“Upscale restaurant grows its own”

Posted: 29 Nov 2010 03:51 PM PST

Fresh, seasonal produce is the latest catchcry for many chefs these days, but only a handful would be able to proclaim they grow their own fruit and veg.

The team at upscale restaurant and bar 1907 do just that, and have raised the sustainability stakes just that little bit higher by going the organic, heirloom route and buying a farm to do it all on.

"The property is up in Toodyay and it's quite big," says 1907's executive chef Nick French.

"It's around 550 acres (223ha), and the vegetable farm itself has six large beds which are about 5m by 10m, which we'll use on a rotational basis."

The farm property, called The Range, is an historic homestead and ballroom built in 1897 that is being restored. Over the years it has produced prize-winning cattle, sheep, wool and thoroughbred horses.

The farm was the brainchild of the owner of 1907, who bought the property after being inspired by the "paddock to plate" philosophy used in so many restaurants around the world.

The rest of the eatery's staff quickly locked on to the idea and now it involves everybody, both in front and back of house. As French points out, however, it still has a way to go.

"It's still early days for us, with a lot of trial and error - trying to see what works with environmental conditions and soil and that kind of thing. Because, obviously, some things will do better than others. But we have had quite a reasonable amount of success with pretty much everything we've tried," French said.

There are more than 200 types of fruit and vegetables grown on the farm, with a particular focus on heirloom varieties. A dedicated father and son team, Brian and Todd Gilsenan, work to produce as many ingredients as possible.

"We've got all sorts - spinach, kale, tomatoes, chillies, all our herbs, broad beans, broccolini, potatoes and little courgettes, much of what features on our new menu," French said.

Olive groves, vineyards and orchards are currently being planted, and from all the produce grown 1907 will only use a small percentage. Plans include selling more of the farm produce to farmers' markets, food bank charities and other like-minded restaurants.

"In the future, we are basically looking to expand. We will be putting in some nice organic fruit trees, such as apples and citrus. And we're also going to move towards chickens once we've got established so we'll have eggs. It's very exciting, and so much better than opening boxes of produce," French said.

Next year, the restaurant intends to host long-table field lunches and dinners to highlight the farm's fresh, seasonal produce and is working on sourcing local suppliers so that all other produce comes from within a 50km range.

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