They didn’t know they wanted it back then, but I know they want it now,” roars an animated Elizabeth Taylor about Orange Grove Market. Inspired by a 1991 report in The Independent about consumers yearning for farm-fresh produce, Elizabeth decided to establish an organic farmers’ market in the old Spitalfields site, what she says was the first in England.
When she moved to Australia at the end of 1993, Elizabeth saw potential for a market at Orange Grove Public School in Leichhardt, an inner-city suburb of Sydney. “It’s very accessible being on a busy road and the Leichhardt area is very built up,” she says.
The school was very supportive, though council approval took two years. By then, Elizabeth had already established an organic growers’ market at Frenchs Forest in 1995. “When the council approval finally came, I’d completely forgotten about the application,” Elizabeth laughs. But she eagerly accepted it and in 1996, Orange Grove Market began with just 20 stalls.
These days there are 100 stalls selling certified organic goods, high-quality non-organic fruit and vegetables and other gourmet produce. Elizabeth believes that it’s the freshness and quality of the goods that has resulted in the market’s popularity.
Source: Tom Donald
John Gates from The Mushroom Company agrees. “The first question we get asked is ‘where is your farm?’ – market-goers want to know that you’re growing the produce yourself,” he says. John sells more than
10 types of mushrooms at The Mushroom Depot stall. He grows them on his farm in the historic Glenbrook Railway Tunnel in the Blue Mountains. “Our mushrooms are produced with natural hardwood sawdust, so there’s no pesticides and no chemicals,” says John.
According to Libby Attwood of Moo & More, customers come from all over Sydney for their fresh milk, as far north as Berowra and as far south as Kogarah. “There’s great resistance to the supermarkets and dairy conglomerates. Our milking is Thursday and Friday, to sell Saturday,” she says. The milk is supplied by Libby and her husband Tony’s business partner, Malcolm Rose, a dairy farmer near Tamworth with a herd of Jersey cows, who processes and bottles his milk onsite.
“Fresh milk is full-bodied and has a sweetness that you just can’t get in milk that’s been over-processed, it’s very creamy and very sweet. We have 1000 regular customers who love the taste – they’ve brought their children up on it,” Libby says.
Each week, Beau Baddock from The Farm Gate cranks up his truck for the 250km, four-hour trip from Nashdale, near Orange. He brings apples, pears, peaches and more from his farm and others in the region. On the way he picks up seasonal vegetables from farms in Canowindra, Yetholme and Windsor. Despite the punishing, constant travel, Beau says selling direct is the only model that works for his farm.
Similarly, when Jackie M quit a career in IT to cook Malaysian food professionally, she found a market stall was her best option, being the most cost effective way to start. And she hasn’t stopped. She has been serving up Malaysian favourites at the market for 12 years and sells a range of curry pastes and frozen meals, including a popular beef rendang. In the early days, Malaysian food wasn’t that well known and she’s proud that her stall has helped educate diners. But Jackie says there’s still work to be done. “Customers still ask whether beef rendang is a green or red curry – it happens more often than you’d think.”
Source: Tom Donald
Each Saturday, locals come out to catch up and enjoy a cup of coffee. And all the stallholders agree there’s a sense of community here, which is what they love about Orange Grove. Beau from The Farm Gate says the market has given him an opportunity to meet people he wouldn’t normally come across, and Libby from Moo & More enjoys the strong camaraderie between the stallholders. “We’re very close with Ben Clinch from the Free Range Butcher, we’ve been to his wedding and the christening of his children,” she says.
Elizabeth Taylor is right – they may not have known it at the start, but everybody wants Orange Grove Market now.
Orange Grove Public School, cnr Perry St and Balmain Rd, Leichhardt, NSW, Saturdays, 8.00am – 1.00pm, organicfoodmarkets.com.au
Shopping list
Free-range meat
The Free Range Butcher specialises in grass-fed, free-range meat, most of which comes from their 3000-acre property in the Barraba district, north of Tamworth. No antibiotics and no hormones.
The Free Range Butcher specialises in grass-fed, free-range meat, most of which comes from their 3000-acre property in the Barraba district, north of Tamworth. No antibiotics and no hormones.
Smoked salmon
Dennis Kahrilas from the Orgazmo Smoked Foods stall smokes salmon each Saturday, a process that takes around 90 minutes. Ask Dennis for recipes that use his freshly smoked salmon.
Dennis Kahrilas from the Orgazmo Smoked Foods stall smokes salmon each Saturday, a process that takes around 90 minutes. Ask Dennis for recipes that use his freshly smoked salmon.
Enoki mushrooms
Widely used in Japan, China and Korea, these long, thin mushrooms from The Mushroom Company add a distinctive taste and texture to salads, hot pots and stir-fries.
Widely used in Japan, China and Korea, these long, thin mushrooms from The Mushroom Company add a distinctive taste and texture to salads, hot pots and stir-fries.
Grab-N-Go Malaysian
For the time-poor, Jackie M’s fresh meal kits include all the ingredients needed for restaurant-quality Malaysian food, such as laksa and beef rendang, that is ready to heat and eat.
For the time-poor, Jackie M’s fresh meal kits include all the ingredients needed for restaurant-quality Malaysian food, such as laksa and beef rendang, that is ready to heat and eat.
Bacon and egg roll
Follow the aroma of fried bacon and join the long queue at Bowens’ for their famed bacon and egg roll. These rolls are worth the wait with crispy bacon and fried free-range eggs.
Follow the aroma of fried bacon and join the long queue at Bowens’ for their famed bacon and egg roll. These rolls are worth the wait with crispy bacon and fried free-range eggs.
Photography Tom Donald.
As seen in Feast magazine, September 2014, Issue 35.
