Provenance

• WHO: Michael Ryan & Jeanette Henderson, owners
• WHAT: Thoroughly modern, highly regional Victorian restaurant
• WHERE: 86 Ford Street, Beechworth, Victoria, Australia

“We create contemporary food from quality regional produce with a focus on seasonal awareness. Michael Ryan's many trips to, and deep interest in, Japan is reflected in the techniques and flavours in the menu.

“We make a point of quizzing our suppliers on the provenance of the produce we are buying from them. We also source un-farmed and foraged produce when we can such as wild leaves and mushrooms. We love local produce because it is so fresh. – when you can phone a supplier and have them pick the fruit for you on the morning of delivery – that is very special.

“Our menus have always been vegetable focussed, and we don't use cream in any of our savoury courses. This is not approached from a health perspective, but because it suits our style of cooking. Instead of cream, we make many of our sauces with our own house-made soy and nut milks. All of our meats are free-range, as are the eggs we use.”

Looking for the perfect place to stopover on the drive between Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney? The accommodation at Provenance is located in the quiet courtyard at the rear of the property in what was once the stables that serviced the bank. Renovated in a modern style with Asiatic touches throughout. The rooms, located in the centre of Beechworth, are walking distance to the many shops, cafés and restaurants in the town. For more information click here.

To read more about Provenance, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

The Riverford Field Kitchen

• WHO: Guy Singh-Watson, founder
• WHAT: Dedicated to making seasonal organic veg the star of every plate
• WHERE: Wash Barn, Buckfastleigh, Devon, UK

“Vegetables are at the heart of what we do and we are 100 per cent organic certified by the Soil Association, the UK’s largest organic certification body. We want to give people good, fresh, flavoursome, ethically-produced food and are dedicated to growing and eating seasonally – our food tastes great because we harvest and eat in tune with the British seasons. Everything that we grow is selected for flavour; our carrots taste so good because they are selected and grown to be so. Our set menu changes daily depending on what is in abundance in the surrounding fields, truly celebrating seasonal produce.

“As well as using vegetables from the farm, The Riverford Field Kitchen has its own garden metres away from the restaurant. Our head gardener works her green-fingered magic and grows a variety of crops for us to have fun with in the restaurant: fresh herbs, radishes, spicy rocket leaves, unusual tomato varieties, strawberries and raspberries for summer desserts. Growing our own not only allows us to serve vegetables that are truly fresh from the soil, but also lets us experiment with using every part of the plant, leaving minimal waste.

“Working with the freshest, most flavoursome organic ingredients straight from the soil, we hope to show just what’s possible when you put vegetables at the heart of your plate. We’re not vegetarian, but meat and fish are used as a seasoning and organic seasonal vegetables are the star of every dish.”

Event:

Elly Pear’s Green Feast : Wednesday 20 November

"Bestselling author Elly Pear will be joining us at The Riverford Field Kitchen to host an organic veggie packed feast featuring recipes from her latest book Green: Veggie & Vegan Meals.

Elly is passionate about encouraging people to cook from scratch and try new things. Her bright, inventive, meat free cooking is influenced by world cuisine but always with an eye on the local greengrocers. Find out all you need to know about this event and many others here."(https://fieldkitchen.riverford.co.uk/events/).

To read more about The Riverford Field Kitchen, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

The Riverford Field Kitchen (Buckfastleigh, Devon, UK)

Shepherd

• WHO: Shepherd Elliott & Sean Golding, chefs/co-owners
• WHAT: A New Zealand restaurant that aims to deliver inspiration & fun to lovers of great eating
• WHERE: 1/5 Eva St, Te Aro, Wellington, New Zealand

“We work directly with local vegetable farmers in the Wellington area. We routinely get boxes of vegetables each week depending on what the farmers have grown, not what is currently fashionable. This is important to us because it not only creates a home for things that other places may reject but it also gives our chefs an opportunity to challenge themselves and work out how to use something they might not have come across before. We work with a local pig farm and utilize the whole animal – again, our opportunity to use parts that aren't commonly seen. We try our utmost to use only seasonal produce, however we give ourselves the ability to use out of season items by pickling and preserving almost anything we can. This lets us create interesting and otherwise unavailable options at our whim and cut down on food waste.

“Shepherd currently works with a not-for-profit community garden called Kaicycle in Wellington. Through regenerative agricultural practices they take under-utilized areas and grow local food for local people while training future urban farmers and growing beautiful productive landscapes in our city. As part of our team bonding and staff training, we often visit our suppliers. We took a trip to Martinborough and over three days we visited numerous wineries, a gin distillery, a free-range pork farm and an eco-farm. This gave us all the incredible opportunity to meet the people behind the products, see exactly where everything we get comes from. This experience empowers our staff and helps our diners understand our philosophy.”

To read more about Shepherd, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Shepherd (Wellington, New Zealand)

The Whale Wins

• WHO: Renee Erickson, chef/owner/author
• WHAT: A bright, airy spot that roasts up the best bounty of the beaches & farms of the Pacific Northwest
• WHERE: 3506 Stone Way North, Seattle, Washington, USA

“We strive to give our guests a feeling of abundance and celebration no matter what the occasion is – a memorable experience with warmth, delicious food and great care.

“We are passionate about choosing quality ingredients to roast in our wood-fired oven. We like to keep things simple (but interesting!) to really highlight the amazing things that happen when wonderful ingredients are roasted with such high heat in such a special way.

“As a chef, I rely on the continued abundance of local seafood – not only to feed our community, but also for the financial security of my 120 employees and the many purveyors of oysters and other fresh seafood on my menus. I feel a deep responsibility to advocate for policies that will keep seafood a strong engine of our local economy."

To read more about The Whale Wins, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

The Whale Wins (Seattle, Washington, USA)

Neolokal

• WHO: Maksut Aşkar, chef/co-owner
• WHAT: Contemporary takes on Anatolian cuisine
• WHERE: Salt Galata Museum, Arap Cami Mah. Bankalar Caddesi 11/1 - Karaköy/Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey

“At Neolokal, I’m trying to adapt my traditions to today’s needs and refine them in a way that can easily be accepted in the future. If we don’t sustain our traditions, we cannot have a sustainable future. In order to sustain the traditions, one needs to respect the ingredients and techniques of past – not changing but enhancing them, elevating them by using the same quality product that has been used for centuries – instead of getting lost due to the ease of availability throughout the year. Otherwise we lose our traditions day by day and there are no reference points for the younger generation. For me, the traditional flavour is that which reminds me of my childhood. Refining a recipe with modern understanding, yet enhancing the flavours using the right products is what I call Modern Traditions, which promise to sustain for the future.

“We seek suppliers that have been producing the same quality products for generations. We work with farmers who focus on sustaining almost extinct products and we use the guidance of Slow Food's Arc of Taste catalogue where we can source products with good, fair and just farming, thereby sustaining not only the products but also traditions, habits and cultures.”

To read more about Neolokal, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.

Neolokal (Istanbul, Turkey)

Did you know?

16 October 2019 was World Food Day

Achieving Zero Hunger is not only about addressing hunger, but also nourishing people, while nurturing the planet. This year, World Food Day calls for action to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible to everyone. At the same time, it calls on everyone to start thinking about what we eat.

Every year, a large number of events – from marathons and hunger marches to exhibitions, cultural performances, contests and concerts are organized in around 130 countries across the world to celebrate World Food Day.

Find out here how you can help make healthy eating and zero hunger a way of life.

World Food Day