Our trusty volunteer Samantha Wong takes us on a dining trip to one of Byron region's most delectable (and ethical) eating haunts...
What’s in a name? Quite a lot it would seem after spending an afternoon with the owners and head chef of Harvest Café & Deli in far northern New South Wales. Blessed with bountiful farms and only 10 minutes from the popular holiday town of Byron Bay, Kassia & Tristan Grier have rapidly built a healthy reputation and, subsequently, a loyal clientele in the regional dining scene by keeping the focus on the ingredients they serve.
The ethos? To be sustainable by sourcing produce that is local, fresh and seasonal. For head chef Joe Griffin, this has meant years spent building strong relationships with local farmers. Whenever he plans a new menu, he starts with Kassia’s farmer, John Picone (a well-known local hobby farmer) who owns a 130-acre farm a few kilometers from the restaurant in Tyagarah. He is an encyclopedic source of information for Joe on what is both local and in season at any given time. When Joe sat down to plan an autumn menu, he was thinking rhubarb or quince – instead John suggested dragon fruit, guava and figs. It just goes to show, when you’re thinking local and seasonal – it pays to consider where you are!
The gorgeous interior of Harvest Cafe
The Harvest team is particularly lucky with its location. The majority of their produce is brought directly to the restaurant from the producers’ properties; the duck, pork, potatoes, Coopers Shoot tomatoes and daily fresh eggs, to name a few. This means minimal time between harvesting and eating, eradicating the need for cold storage and shortening food miles. The consequence is fresher, tastier produce that lasts longer because it hasn’t spent time moving through a distribution chain. Aside from being no less profitable, this way of sourcing produce has had the added benefit of providing resilience and security - Harvest was unaffected by the 2011 Brisbane floods which cut off supply to most other restaurants in the region. Even for more exotic ingredients, like vanilla beans, the Harvest team is in the process of sourcing a local alternative. In addition to over 24 varieties of figs and over 200 types of fruit and vegetables on his farm, John has recently turned his talents to growing vanilla beans out of a controlled environment, pollinating by hand.
Close relationships with farmers and careful research have paid off in other ways too. Although there are a lot of farmed products not worth considering, Joe has found a local producer of Palmers Island Jewfish (or Mulloway) about one hour south of Byron Bay, who is farming what he considers to be a far superior and sustainable product. Traditionally, Mulloway have been fished in the wild, however they are an ideal fish for aquaculture as they are hardy, fast-growing, adjust readily to non-river conditions and have a natural preference to form schools and spend long periods of time 'hovering' in slightly turbid water rather than swimming. Joe is full of praise for how they farm, kill and bleed the fish and deliver the fish in rigor mortis within 24 hours of the fish leaving the water, which is just no comparison for a line-caught Mulloway which has been stored in an ice-slurry on a boat for up to five days and then flown to him.
The Griers are taking the local connection one step further with their recently opened Harvest Deli situated just next door to the restaurant. The Deli offers local farmers who supply the restaurant an opportunity to sell directly to the public and includes a dedicated cheese room, locally made small goods from Salumi, freshly baked breads and French pâtisserie from the restaurant’s own ancient wood-fired bakery. Additionally, kitchen gardens and composting facilities have been laid down by Harvest’s barista and plans are in motion to host a market day to showcase the products of Harvest’s suppliers.
The consequence is a local café and restaurant full of heart, imbued with the efforts and stories of passionate, conscious-minded locals -nourishing in every sense of the word.
Now for Joe’s favourite Palmers Island Jewfish recipe! If you’re not fortunate enough to live in the Byron Bay region, we encourage you to speak to your local fish monger to find out what is the best local alternative.
Palmers Island Mulloway with Lebanese eggplant and pomegranate salad
Serves: 4
Prep time: 30 mins
Ingredients
1 Palmers Island Mulloway, about 2.5 kg whole weight (be sure to source sustainable Mulloway, or choose Bream or Barramundi. Ask your fish monger to cut and portion in 200gm portions)
1 medium sized eggplant
1 red onion, sliced into fine rings
2 large red chilli {not too hot}, de-seeded and finely diced
½ preserved lemon
1 bunch coriander (only leaves, no stem), roughly chopped
100ml pomegranate molasses (from gourmet food stores)
250ml olive oil
Method
For the salad:
1. With the preserved lemon you only need the zest:
- Remove flesh from preserved lemon and discard
- Pat zest and the pith dry with paper towel
- Place lemon zest side down. Carefully slice/fillet the pith away from the zest, discarding the pith
2. Slice eggplant horizontally to give you ½ cm thick disks. Lay the disks out on a bench and evenly season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil. Cook the disks on the char-grilling side of the BBQ for added flavour and effect. A frying pan is also okay. Arrange cooked disks on a platter and set aside.
3. Finely dice the zest of the preserved lemon and mix with the diced chilli. Mix olive oil and pomegranate molasses for the dressing.
4. Sprinkle the chilli and lemon on eggplant, then add the onions and coriander. Dress with the olive oil and pomegranate molasses dressing. It likes to be dressed 1 hour before serving.
For the fish:
5. Time for the fish. I think the best way to cook this is on the barbecue. As it's a flaky fish take care to not break the portions. Points to remember whilst cooking are:
• Have a hot BBQ
• Season the fish with salt and pepper
• Oil the fish (with good quality olive oil) and allow excess to drip off before applying to the hot plate
• Try to only turn once.
To serve
You can individually plate or it is nice to arrange on top of the salad on a large platter. Finish with lemon wedges and pomegranate jewels (seeds) and enjoy.