Mercurio's Menu: The North-East

Welcome to North-East Victoria, the High Country. Nestled between the snowfields and the Murray River, this beautiful landscape of mountains, valleys and rivers is the perfect backdrop for world-class produce and restaurants. This is also the land of Ned Kelly, booming gold towns, and The Man from Snowy River. Episode guide: North-East Victoria, Channel 7, 5pm Saturday 14 June Happy chickens A long, slow bath La dolce vita She’ll be apples Heavenly hazelnuts No bull Happy chickens What better place to start the show than in the centre of a food lovers’ paradise- the Milawa gourmet region. The area is home not only to some of the best cheeses and wines in the North-East, but also to some of the happiest chickens around. Milawa Free Range Chicken Farm is run by local farmer, Tony Quinn. He’s proud to show how these chooks spend their adult life under the best conditions. They spend their days in the sun, popping in and out of the barn as they please... free-range heaven! Tony says the resulting meat is free of antibiotics and other nasties, with a taste you can't beat. DPI works with the poultry industry to develop codes of practice and industry standards for poultry products, including the Victorian Code For Broiler Farms, which was developed to provide a basis for the planning, design, assessment, approval, construction, operation and maintenance of chicken meat farms in Victoria. Fast facts: Victorian chicken meat growers produce 100 million birds annually from 220 farms Victorian chicken meat sales are worth $650 million each year, and are steadily growing at a rate of four per cent per year The per capita consumption of poultry meat has grown more rapidly than any other meat over the last three decades, rising from 4.4 kilograms in 1950 to about 38 kilograms per person in 2005–06. A long, slow bath Paul heads north to Gooramadda Olives to meet knowledgeable and genial hosts Jos and Kathy Weemaes, who show Paul how their olives are grown and processed on site. Jos cures his Kalamata olives naturally, to an old Greek recipe of water, salt and vinegar. While many commercial manufacturers use sodium hydroxide to speed up the process to as little as two days, Jos' olives are in their salty bath for up to 14 months. On his farm on the New South Wales border, Jos also produces wine, soap and skin cream, but still finds the time for his favourite hobby - paragliding across the olive groves. DPI helps Victorian olive companies attend national and international tradeshows and apply for grants and funding to better their businesses. DPI’s Fruitcheque extension program works with fruit, olive and nut growers to achieve best practice in their business, and the department’s Agribusiness Group publishes industry and market intelligence reports on the olive industry for domestic and international markets. Fast facts: About 95 per cent of olive oil produced in Victoria will achieve the most highly-valued ‘extra virgin’ grade The health benefits of olive oil are linked to the high content of mono-unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants in olives The Australian olive industry has existed as a cottage industry since the 1800s In the past 15 years the industry has experienced significant growth, with more than nine million olive trees planted since 1992. La dolce vita In the beautiful town of Bright, Paul meets local Italian identity Patrizia Simone of Simone's Restaurant. She discusses her love of North-East Victoria, it’s resonance with her European childhood, and how the strong Italian presence in the region has influenced its food and culture. She takes Paul along on her favourite walk at Mt Buffalo, with stunning views and an abundance of wild herbs and mushrooms to see and smell along the way. Paul then shows Patrizia his take on the local produce. She'll be apples In nearby Wandiligong, Paul meets apple expert Keith Nightingale, of Nightingale Brothers Apples. The Nightingale family has been selling apples since 1948. Keith started the business and his three sons, daughter and grandchildren now work on the farm. Surrounded by mountains, it’s one of the prettiest Orchards around, and Keith’s crop is juicy and packed full of flavour. DPI produces information notes on controlling diseases in apples to help the industry produce the best fruit possible for national and international markets. DPI scientists are developing new varieties of apples with resistance to damaging pests and diseases. Fast facts: Apples are the fourth most widely produced fruit in the world after bananas, oranges and grapes Apples are the second highest value fresh fruit crop in Victoria, valued at $252 million each year Victoria is the largest producer of fresh and processed apple products in Australia, producing approximately 33 per cent of the country’s apples. Heavenly hazelnuts Paul stops in to see the biggest Hazelnut Grower in Australia at Mt Buffalo Hazelnuts. Sarah and Peter Gutheridge have almost 12 years of commercial production under their belt, with 4,000 trees now yielding around five kilos each season. Paul gets out the vacuum cleaner and white gloves for a crash course in shelling, roasting and packing. No bull Cattle breeder Winnie Jones, of Mt Bellevue, runs prime Welsh Black cattle on her King Valley farm. They're a breed renowned for top-quality, lean, marbled meat. Winnie's commitment to breeding the Welsh Black has taken her and her children from the small paddocks of Wales to this stunning 1,000-acre property, and her prize bull is Big Daddy Delmi, who has sired thousands of calves and weighs a whopping 1,450 kilos. Paul sets Winnie’s delicious Black beef to the test in two very different ways: steak tartare, with a chaser of the perfect roast beef. DPI publishes a raft of information about beef and cattle, including on breeds, diseases and health, feeding and nutrition and marketing. The department is also charged with developing health and welfare codes for the industry, and has developed a guide for feeding and management of cattle during drought. Victoria has enhanced its outstanding reputation as a supplier of wholesome beef products by implementing the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS). NLIS, implemented by DPI, is Australia's system for the electronic identification and tracking of cattle from birth to slaughter. This means customers can buy Victorian beef with confidence, knowing it is clean, fresh and safe. Fast facts: Victoria has more than 17,500 beef farms Victoria's 2.4 million head of cattle comprise 10 per cent of Australia's beef cattle herd About 400,000 tonnes of beef is processed in Victoria each year Australia’s principal export markets for beef are Japan, the United States and Korea. For more information on this episode and the mouth-watering dishes created visit the Mercurio’s Menu website (external link)

Free range chickens are happy chickens It's a long, slow bath for these olives before they hit the shelves There's nothing quite like a juicy apple fresh from the tree A hazelnut ripe for the picking A leisurely lunch Patrizia Simone of Simone's Restaurant

Featured businesses

• Mt Bellevue Welsh Black Cattle, ph: (03) 5729 7539, email: info@mtbellevue.com.au, website: mtbellevue@netc.net.au
• Mt Buffalo Hazelnut Groves, ph: (03) 5756 2052
• Nightingale Brothers Alpine Apples, ph: (03) 5755 1318, email: nightingale.bros@bigpond.com
• Milawa Free Range Poultry, ph: 0428 570 492, email: matebg@mcmedia.com.au
• Gooramadda Olives, ph: (02) 60265658, email: jweemaes@bordernet.com.au
• Simone's Restaurant, ph: (03) 5755 2266, email: simones@swiftdsl.com.au, website: www.simonesrestaurant.com.au

• Visit the Promoting Victorian Produce section for more information about Victoria’s regions.
• For more information on DPI’s contribution to agriculture and food in the North-East, visit the Agriculture and Food section of this website.