Upscale Restaurant Grows its Own
Fresh, seasonal produce is the latest catch-cry for many chefs these days, but only a handful would be able to proclaim they grow their own fruit and veg. The team at upscale restaurant and bar 1907 do just that, and have raised the sustainability stakes just that little bit higher by going the organic, heirloom route and buying a farm to do it all on.
“The property is up in Toodyay and it’s quite big,” says 1907’s executive chef Nick French.
“It’s around 550 acres, and the vegetable farm itself has six large beds which are about five metres by ten metres, which we’ll use on a rotational basis.”
The farm property, called ‘The Range’, is an historic homestead and ballroom built in 1897 that is currently being restored. Over the years, it has produced prize-winning cattle, sheep, wool and thoroughbred horses.
The farm was originally the brainchild of the owner of 1907, who bought the property after being inspired by the ‘paddock to plate’ philosophy used in so many restaurants around the world. The rest of the eatery’s staff quickly locked onto the idea and now it involves everybody, both in front and back of house. As Nick points out, however, it still has a ways to go.
“It’s still early days for us, with a lot of trial and error - trying to see what works with environmental conditions and soil and that kind of thing. Because obviously some things will do better than others. But we have quite a reasonable amount of success with pretty much everything we’ve tried.”
To date, there are over 200 different types of fruit and vegetables grown on the farm, with a particular focus on heirloom varieties. A dedicated father and son team, Brian and Todd Gilsenan, work on the farm to produce as many ingredients as possible.
“We’ve got all sorts – spinach, kale, tomatoes, chillies, all our herbs, broad beans, broccolini, potatoes and little courgettes, much of what features on our new menu” says Nick.
Olive groves, vineyards and orchards are currently being planted, and from all the produce grown 1907 will only use a small percentage. Future plans include selling more of the farm produce to farmers markets, food bank charities and other like-minded restaurants.
“In the future, we are basically looking to expand. We will be putting in some nice organic fruit trees, such as apples and citrus. And we’re also going to move towards chickens as well once we’ve got established so we’ll have eggs. It’s very exciting, and so much better than opening boxes of produce.”
In 2011, the restaurant intends to host a number of long-table field lunches and dinners in order to highlight the farm’s fresh, seasonal produce and are currently working on sourcing local suppliers so that all other produce comes from within a 50km range.
1907 Restaurant and Bar is at 26 Queen Street, Perth.
For on-line article, go to Fresh
