Yesterday I drove north to chat to Jo Corrigan and Matt Donnelly out on the five acres they farm at Romsey. Romsey is 60 kilometres north of Melbourne and near Mt Macedon. The earth is a rich chocolate colour as a result of basaltic and volcanic lava flows and was the perfect place for Jo and Matt to come when they hung up their chefs aprons and stepped over to the supply side of the food industry. Having worked in Sydney, Melbourne, London and after a decade running The Commoner in Fitzroy, in 2016, they gave it all away to forage and work on the land. The way Jo and Matt talk about their heirloom vegetables is a delight. They don't dress up the fact that it is hard work. They are at the mercy of the weather and the wildlife and random infestations of white moth, but when Jo describes melon varieties as joyful and speaks with such pride and reverence about the warty pink pumpkins, it's intoxicating.
The conversation organically happened as Jo and Matt gave us a tour of their vegetables and I think this is a conversation that should be listened to, rather than read. So hop over to Apple or Spotify podcasts or listen here.
I went out to Romsey with my partner Charlie and you'll hear him in here too. You'll hear the wind, us biting into peppers, birds flying overhead and I think you'll feel as though you were there too. And I reckon you'll want to go out and see it for yourself. Its an incredibly special place. Charlie and I cant stop talking about it and cooking the big box of veggies Jo gave us has been such a treat. They were in the rich earth yesterday and today they are on our plate. They are delicious and flavoursome and I think you can taste the love that has gone into them.
You have to keep an eye on it and keep your ears open. Sometimes chefs will talk about an idea and you know which thing they need. Sometimes you don’t, but you try a couple of things. Those people need help. They are in creative dungeons in cities and going to work on trams, going home at midnight. They need everything you can give them. They need to be your kings and queens if you’re a grower.