For foodies, food bloggers and creative types, a food workshop will most definitely be on your to-do list. From learning to hand make pasta post harvesting the ingredients for it, understanding how to pimp your iPhone food photos or just fondling stunning kitchen props for food styling, there are some amazing classes and workshops out there. In particular, there are now many farmers opening up their homes and properties to share their story, ways of life and fabulous produce.
In the olive grove at Rose Creek Estate in East Keilor where the Siciliano family produce award winning olive oil
Gabriella Gomersal-Hubbard (author of Growing Honest Food about the Rose Creek Estate), myself, Lina and Tony Siciliano – owners of Rose Creek Estate
Before I left for Jakarta last May (2014), I organised a small tour of the extraordinary and award winning Rose Creek Estate in East Keilor as part of my voluntary work with the Sardinian Cultural Association in Melbourne. It is absolutely humbling to be able to gain such an intimate insight into people’s homes and land. As we walked through their extensive garden, orchard, olive grove and vineyards I was reminded of the land my grandparents tended to in Sardinia and the endless work and dedication involved to sustain life and bring it to a table or market shelf. The same goes with seeing the work that goes into capturing a moment, waiting for the right light, thinking about the story and composition of an image and then processing it.
This round up of beautiful food workshops will give you insight into food photography and styling, farm life, the seasons, harvesting, creating food from scratch and enjoying the beauty of the simple things in life. Check out these amazing five food workshops worth bookmarking and experiences I will hopefully get to in time! For those interested in visiting Rose Creek Estate, they have an open cellar door and an annual open day the last Sunday in August.
JC x
P.s – I’m not exactly hinting, but if any of my friends wanted to gift me a ticket to one of the below workshops I would politely accept.
The Agrarian Kitchen, Tasmania – a sustainable farm based cooking school just 45 minutes from Hobart. The school has been running from the site since 2008. Set up by Rodney Dunn, former Food Editor of Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine and his wife, Séverine Demanet, The Agrarian Kitchen is a working farm set on five acres, and attending a class will give you a truly paddock-to-plate cooking experience from foraging, harvesting, cooking and learning to of course, eating and drinking.
Cook Republic, New South Wales – Sneh Roy is an award winning food and lifestyle photographer and stylist. Both via social media and on her blog, she outdoes herself with every post, capturing her beautiful food creations and life in such an engaging and inspiring way. If you are hoping to hone your food photography and styling skills then look no further as Sneh excels in what she does (her Instagram feed alone will convince you). Her regular workshops run by her and occasional special guests, cover food photography, styling and visual story telling in an incredibly thought out manner.
Tamsin’s Table, Victoria – Tamsin’s Table has been on my to-do list for some time now. A stunning property located on 113 acres in the Gippsland region, Tamsin Carver invites you to her home and table for hands-on cooking workshops and seasonal Sunday lunches sourced from the property’s very bounty. With a beautiful sunlit dining room and her carefully placed table settings, I can’t think of a better way to get back to nature and enjoy a lovely Sunday afternoon.
Local Is Lovely, New South Wales – the name alone tells all. Based on her deer farm with her family in Orange, Sophie Hansen, a food writer and former editorial staff member for Slow Food, hosts regular workshops and seasonal lunches from her farm kitchen. Lunches often include a tour of their farm and workshops range from food photography and styling to flower arrangements and floral wreath making.
A Plot in Common, Victoria – Natasha Shoo and her family bought their farm and property in Lauritson in 2012. It is at this property that they’ve created A Plot in Common and A Common Place. A Plot in Common is where they share their land and the knowledge they have accumulated the last few years about gardening and farming. Not only do they have plots available for people to ‘grow their own’ but they wish for you to be a part of their farm and gain an insight into what they do on a daily basis. A Common Place is another sacred space, a barn built in the 19th century where they host workshops and events with local growers, producers and makers to share their work with you. Think beginner gardening workshops, making cold processed soap, bread making, as well as seasonal lunch gatherings. This is a special place I will definitely try and get to next time I am in Melbourne.
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