The West Australian Newspaper - January 2015

image courtesy Katie Joy's Free-range Eggs

 Paying the Price for Free-Range

The world of free-range can be a fickle place. Animal-loving customers yearn to embrace it, yet their definition of what constitutes ‘free-range’ is often vastly different to the stance taken by politicians, producers and supermarkets. Take eggs, for example. National free-range egg laws currently don’t exist in Australia.  In Western Australia, Greens MP Lynne MacLaren is fighting to re-introduce her Free-Range Labelling Bill (originally introduced in 2013) to the Senate this year. Over east, the NSW Fair Trading Minister, Matthew Mason-Cox, is due to have a draft national standard for free-range considered, apparently at the next Minister’s forum in April. The slow wheels of bureaucracy and the cut and thrust of profit margins can often get in the way of what the customer wants, and what is best for the animal.

Most people who buy free-range eggs pay a premium, envisaging happy hens pecking their way across lush green fields. After all, that’s what it shows on the packaging, right?  In reality, when it comes to free-range eggs (particularly those sold by supermarket chains), it is a veritable minefield for the consumer. Coles has a recommendation for their free-range eggs of 10,000 hens per hectare – anything smaller, they say, is commercially unviable.  The recommendation by the CSIRO and animal welfare groups for stocking densities is 1,500 birds per hectare. Western Australia’s largest ‘free-range’ egg producer, Snowdale Holdings (which runs Swan Valley Egg Farm and Eggs by Ellah), is currently locked in a court battle with the ACCC amidst allegations of falsely labelling its eggs free-range. The case is due to be heard in the Federal Court this April.

All is not lost, however. There are plenty of dedicated, hardworking producers out there who are passionate about free-range, with Margaret River Free-range Eggs being one of them. Its feisty owner, Jan Harwood, is chairwoman of the Free-range Egg Association.

“In Australia, the Australian Egg Corporation Limited and larger supermarkets have said that the free-range standards we used to operate under aren’t sustainable anymore, and we can’t produce enough eggs for the growing free-range market. Well, you can, because they’re doing it overseas on the same standards,” says Jan.

“They are producing enough eggs because they’re doing it slowly and organically. If countries like England and Denmark, who have less space than us, can do it on 1,500 hens per hectare, then why can’t we? It’s all about price manipulation.

“So this is where it gets down to cheap food. If you want to produce a free-range egg at the same price as a caged egg, then something’s got to give. Happily, these days people are walking the talk, and are starting to understand that good food costs more money.” 

When it comes to local free-range chicken, it’s hard to go past Mt Barker. The company juggernaut, based in the Great Southern, has eight farms that are run by either Mt Barker Chicken or local farmers, with each farm containing several chicken coops that have a central point for eating and drinking. The number of birds vary, but according to Graham Laitt, the managing director of Mt Barker’s umbrella company, Milne Agrigroup, their newest farm at Fox River has around 20,000 birds at any one time. 

“Most of our farms are part of diverse family farming operations, so the area available to the MBC farms is not limited. The coops are up to two hundred metres apart, providing the largest free-range area of any farms in Western Australia.,” says Graham..

“The number of birds per farm varies widely. It very much depends on the layout and facilities on the farm, as well as the management available.”

According to Graham, once the hens are feathered (at around twenty-one days old), they leave the coops to range outside all day until they are brought in at night to protect them from foxes. The farms aren’t open to the public, but chicken webcams will soon be set up at their Fox River farm.

Happily, free-range pork is increasingly becoming the norm for many people. As with the egg industry, there is no one standard, but a general free-range guideline is that all pigs need to be outside from birth to death, with plenty of space to graze and forage. 

“There are a number of growers who call their pigs free-range but they are, in fact, free-range-bred,” says Annie Kavanagh from Spencers Brook Farm.  

“This means the sows are outside having their piglets, but when the piglets are a few weeks old, they are weaned and moved into eco shelters, where they spend the rest of their lives before slaughter at around five months old.”

According to Annie, there is currently no legislation which differentiates between free-range and free-range-bred, with the customer paying more for free-range without knowing whether it’s legit.

“There needs to be national labelling brought in with a standard for free-range. However any attempt to bring in a certification system will inevitably lead to the same kind of fierce debate currently being seen in the egg industry, where the larger players are pushing for higher stocking densities.”  

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN FREE-RANGE PRODUCERS

Free-range Eggs:

Cackleberries Demeter Biodynamic Free-range Eggs

Based in: east of Donnybrook

Available to buy from: Absolutely Organic; Organic on Charles; Manning Farmers Market (at Redtail Organic Meat stall); Peaches

Farm open to the public: Yes (by appointment only)

How many hens: 28 hens per hectare (rotated around paddock in mobile accommodation)

Katie Joy’s Free-range Eggs

Based in: Kojonup (towards Albany)

Available to buy from: For stockists, head to their Facebook page

Farm open to the public: In the pipeline

How many hens: 900 hens per hectare (pastures are rotated)

Laterite Ridge Free-range (also free-range pork)

Based in: York

Available to buy from: Perth City Farmers; York IGA; The Local Grocer (online)

Farm open to public: No

How many hens: under 500 hens per hectare

Manavi Eggs (new)

Based in: Watheroo (near Gingin)

Available to buy from: The Lettuce Shop; small home delivery service in northern suburbs, and in the Moora, Dalwallinu area

Farm open to the public: No

How many hens: 125 hens per hectare (rotated around paddock in mobile accommodation)

Margaret River Free-range Eggs.

Based in: Margaret River

Available to buy from: For stockists, head to http://www.margaretrivereggs.com.au/ Farm open to the public: Yes, for their annual open day in November

How many hens: 2,500 hens per hectare (pastures are rotated)

Free-range Chicken:

Mt Barker Free-Range Chicken (owned by Milne Agrigroup)

Based in: Mt Barker (near Albany)

Available to buy from: Most supermarkets and butchers

Farm open to the public: No

Free-range Pork:

Jindong Free-range (grass-fed)

Based in: south of Busselton

Available to buy from: The Local Grocer (online); Manning Farmers Market (at Greenfriar Distributions stall)

Farm open to public: Open to industry only

Killara Open-Range Pork

Based in: Boyup Brook

Available to buy from: Selected butchers, such as Exclusive Meats and Meat @79

Farm open to public: Unknown

Laterite Ridge Free-range (also free-range eggs)

Based in: York

Available to buy from: Perth City Farmers

Farm open to public: No

Linley Valley Free Range Pork (owned by Craig Mostyn Group)

Based in: Albany

Available to buy from: Selected butchers; IGA

Farm open to public: No

Plantagenet Pork (owned by Milne Agrigroup)

Based in:  Plantagenet region, Great Southern

Available to buy from: Selected butchers; Coles; Woolworths

Farm open to public: No

Spencers Brook Farm

Based in: Toodyay

Available to buy from: Production currently on hold

Farm open to public: No

To read online, click link

The West Australian Newspaper: September 2013

image: The West Australian Newspaper

Restaurant Review: Food to Make You Feel Whole

There’s so much to tell about this place that, quite frankly, I don’t know where to begin. Should I start with its multi-award-winning hip-hop owner, Drapht (aka Paul Ridge) who, thanks to an impressive array of food intolerances, ended up opening up his own café just so he could eat out in safety? Perhaps the menu, which is all-organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, processed sugar-free and has a healthy dose of raw, vegan and vegetarian dishes to boot? Or the kitchen, with a dessert chef who specialises in raw organic sweets and a world-class head chef who’s well-versed in cooking organically and specialises in food intolerances?

Let’s start with the beverages. Forget your soft drinks and reconstituted OJ – this place is all about coconut water, made-to-order fruit juices and smoothies, and kombucha probiotics. You can also order from a range of coffee and tea, but it’ll be with rice milk or almond milk. When the muso and I visited for dinner, we went with the fruit juices - a ‘kidney cleanse’ (watermelon, green apple and carrot) and a ‘liver love’ (carrot, apple, kale, celery, lemon and ginger). We couldn’t help but feel refreshed after all that colour.

To the food and, to be frank, if we weren’t already au fait with many of the ingredients we may have been a little put off. Quinoa (pronounced ‘keen-wah’, not ‘ka-no-wa’), agave and coconut oil feature fairly heavily on the menu, and if diners aren’t down with these terms they may feel a bit bereft. Saying that, there are plenty of familiar ingredients to fall back on. Grass-fed lamb cutlets crumbed with garlic, lemon and fresh oregano gave us lean, clean flavours, while a side dish of beetroot chips crisped up in the dehydrator were healthy and moreish (yes, the two terms can co-exist). A warm winter lamb salad with parsnip, purple carrots and slow-roasted tomato was, like many of the dishes, massive. The food is filling, but not in a bloaty, I’m-going-to-have-to-go-have-a-lie-down kind of way. In other words, it’s real food without any of the preservatives, emulsifiers, additives, improvers and refined white stuff that make most of us feel a little bit meh. This was a good thing, because the dessert card rocked. At Solomon’s the sweets apparently take two days to create. They’re raw, 100% organic and extremely popular, as we discovered when we were advised the raw Snickers had sold out (noooo…).  In all, it had ten organic ingredients in it that we were itching to sample, but what can you do. We went with a choc-banana cheesecake and the last slice of chai caramel cheesecake (ha!). To get an idea of the amount of grunt that goes into these desserts, let me list the ingredients of the latter cheesecake: almonds, cashews, rice syrup, coconut oil, Celtic salt, vanilla cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, chai tea, ginger, dates and tahini. It cost $14 and was sensational.

Is Solomon’s expensive? Yes, it’s up there, but then I imagine so would the eatery’s organic shopping and specialty ingredients bill. The service is smiley and passionate – staff know their stuff and so they should, because they’re bound to get asked lots of questions about the ingredients. The sprawling venue seats around a hundred people, and if you keep an eye on the pass you may get a glimpse of a calm, self-possessed young man going about his business. Mark my words, Solomon’s is a taste of things to come.

_________________________

Score – 14/20

Address – Solomon's, 487 Beaufort Street, Highgate

Tel – 9328 7995

The Buzz – A Mecca for anybody who enjoys organic wholefood, and an absolute haven for those with food allergies and/or intolerances. Solomon’s fills a growing hole in Perth’s dining out scene.

Click here for link

The West Australian Newspaper: July 2013

Books for Cooks - Book Reviews

'Toscano’s Family Table' by Joanne Toscano. Published by Slattery, RRP$50.00

Melbourne-based Italian greengrocers Toscano’s is a family business that’s been chugging along for more than sixty years. In this book, granddaughter Joanne showcases what her extended family do with all that home-grown goodness in the form of a cookbook that covers over seventy classic Italian dishes. But it’s not all fruit and veg: we’re also talking truffle fettuccine, roast lamb shoulder and mango tiramisu. There are also lots of tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your fresh produce, too.

'Ancient Grains' by Catherine Saxelby. Published by Arbon, RRP$34.99

It’s International Year of the Quinoa, did you know? With that in mind, Ancient Grains covers a silo-full of whole grains (including the aforementioned) and what their health benefits are. Thankfully, the book includes over one hundred recipes too, because quite often the question with grains is not whether or not they are good for us (we know they are), but how exactly do we prepare and cook them? If you’re into grains, or are thinking about extending your repertoire, this will surely be your go-to book.

'Not Quite Nigella' by Lorraine Elliott. Published by Penguin, RRP$29.00. 

With a quarter of a million unique readers a month, Lorraine Elliott is arguably Australia’s food blogging queen. Formerly a media strategist, Elliott takes the reader on a journey through her life as a fully-fledged, full-time food blogger, from doing a stint in jail (in the name of research), to gatecrashing exclusive parties, media famils and interviewing celebrity chefs from all over the world, including, finally, her blogging namesake, Nigella Lawson. Throw in a few recipes, and you have a fun and interesting insight into the life of a food blogger.

'Kumar’s Family Cookbook' by Kumar Pereira. Published by Allen & Unwin, RRP$29.99

There are lots of cookbooks geared towards the family on the shelves at the moment, but this one caught our eye for its Sri Lankan bent. Kumar, a former MasterChef contestant, began writing out these recipes (complete with gorgeous drawings) for his sons, and they have gradually snowballed into a book. It includes Sri Lankan dishes (lamprais curry; roti) as well as everyday family faves (crispy-skinned pork belly; sticky toffee pudding), showing off Kumar’s talents as a cook, artist and all-round family man. 

The West Australian Newspaper: April 2013

Restaurant Review: A Spicy Affair

The Buzz

New suburban Indian restaurant serving up consistently tender curries. Cosy, welcoming and fast becoming a local favourite.

This fairly new place on the Victoria Park strip feels like home away from home - if I was living in Bombay. The Indian eatery is tucked away at the southern end of Albany Highway, two doors down from The Prophet, and is as cute as a button, with the chatty young owner ensuring everybody feels, well, right at home. There is indoor and alfresco seating to choose from, and on a weeknight, both areas are bursting at the seams. Yes okay, we’ve been here before, but apart from the awesome food and friendly owner, the main reason we keep boomeranging back is because the food is consistent. Too often I’ve found that Indian restaurants serve up a dish that’s fantastic one week and dreadful the next. Here, if you order the goat curry, you’ll get the same succulent, fall-off-the-bone goat curry every day of the week. But more about that later.

Décor-wise, it’s trad Indian. Chilli-red walls, gilt-edged Indian oil paintings and tapestries, with Indian music on the sound system. They’re just about to undergo a re-fit though, so don’t quote me. The service is old-style: free pappadams and tap water for the table without having to ask for it. It’s fully BYO, and corkage is three bucks. None of the dishes on the menu make it over $20, and judging by all the foot traffic, take-away is a popular weeknight can’t-be-bothered-cooking option.

When I visit with the family, we always order the same dishes, hence why we know they’re consistent with the meals. The yellow dhal is a classic comfort food, chunky and soupy with just enough bite to raise a bead or two of sweat. And then there is the goat. A bit of bone but not too much, immersed in a thick gravy brought to new flavour heights by the fattiness of the meat, and so tender barely any chewing is required. They nail it every time. Generous dishes of saffron rice and naan done just right help to mop up all the glorious liquid.  Generally, butter chicken comes in a galaxy of combinations – some are too creamy, some have too much tomato. Others are too spicy, and when you have a six year old addicted to butter chicken, too much heat does us no favours on the eating front. Spicy Affair’s version has a perfect balance of all these flavours and again, they do it the same way every time, so we don’t have to worry whether our child will be eating or not that night. The sauces meld into a happy slurry on the plate, and more bread is usually required.

Dessert is but one choice – gulab jamun. Two balls of hot, syrupy and extremely sweet milk dumplings that is made in-house, and we’re done. I’ll be dreaming about that goat.

A Spicy Affair, 909A Albany Highway, East Victoria Park. Telephone 6162 8767

Score: 13.5 out of 20