Gourmet Farmer: Finding Common Ground
August 23rd, 2011 | 
Author: Gourmet Farmer and Associates
by Roger Findlay
Meeting the Gourmet Farmer…
Travelling around Tasmania I have met so many people enjoying life; doing the things that they enjoy best. If you’ve walked through Salamanca Market on a Saturday, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
Salamanca Market on a Saturday in Hobart (Photo by Dan Fellow)
Matthew Evans
Matthew Evans was the editor and restaurant reviewer for the Sydney Morning Herald food supplement before starting a new life in Cygnet, Tasmania. He was escaping from the rat-race of city life and the pressure of the job. By reporting the truth on a few upmarket restaurants it got to the stage where his life had to contend with an element of animosity and threat. His book, Never Order Chicken on a Monday, is intriguing stuff and tells the full story.
Never Order Chicken on a Monday, according to Matthew Evans!
The Gourmet Farmer on SBS
On Thursday, August 25 at 7.30pm, SBS will be screening the first episode in the second series of Gourmet Farmer. I do know that Evans and associates did some filming on Flinders Island as well as mainland regions of Tasmania.
Nick Haddow and Ross O’Meara share and live the same dream as Evans. Nick is the owner of the Bruny Island Cheese Company and Ross O’Meara is an artisan butcher who makes the most wonderful pork pies!
A Common Ground
Until quite recently, the trio and their wares could be found running a stall at Salamanca Market, but they have now moved to a small shop called A Common Ground at the bottom end of Salamanca.
The Gourmet Farmer SBS Series DVD, Salamanca Market Hobart
Farmers Markets & Artisan Producers
On our last visit to Hobart in July of this year, Matthew Evans had a stall at the Hobart Farmers Market and my wife, Jeanette, purchased his latest cook book: Winter on the Farm.
Jeanette Findlay meets Matthew Evans, the Gourmet Farmer in Hobart
I can’t wait to see the next Gourmet Farmer series; or to visit Tasmania again, where the produce is so fresh. We should all support the likes of Matthew Evans and the other growers at farmers markets. They are the ones preserving the values of what food used to be like.
Pork sausages: now sold at A Common Ground in Salamanca, Hobart
Editor’s Note: A Common Ground is also the name given to a collaboration between the Gourmet Farmer (Matthew Evans), Ross O’Meara, Nick Haddow and other Tasmanian artisan producers. With the dynamic trio at the helm, farmers, fishermen, winemakers and brewers present their gourmet produce at functions held in unique locations.
So far one event has been hosted in a stone barn in Stanley. Another in a paddock on Flinders Island. Apparently, Mount Wellington makes the perfect location for a winter feast of fondue and mulled wine. Go figure!
Map of Cygnet Tasmania…
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We watched the first episode last night and will investigate the pigs head sausage. Did any of you notice that the randy rooster was named Roger?
Pigs head sausage? Really? That didn’t appeal to me at all. And I hope Roger the Rooster doesn’t end up in the pot one day. Poor baby piglet, too!
We had someone ask about contacting Matthew Evans to feature in a mural, so we’ll pass that info on. That would be interesting.
Oh dear. Roger did end up in the pot after all, for firing blanks. What a terrible way to go!
Roger the randy rooster – It was a funny piece.
Really enjoyed the program, loved the pigs! (but maybe not the sausage making….)
The sausage making… not for everyone!
We purchased Matthew’s book..Winter on the Farm, through Bruny Island Cheese Co a few months ago and have made quite a few recipes from it and each one has been delicious! The way the recipes are written is like having Matthew in the kitchen with you.
Can’t wait for our next visit to Tasmania and will definitely have a peek in the Shop. Love the programme as well.
All the best guys and thank you.
Good for you, Kathy! Enjoy your next trip to Tasmania – let us know where else you plan to visit and what you buy in A Common Ground to enjoy.
Just watched program no2. A wonderful mouthwatering feast enjoyed by all it seems. My wife and myself will be visiting Mole Creek where our son Paul is building on his farmland. We will be looking for your cooking publications for our Xmas feast plus your wonderful wines. Great shows and our very best wishes to you and your team.
Thank you, Graham & May McFarlane
It was a great event, wasn’t it Graham (despite the wet weather). I hope you and May have a lovely visit with Paul and good luck with the wines etc.
All the best, Tania
G’Day, Love the Gourmet Farmer show, would love to have info on the next feast in a paddock etc, to obtain a ticket. I’m up on the North West Coast. Please advise, thank you.
We need information like this, every success for the future.
Best Regards,
Ellie-May
Hello Ellie May
You can find details about scheduled events at the Common Ground website.
Hope you enjoy the experience…
Tania