62 different bacons from 45 producers across Australia.

Australian Pork Awards for Excellence winners

Full Rasher
1st - Schultes Meat Tavern, Plainland QLD

2nd - Coota Valley Meats, Engadine NSW

3rd - Skara Smallgoods, Nairne SA

Low Fat
1st - Willhome Farm Fresh Meats, Swan Hill Vic

2nd - Kanmantoo Bacon Company, Kanmantoo SA

3rd - Lucas Quality Meats, Bronte NSW

Over All
1st - Schultes Meat Tavern, Plainland QLD

2nd - Coota Valley Meats, Engadine NSW

3rd - Skara Smallgoods, Nairne SA

Spaghetti carbonara


Pork product tastings

The Edible Garden will be on display at the City Square in Melbourne, 10am - 7.30pm daily until March 19, 2010. Entry is free.

Grab Your Fork attended the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival as a guest of Tourism Victoria.

> Read the next Melbourne 2010 post (Madame Brussels)
< Go back to the first Melbourne Food & Wine Festival 2010 post