It doesn’t matter that I have a floor-to-ceiling bookcase of cookbooks, a collection of sad
home-made ones and subscriptions to food magazines. Nor that I am able to access pretty
much anything I might wish to cook via the internet. The fact is, I cannot resist a recipe
when I see one – so the sight of recipe cards complete with sumptuous photography at the
Church Farm stall fills me with joy.
Church Farm has been a presence for nearly ten years, its humble beginnings a roadside stall
at Billinudgel where Andrew Morris and family started selling the surplus herbs, chillis,
tomatoes and cucumbers from their property. That its products are now distributed
nationally by three distributors – ‘health food stores, grocers, delis, butchers, gift shops –
you name it!’ Andrew tells me – is testament to the commitment by him and his team to
producing ‘great products for our customers who appreciate quality ingredients and pantry
staples that don’t contain any additives or other nasties.’
Everything, from the commercial kitchen at Mullumbimby, is hand-made, bottled and
packaged in small batches, a range covering sauces and curry pastes, the wildly popular
tomato passata and a honey and pepper-berry mustard. ‘I have a passion for food and
cooking and am self-taught’, Andrew tells me. ‘I love to learn from different sources,
especially from some of my talented chef mates.’
With the soaring cost of grocery items, it’s a welcome solution to feeding families: glorious
flavourings, locally sourced ingredients, meals made easy by the simple addition, in many
cases, of protein or plant. Inspired by one of those cards, I’m planning to whip up baby beef
rendang pies, first making then cooling the rendang, pre-baking puff pastry bases in Texan
muffin tins, filling them with the rendang, topping them with little pastry lids then baking till
golden brown. Divine!
Church Farm is at New Brighton every Tuesday from 8 – 11am and Mullumbimby every
Friday from 7 – 11am
Victoria Cosford
