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Sense of Place
~ sources for courses ~
George Biron
Sunnybrae Restaurant Associates Geelong Otway Tourism
index
Page
Introduction 5
Report 7
Awards 29
Directory 33
Asian food stores 34
beer 34
bread 35
cheese 35
cider and perry 36
chocolate 36
eggs 36
fruit and nuts 36
honey 37
ice cream 37
meat 38
olive oils 39
preserves 40
retail outlets - general 40
salt 40
seafood 40
spices 41
vgetables 41
wholesalers 42
vinegar 43
wine 43
wood fired masonry ovens
Practical workshops 46
Opposite page: Lobster pots
© Simon Griffiths
introduction
Of stumbling across a country pub offering rump grilled over real coals, a bottle of local red (perhaps with
a bit of age as the publican owns a piece of the vineyard) and some smelly cheese. Fresh garden vegies
for the children with those chips?
Others may long for a country breakfast of oven-fresh bread and real eggs in a lodge overlooking a lake.
Perhaps some renegade tree-changed foodie has even supplied a Seville orange marmalade.
For the traveller who loves to taste, the whole day begins to hold a new promise.
This project is about the annual conference retreat. You know the one where, as catering organiser last
year, you rang the local Chinese take-away to smuggle in sustenance as the pesto prawns were well
past it.
Then an email arrives telling you that the catering company has changed and would like to know your
food preferences.
You reply, they reply. They have the pinot, yes the lamb is local, and yes the keynote speaker can have
kosher.
This is about a coffee lounge. The Gaggia gleams, the barista delivers in spades as she tells you about
the new roaster she’s just invested in. You blink; turn off the highway. It’s still 2 hours from Tulla.
This project is also for the cook. He is writing his menu overlooking the ocean, watching the ships in the
distance; it is 6.30pm the fish has still not arrived. The first booking is for 7.15pm. He is beginning to
channel the great Vatel.
This report is the result of research over the past year and feedback received from the first of a series
of practical workshops held at Sunnybrae with a small, diverse group of operators during the winter of
2006.
I have included a copy of the 2004 Project called A Good Hard Look At Ourselves.
Many of the issues about produce in this report are linked to the opportunities outlined in that project.
At first I was reluctant to proceed with the project due to the small initial response to the questionnaire
sent out to members of Geelong Otway Tourism at the beginning of the project.
I am indebted to Roger Grant, who pointed out that this small response showed just how important it was
to proceed.
Thanks must go to all the volunteers who give so much of their time to allow visitors to enjoy the area.
I would also like to acknowledge the work of Julie Stanley, who first proposed the project, and Gitte Don-
vig, who has helped bring it to fruition.
I am indebted to Gail Thomas for help with the producers list. My hearty thanks go to Ian Barlow, Joy
Durston, Roslyn Grundy, and Tracy Jamieson for editing and production.
I would also like to acknowledge the generous contribution of wine by Wine Geelong.
And lastly, my thanks to the members of the first Sense of Place class of 2006.
George Biron
Sunnybrae Restaurant Associates
October 2006
Class of 2006
left to right:
Felicity McKenzie - Athelstane - Queenscliff, Johnny Visser - Sticks & Grace Cafe - Newtown, George Biron - Sunnybrae
Restaurant Associates. Amy Cooper - Sticks & Grace Cafe - Newtown, Simon Yarham - 2 Faces The Restaurant - Geelong,
Benjamin Robinson - Bellbrae Harvest - Bellbrae, Daniel Howell - Bellbrae Harvest - Bellbrae, Lea Priest - T-Spoon Eatery
- Belmont, Dean Duyvestyn - Deakin Management Centre - Waurn Ponds, Shaun Fahey - Deakin Management Centre - Waurn
Ponds, Rebecca Mutch - Gordon Institute of Tafe - Geelong.
Ross Ebbels absent
a sense of place
The Geelong Otway region can be divided into roughly four main
areas: the City of Greater Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, the
Surfcoast, and the Colac-Otway hinterland.
These surveys are for private self-evaluation and also provide op-
portunities to begin a dialogue between producers and with other
operators.
This report recognises that wine is one of the most important of all
regional products and is assumed to be included in all future refer-
ences to regional produce.
Regional food producers can look to the wine industry as the most
highly developed tourism sector involved in the creation of a region-
al identity.
The wine industry, by virtue of its experience, size and existing infra-
structure, is also best positioned to bring together and capitalise on
the synergy that can be developed between food producers, food-
service providers and the wine community.
One of the aims of this project is to nurture the desire to use region-
al produce and to connect like-minded producers and operators to
further the development of pride in a regional identity.
In this area, primary products such as beef, lamb and milk can also
be seen as being regional: the challenge is to identify these prod-
ucts and put them back into their own modern regional context.
serious work is undertaken by farmers to ensure that future genera-
tions are able to continue to enjoy the produce of the region.
A shared dining table offers a good beginning for such talks to oc-
cur.
Today most farmers have become alienated from their market. Too
often prime regional produce ends up as unidentified generic prod-
uct with no link to its origins. In the same way, cooks do not usually
know who has grown their produce. This divide can often be a seri-
ous hindrance to the successful marketing of regional produce.
This is not a political position but one based on the premise that
successful and sustainable food and wine tourism, as opposed to
franchised attraction-based tourism, relies on a recognisable region-
al point of difference.
It is relatively easy to compile lists of producers but it is the con-
nection to the producers themselves and their specialist knowledge
of fine food and wine that makes a group of regional suppliers so
important.
Distribution networks are only a part of the solution. Many fine prod-
ucts are too perishable and unusual for large commercial distribu-
tors. Again, this is an important advantage in creating a sense of
place.
I will never forget on a visit to the South of France that plate of fresh
local pistachios casually used as a bar snack.
10
To make a product really competitive there is always a need to de-
velop value-added markets for secondary produce. Specialist sau-
sages are always made in ham-making regions, and apricot brandy
is often found in regions where the fruit is abundant.
In Australia, three of our best-known brands also fit into this model:
Bundaberg Rum (utilising sugar), Vegemite (a brewery by-product)
and Four’n Twenty Pies (beef).
There are many reasons how and why restaurants choose suppli-
ers.
The most common feedback I have had during this project has
been: “Yes, but where can I get consistent, reliable supplies of spe-
cialist regional produce at a good price?”
Up the aisles
12
regional identity of the grower. The Coles brand is empowered at
the cost of the grower.
Experienced local producers are, and have good reason to be, wary
of such approaches as Tesco and the other mega-marts still exer-
cise very strong price and packaging control over all their suppliers.
Common Themes
13
Off the Radar
There is no limit to the number of ways a bill of fare or wine list can
be expressed. Yet most places opt for a system that began more
than 100 years ago in times when labour was inexpensive and
highly skilled and printing was quite costly and slow. That system is
the à la carte menu.
14
But some things are fundamental.
Nearly all local menus are à la carte, with five to seven choices in
entrees, main courses and desserts. Most entrees are $15 to $20;
most main courses are $25 to $35 with about four side dishes priced
from $6 to $8. Most desserts are $10 to $15.
Few places are satisfied with their average bill yet persist with this
archaic model and rely on high-powered sales techniques to boost
bottom lines. Many marketing advisors concentrate on sales meth-
ods that do not sit comfortably with ideas of relaxed hospitality.
It is much more effective to get the price right without the need to
‘upsell’ anything: to concentrate service skills into the effective com-
munication of the gastronomy/wine knowledge of the choices being
offered and create a price-point that removes the perception of cost
from the way the decision to return is made.
The directory attached to this report shows what a diverse and rich
wine region the Geelong Otway district has become.
The most interesting approach to the way wine by the glass has
been served was where the establishment had a policy of a certain
number of wines by the glass offered, say six altogether, and then
15
pouring the ones requested on a first call basis. This told the estab-
lishment which wines the clientele was really interested in; giving
good guidance to the development of the wine list.
Many visitors would like to try unfamiliar top-end wines by the glass
before committing to a bottle. Also while travelling many different
constraints apply to normal drinking patterns but many of our new
wine favourites are found close to the vines.
In the same way that a cook feels confident about preparing beef
that he knows has been grown by his neighbour, a sommelier can
gain assurance in promoting wines he has seen being grown and
made.
However, wine lists are often selected by managers who rate distri-
bution and convenience above quality and real value. Many do not
have the necessary experience to compile a strong wine list.
There are many opportunities for these places to connect with spe-
cialists who can help them to prepare a well-balanced locally- based
wine list. Independent wine consultants can also help to negotiate a
well balanced local list. This is the origin of the term negotiant.
16
Local winemakers can use the dining room as a showcase for their
work and the restaurant can learn about the wine business, enhanc-
ing the skills of its staff as well as providing a product with a well-
known state of origin.
The current wine surplus means winemakers can offer some high
quality products at a reasonable price. But such deals require time
to negotiate and mutual respect. It is also wise to remember that the
current glut conditions will change.
The wines listed in the appendix to this section could form the basis
of a good list with a strong regional content. (See wines lists etc)
The same is true of the Daylesford Macedon region, the Yarra Valley
and indeed all neighbouring regions. Yet, unlike Geelong, they are
becoming strong gastronomic destinations.
All large regional centres, including Ballarat and Bendigo, face the
problem of losing their more ambitious regional operators to the big
smoke.
How this cycle can be broken can happen in unexpected ways. But
town planners, and local government that recognises these con-
straints, can help.
17
Melbourne has become such an extraordinary wine and food city
that to draw regular custom from it requires a very strong product.
The ring road also poses some serious questions.
The Leader of the Opposition, Ted Baillieu, has committed his party
to keeping the market where it is, if his party is elected.
It’s not good enough to boast about our world-class facilities and
then offer to serve them frozen game.
Not all the responsibility for Geelong’s food and wine future rests on
the suppliers, hoteliers, retailers and restaurateurs. Town planning
issues play a major part in population growth and regional develop-
ment.
The Western Wedge project has these concepts in mind but a wider
planning scheme throughout the CBD of Geelong is needed or that
precinct will unbalance the urban landscape and create real estate
inequalities that will further hold back development.
In Geelong, hotels are the most successful venues for food and
wine.
19
Since I wrote my report in 2004, there has been considerable
growth in the hotel sector throughout Melbourne and regional Vic-
toria, with seven pubs having been awarded chefs’ hats in The Age
Good Food Guide and more than 20 featuring in the 2007 edition.
Wine Dining
Having a wider wine list can create the same regular clientele that
a ‘‘free-range” restaurant has and foster an interest in other local
wines.
Many wineries feel the need to add value to the tasting room expe-
rience but a dining room is not always the most appropriate addition.
His first such outlet is at De Bortoli Wines in the Yarra Valley. The
Yarra Valley Cheese and Maturation Room is a simple and stylish
retail outlet, fitting perfectly into the cellar-door experience.
Local cheese makers could form similar alliances not only with win-
eries but with food stores to add value to both parties.
As the most clearly defined region within the Geelong Otway group,
the Bellarine Peninsula offers the best starting point for many of the
initiatives suggested by this project.
What is lacking, not just on the Bellarine Peninsula but in the whole
district, is a noticeable and energetic regional food and wine group.
Bellarine seems the most likely location for such a group to be suc-
cessfully seeded.
Often regional food and wine tourism groups see their primary func-
tion as marketing bodies but one of the most important roles for an
industry group such as this is as a provider of staff development.
To maintain and develop this advantage a new food and wine body
could draw on the strength of its service sector to provide co-opera-
tive front-of-house service training.
The new group could actively attract primary producers, along with
representatives from other neighbouring regions, so that as the
group develops the infrastructure can be built upon by Geelong,
the Surf Coast and Colac Otway. Colac Otway has already started
to form such a group. This group has strong relationships with the
Great South Coast Food and Wine Group, which stretches all the
way to Portland.
Surfs Up
The Surfcoast and Great Ocean Road are well served by a network
of distributors. There are daily deliveries of all manner of food and
wine products by specialised and general carriers. There is also
good access to local and farmers’ markets.
The new farmers’ markets at Aireys Inlet and Birregurra have been
embraced warmly by those communities and by visitors and have
both grown considerably. It seems a shame that they are on the
same days, creating a dilemma for some traders and visitors as to
which market to attend.
Overheads play a big part in the choice of produce used, and just as
access to much fine produce is available, the GOR has also be-
come a target for discount food distribution. Some distributors have
put high premiums on specialty items brought into this district and
these margins of course are passed on to the consumer, making the
competitive edge a lot more difficult on the coast.
Along the Great Ocean Road, these positions are rapidly becoming
home to food and wine outlets, concepts and franchises with little
gastronomic connection to the location.
22
The new opportunities in position for food and wine tourism enter-
prises along the coast can be found in:
Sporting clubs often hold the very best natural positions. The An-
glesea Golf Club is a prime example. With its unequalled marsupial
membership, this could become the quintessential Australian Bistro.
Motel dining rooms are often not very well styled but offer talented
and passionate young food and wine professionals very good in-
frastructure and position to enter the hospitality industry without big
investment.
Many large enterprises will feel that such entry-point businesses are
inconsequential but in the late ’70s these kinds of places provided
the coast with the first wave of food and wine tourism boom. Similar
opportunities exist now.
Areas slightly off the tourist track also offer communities, gardens
and farms supplying the necessary produce and people without
which progress could not be made.
23
We can look forward to the recent changes at Bellbrae Harvest with
much anticipation.
But not all food and wine visitors want peace and tranquillity. The
coast also has a strong sense of being a party place where young
and not-so-young visitors can enjoy the surf culture in all its festive
forms.
The Falls Festival has liberated Lorne from the dreaded New Year’s
Eve security scramble. Hotels are well equipped and the days of
dangerous behaviour along the coast are thankfully infrequent.
Schoolies Week is an obvious exception in some areas.
A model for young people entering the food and wine sector along
the Surfcoast could arise from a coming together of skills by groups
of young winemakers, cheese makers, bakers, gardeners, cooks
and coffee enthusiasts. Many are already heading for the Yarra Val-
ley, Macedon Ranges and Daylesford, mainly because the produce
and passion are already part of the scene in those areas.
The coast and hinterland are well placed to attract this energy.
The ABC series Surfing the Menu played on the image of Australia
as a youthful vibrant coastal food destination. Young chefs just
need to make it happen. We all know the lifestyle here is superb but
cooks and restaurateurs also need a sense of community as well as
produce.
The Great Ocean Walk has the ability to attract a green approach in
food and wine that will marry well with the lodges that will inevitably
spring up along this wonderful attraction.
24
A hospitality training college attached to the Mantra Erskine House
development may redeem the rather one-dimensional way that site
has been developed by offering training to new staff, and keeping
existing staff in the district. Many will see it differently.
The biggest threat to the food and wine tourism market along the
Surfcoast, and indeed everywhere, is the kind of run-of-the-mill en-
terprise often run “under management” that pays no respect to its lo-
cation. Such places are multiplying very quickly along the Surfcoast.
One of the newer food crops to have emerged all over Victoria in
recent years is olives. This district has many small- to medium-
sized olive groves just reaching full maturity. Tastings reveal that the
district is capable of producing high quality, flavourful, cool-climate
extra virgin olive oil and fine table olives.
Unlike some more faddish foods, olives are a staple with an unde-
niable position in a diet that Australians all like to share. It seems
remarkable that it has taken us this long to realise that we can grow
them so well.
The local Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) industry all over Australia is
going through a very fast learning phase. But it can be confidently
said that Australian olive oils can be very fine indeed.
How the processing is done and how the oil is marketed are not
quite as clear as the flavours that this wonderful product has been
shown to provide.
Just as the local wine industry has had problems of collective mar-
keting and production, olive oil producers are finding it difficult to
find their niche. The best varieties suited to each area are still not
completely clear.
Many now realise that lower yields from greener pressings are not
a financial sacrifice if really fine flavour is the required result.
Just as with New World wines, our oils are making many European
producers sit up and take notice.
The comments in that report about dry aged beef have become in-
creasingly relevant in the past two years as more and more restau-
rants are highlighting this type of product. Dry-aged grass-fed beef
is becoming the new Wagyu.
During the past couple of days, the editing and the checking of the
contact lists attached to this document have shown how fast the
industry is changing. The lists will have inadvertently missed impor-
tant suppliers and some mistakes of contact details will inevitably
happen. As such, the need for an interactive website to keep up to
date is very important.
George Biron
Sunnybrae Restaurant Associates
gbiron@bigpond.net.au
27
28
and finally ....
29
No tourism project is complete without a set of awards.
These are light-hearted, offer no big media contracts, but are very carefully considered.
A Sense of Place
GEELONG
Irrewarra Soughdough Cafe
Café Go
V and R
Pettavel Winery and Restaurant
Corio Bay Roadhouse
BELLARINE
Portarlington Mussel Industry
Scotchman’s Hill Group
Athelstane
Katialo
SURFCOAST
Lorne Greens
Swing Bridge Café Lorne
A La Grecque
Mark’s Restaurant
COLAC OTWAY
Otway Pork
Apollo Bay Fisherman’s Co-op
Chris’s Beacon Point Restaurant
Farm Foods
31