GARDEN TO TABLE
This year marks our first foray into growing our own organic produce for the Voyager Estate Restaurant, and we’re pleased to report that the new Kitchen Garden is thriving under the watchful eye of Head Chef Travis Crane.
A lot of hard work and dedication has gone into cultivating our patch, located on an adjacent property to the Estate, alongside the Landsmith Home Farm. Preparation involved clearing rows, lots of whipper snipping, and a fair few waves to the resident cows in the process.
It's a labour of love, but an essential step on our pathway to becoming a carbon neutral business. There are many benefits to becoming more self-sufficient, chief among them the reduction of food waste and the lowering of food miles. Our produce is managed organically, meaning no nasties used in our farming practices – just beautiful, fresh vegetables to inspire our seasonal menus.
The team were fortunate to find potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes already growing in the space – a very satisfying first harvest that included a lot of dirt under fingernails! These ingredients inspired Chef Travis’s now infamous potato dish, as well as a unique, and utterly delicious, Jerusalem artichoke pudding.
Some of the first produce to go into the ground were the brassicas. Unfortunately, the team didn’t realise that the rabbits were looking on with hungry eyes and greedy tummies; they made short work of that first planting. There were a few ‘Farmer McGregor’ moments as they recalibrated and put some protections in place to keep out our furry friends.
Our kailaan has taken to the patch beautifully. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, recently astounding the team with a 7kg harvest! Purple broccoli, purple cauliflower and romanesco have also gone in and are thriving. Earlier this month, the fennel started coming off, and our garlic is producing beautiful scapes (thin green stalks that grow from the garlic bulb).
The real star of the show, however, has been the cabbages. We’ve had a range of shapes and sizes, with mini-sized ones cooked over fire, and beautiful baby cabbage-ettes served alongside our venison. The sugarloaf variety has exploded, with 50kg of cabbages coming off the patch and counting!
Next season the team are hoping for a bountiful harvest of eggplant, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, corn, onions, beets and carrots. Stay tuned for how these ingredients will feature on our menu throughout the year.
