This week in The Forager: community support for food producers, where to find a good steak, chef Duncan Welgemoed’s next move and the first taste of Jamie’s Italian.
Pub rescue
Just a 20-minute drive across the border from Naracoorte, on the old Edenhope touring route from Adelaide to Melbourne, is a stunning Art Deco weatherboard pub that has been rescued from extinction by a group of local farming families.
The Border Inn Hotel is located in Apsley, a tiny rural community just inside the Victorian border which relies on the services of Naracoorte and Adelaide for its survival.
Eleven couples from both sides of the border decided to purchase the hotel, which had been closed since 2011, in an effort to re-invigorate the community and showcase the produce of the region, including its beef, lamb and wine.
South Australian Ian Perry, of Barn Palais (Mount Gambier) and Upstairs at Hollick (Coonawarra) fame, is consultant chef at the Border Inn.
“Everything we can we source locally,” he says. “Most of the owners are farmers so much of the produce I’m using is home-grown.
“For example we take a whole beast (grown by one of the owners, killed locally and hung for a fortnight) and work through it from nose to tail. We use the prime cuts for ‘Steak of Day’ and lesser cuts for braised dishes such as osso bucco, short ribs, steak and ale pie (Coopers Pale), and the mince for hamburgers and sausages.
“The beef schnitzel is probably our signature at the moment – we use thick-cut porterhouse with a handmade herb crumb.
“As the weather gets warmer we’ll also have yabbies on the menu – one of the owners is a yabbie farmer.”
Given that it is located on the fringe of the Limestone Coast, South Australian produce features very strongly on the menu at the Border Inn, adds Perry.
“We are using olives and olive oil from Pendleton Estate at Keith, Coorong mullet, South Australian prawns and oysters, Limestone Coast Cheese from Lucindale, Coonawarra and Wrattonbully wines and Coopers beer.
The Border Inn is open seven days for lunch and dinner, features open fires and has no pokies. It is close to local attractions the Naracoorte Caves, Lakes Bringalbert and Charlegrark, Mt Arapiles and The Grampians National Park.
And while you’re there, be sure to visit Amber Ridge Farm Shop for seasonal farm-grown heirloom fruit and vegetables, home-made preserves and plants, and morning and afternoon teas and lunches.
The Border Inn has a number of guest rooms available for accommodation. More information can be found here.
Go fish
Word on the street is that Adelaide Hills residents may have no choice but to replace their omega 3 with more coffee and cake as a new development at Stirling could potentially see the local fishmonger supplanted by a Cibo franchise.
The Octopus’s Garden owner, Tony McDonald, who has been providing the region with fresh fish daily for 24 years, says he has been given notice to vacate his premises in the Stirling Mall by August 31 and has not been offered any alternatives or opportunity to redress the situation.
Each day at 5am McDonald, who also owns a fish shop in Mt Barker, travels to the wholesale fish market in Mile End to buy 300kg of fresh fish which is then filleted at Mt Barker with a portion brought back to Stirling for sale.
McDonald also value adds to his fresh fish stocks, producing home-made chilli prawn rolls, prawn and scallop pies, seafood pies, salmon patties, crumbed flathead fillets, seafood chowder, seafood curries and seafood stock, all cooked on the premises at Mt Barker and Stirling.
“As much as I can make we will sell,” says McDonald. “We make as much as time will allow us.”
Customers have created a petition in protest at the development.
“I am flabbergasted by the number of people who have signed the petition and the comments they have made,” says McDonald. “Ideally I’d like to stay here, renovate, renew and modernise this shop, but I think it’s all over red rover. There’s a Cibo sign on the shop next door and I hear there’s plans to extend into the space here.”
McDonald says he is going to see the landlord, Brett Matthews, who also owns The Stirling Hotel, to show him the petition and make an appeal against his decision.
“I’m not sure what effect it’s going to have but at least it will give him notice of the sentiment within the community.”
Fork on the Road Season 3
Fork on the Road is kicking off its third season on Saturday with lunch and dinner in the revitalised Victoria Square, featuring 30 food trucks, vans and pop-ups including Wienerbago, Hot Mummas Curries, Mamachau Noodle Van, Honey Puff Ladies and new vendors Cheesy Street.
Drinks will be available from a new collection of boutique wine, beer and cider producers, including Sidewood Estate Cider, Three Dark Horses, Arete and De Anima Wines.
“For the kids, Game Truck Australia will be making its debut, and the craft table will be back,” says organiser Joe Noone. “Bring your rugs and chairs and take advantage of the totem tennis and table tennis equipment available.
“And please don’t forget to make a pledge to the Fork Pozible campaign to keep this great local free community event going.”
More information can be found here.
Father’s Day steak outs
With Father’s Day just over two weeks away on Sunday, September 7, now is the time to plan ahead. We thought we would share some thoughts on where you might find a good steak that anyone would be pleased to tuck into.
A Hereford Beefstouw is offering a two or three-course Fathers’ Day lunch (from $52 per person).
Start with shared-plate entrees which include pulled-pork mini sliders and gravlax with sweet mustard sauce before tucking into locally produced and award-winning grass-fed dry-aged Hereford beef as a rump or a New York cut, or a herb-filled free-range chicken option, followed by a shared desserts selection including crème brulee and white chocolate truffles. More information can be found here.
Penfolds Magill Estate is hosting a special Father’s Day Sunday lunch in the format of a degustation menu showcasing Mayura Station Wagyu Beef over four courses with matching wines and complimentary snacks and desserts prepared by Magill Estate Restaurant chefs Scott Huggins and Emma McCaskill.
Delicacies such as carpaccio, tataki, tongue and striploin will be served with Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling, 2002 Yattarna, 2005 RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz, 2006 Cellar Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and 1989 Grange, and Grandfather Rare Tawny. Mayura Station owner Scott de Bruin will also speak about his boutique brand of full-blood Wagyu beef produced on the Limestone Coast, his herd’s ancestry, bloodlines and pedigree which distinguish the quality of the beef.
Cost is $220 per person. Bookings are essential. Telephone 08 8301 5551. More information can be found here.
Openings and new moves
Rib eye on the bone, roasted veg and a glass of red at The Little Hunter.
Newly opened on Victoria Street in the city, The Little Hunter is a steak and ale house with a big menu and a good selection of craft and tap beer and wine from the people who also own the Woolshed and the Berkeley around the corner on Hindley Street.
“A steak house has been part of the dream for many years,” says owner David O’Connell. “We don’t use fancy words or ingredients that are unpronounceable, instead we have developed a hearty, high quality steak for $30.”
Diners can expect Coorong Angus scotch fillet, or rib eye on the bone, for example, in rustic cow hide and stone work surrounds.
“And we have just tapped the White Rabbit Dark Ale for winter.”
More information can be found here.
Jamie’s Italian is set to open at its landmark location on the corner of North Terrace and King William Street.
The Forager understands the kitchen will get its first workout in the coming weeks with a soft opening for industry types (invitation only), followed by an opening to the public in the first week of September.
The restaurant isn’t yet open for public bookings – we’ll let you know when that happens.
Over at Adelaide Oval, the Hill of Grace Restaurant has its grand opening next week. The fine diner, located in the Eastern Stand, will feature Henschke’s wines and the food of chef Dennis Leslie (formerly of the Hilton Adelaide).
The East End’s reputation as Adelaide’s new dining hotspot will soon gain another drawcard, with chef Duncan Welgemoed announcing this week that he’s leaving Bistro Dom in Waymouth Street to open his own place.
Buffalo stance
Speaking of bovine indulgence, South Australia now has its own buffalo milk dairy at Mypolonga on the River Murray Flats. Dairy farmer Corey Jones has been able to resurrect his family dairy with a small buffalo herd and has already made a purchase agreement with Woodside Cheese Wrights which will use the milk to produce buffalo curd.
“We are thrilled that we have been able to work with Corey to get the old disused dairy up and running again, and with milking buffalo,” says CEO and cheesemaker Kris Lloyd.
“I am personally delighted and have a sense of satisfaction that our business has played a role in this great agricultural story. The first dairy buffalo herd in South Australia and to be able to produce cheese using local milk and paying farmers a fair price, which is our business philosophy.
“I have made several styles of cheese with the buff milk, as we affectionately like to call it, with the shining star being Buff Curd.”
Look out for Woodside Cheese Wrights Buff Curd on the menus of Orana and Coriole.
