Gate to Plate showcases the Clarence Valley’s food diversity

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This year’s Gate to Plate Long Lunch is a reflection of the vast array of food produced in the Clarence Valley, with a handful of guest products completing the bill. Guest chefs Zac Roberts (Karrikin) and Charly Prétet (The French Pan Tree) have designed a menu incorporating produce of the land and the sea with native Australian bush foods.

A supplier from Lawrence with product at the heart of the six-course menu, is recent Clarence Valley Business Excellence Award Winner Mirrabooka Pork. Owner Scott Graham has been a vocal supporter of buying local, pointing out how product labelling can mislead consumers into thinking they are buying Australian produce when, according to Scott, “sometimes the only Aussie ingredient in bacon is added water.” Mirrabooka’s pigs are pasture-raised, roaming free and foraging at their leisure. This results in a superior product that our guest chefs use regularly in their restaurant menus and which can be purchased at various local markets.

The Clarence Valley legends that are the Causley family will be supplying the majority of fruit and veggies, while several other local growers such as Yamba Organic ensure that even the ginger, chillies and garlic are grown in Clarence soil. The attractive edible flowers that provide a splash of colour and original flavours to so many dishes, are the product of Maclean grower Little Things Grown.

As for purveyors of seafood, the Clarence River Fishermen’s Cooperative are responsible for the kingfish, fresh mullet and king prawns, while the oysters will be supplied by Yamba Bay Oysters.

The specialist native Australian bush foods such as finger limes, wattle seed, pepper berry and Davidson plum are carefully packaged by Natif, who while based in Melbourne, source their products from all over Australia, including the Clarence Valley.

The guest products are Granite belt wines, including past Gate to Plate supporter Robert Channon, Symphony Hill and Balladean Estate Wines. Also featured this year is Heritage Estate Wines who are supplying their excellent white Fiano and Rabbit Fence Red.

Rounding off the Clarence Valley suppliers, are Sunshine Sugar, Big River Milk, I Scream who are making a lemon-lime sorbet and Nicholson Fine Foods, who are matching their exquisite pickles and jams to the cheeses supplied by Nimbin Valley Dairy.

Find event details and ticket links at https://gatetoplate.com.au/

Introducing Bendigo Bank Gate to Plate Chef Charlie Prétet

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The menu design for this year’s Gate to Plate Long Lunch is a Franco-Australian collaboration, with the French influence provided by guest Chef Charly Prétet of The French Pan Tree in Yamba.

Born and raised in Paris, Charly spent a memorable part of his life frequenting his grandparents’ house on the west coast of France, where he was surrounded by amazing seafood and local produce.

A passion for cuisine was born watching his mother cooking in her kitchen, while his knowledge of produce came from observing his grandfather fishing and growing every kind of vegetable imaginable in his garden.

“For me the ideas start to flow right when I’m talking with the farmer of grower about their produce and what’s going to be in season at different times of the year,” said Mr Prétet. “So by the time I get that food into my kitchen, the creative process is already underway and continues when I’m cooking.”

Now in his own restaurant The French Pan Tree, Chef Charly is doing what he calls ‘Modern French Cuisine’, in which he applies traditional techniques of French cuisine to create new dishes using the beautiful local produce and influences of the Clarence Valley.

Gate to Plate event manager Phil Nicholas said, “Charly has oodles of natural flair and finely-honed skills in the kitchen, with a sense of curiosity that drives him to explore the possibilities arising from the array of local and seasonal ingredients.”

“He and our other guest chef Zac Roberts are part of the same generation of creative food business owners pushing things forward in the Clarence,” said Mr Nicholas.

Tickets for the Long Lunch featuring the Clarence Valley’s best produce are available from https://gatetoplate.com.au/

Introducing Bendigo Bank Gate to Plate Chef Zac Roberts

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When Zac Roberts and his partner Clare Bourke opened Leche Café on Yamba’s Coldstream Street in 2012, Clare took control of the coffee machine and Zac, through necessity, found himself thrown into the kitchen, turning out ‘avo smash’ and other café favourites.

That was the start of a culinary journey that six years later has evolved into one of the Clarence Valley’s most innovative restaurant menus. In November 2018, Leche morphed in to Karrikin – the name refers to a family of proteins that bind to soil and come to life to renew life in the aftermath of smoke and bushfire – and so Yamba’s growing restaurant scene added another rising star.

These days Zac’s cooking has matured into a passion for creating dishes inspired by years of practice, learning from other chefs and distilling the flavours and ingredients encountered on holidays to far flung cultures including Mexico and Sri Lanka.

“There was a great community at Leche,” said Mr Roberts. “It was focussed around coffee, food, live bands and laughs. Plus, there were countless Clarence Valley farmers, bakers, butchers, fishermen, home growers and suppliers that were the life blood of our food system and helped us design quality meals, made with quality produce.”

“Some great local chefs have worked and shared their knowledge in this kitchen. I learned about Middle Eastern spices from André Rizk, who now runs the Kiosk at Main Beach and picked up new techniques from Simon Birchall who set up Burger Spot. It’s about locals learning from and supporting locals.

Long Lunch event manager Phil Nicholas said, “Zac’s restaurant menu is the one that made me realise there is an authentic Australian cuisine being created by his generation of cooks. After living in this country for eight years, I finally sat down to a meal that represented Australia to me on a plate - kangaroo, macadamia, local bush spices and fruits, washed down with a gin cocktail made in the northern rivers.”

“Zac truly has sustainability in mind when thinking of food production and consumption. He uses interesting Australian bush foods and the presentation is exceptional,” said Mr Nicholas.

Tickets for the Long Lunch featuring the Clarence Valley’s best produce are available from https://gatetoplate.com.au/