from the apple isle: picnic at fat pig farm

The guys from A Common Ground know how to create an unforgettable event (even if they confess to being pretty bad at organising anything). Under the apple trees at Fat Pig Farm we snacked on Southern-Tasmania's best produce while the children climbed apple ladders and filled buckets with pink ladies.

Fat Pig Farm belongs to Matthew Evans - aka the Gourmet Farmer. Days earlier I had the privilege of interviewing him (and Ross and Nick) at Puggle Farm in Cygnet, his home that's so often featured on the tv show. Over tea and apple cake we discussed good food, the people that grow it and the lessons we can learn from them. 

There's no doubt that, as a nation, we are becoming more aware of where our food comes from. But I'd never been in a place quite like Cygnet - where the local IGA Supermarket sold organic milk in a glass bottle and 5kg bags of organic flour. Cygnet has a strong community of artisan food makers and self-sufficient folk, keen to share their knowledge and their produce. As Matthew says: "...they're the people who do things the long way and the hard way....and they do it over and over again until it tastes right. And good." 

Gumboots are a farm necessity - Che wears Bergstein's c/o Fawn & Fox (Sally writes a lovely blog too)