The difference
between the Bream Creek Farmers Market and markets closer to Hobart is
community. When the Two Girls arrived for the May market we were warmly greeted
by parking attendants with a special welcome for our first visit.
At Bream Creek, stallholders proudly and lovingly tell you about their products. Locals and
blow-ins take their time and chat awhile with friends and strangers alike. We
found ourselves talking briefly with a relatively famous or infamous local (depending
our your take on industrial relations advocacy), let’s call him Jefe de
sindicato de laboristas, who likes to take his mum out for a coffee at the
markets. We spied them later, El Jefe and his mum, sitting in the sun, enjoying
the live music and their hot coffees.
In 2012, the Dunalley
Primary School Parents and Friends held a small market garden stall
at the Bream Creek Show. The genesis for the Bream Creek Farmers Market was this group of local women with a desire to showcase regionally grown and produced goods.
Like all good visionaries, they set up a committee and established the Market
that December.
After the January
2013 bushfires ravaged South Eastern Tasmania, the Bream Creek Farmers Market
grew into their own: community and economic recovery for the embattled
producers of Marion Bay, Bream Creek, Dunalley, Copping and the Tasman
Peninsula.
The Bream Creek Farmers
Market is supporting the community and local economy by providing a space for
people to come together, building a sense of community, developing local entrepreneurs
and selling produce close to its source.
Case in point. We
met Iain and Kate Field from Leap
Farm
who could point to the hill where their Cashmere and Boer goats graze. We
tried their delicious goat, mustard and herb sausages and One Girl picked up a
half dozen, along with their goat curry to go. Iain and Kate are happy to
supply you with various goat meat cuts and since goat is the new black, it goes
without saying that you should include it in your menu planning.
After a lollypop
made of a strip of rolled marshmallow at the Bream Creek Show this year, This
Girl was keen to find out more from Vintage
Sugar.
Jules and Ange from Vintage Sugar are at the top of their game and excelling
through a combination of good cooking, variety, and gorgeous, quality production.
This Girl may have sampled practically everything available. With this much
choice, Vintage Sugar kindly helps you make the best selection for you by
providing a wide array of tasting samples. I felt like Charlie in the Chocolate
Factory, except there were lovely cupcakes, biscuits and brittle AS WELL!
The Bream Creek Farmers
Market is largely food orientated, eat now, meals prepared to take home and heat or the produce to make
your own. We bought perfectly dainty pain au chocolat and lamb
filled Turkish bread from the Dunalley Waterfront Café. We missed churros
from Vivanderie damn it! We ate
fresh octopus straight off the bbq with a shot of Ouzo from Jonathan and Jo’s BBQ Octopus and This Girl took a
slice of pumpkin, goats cheese and caramelised onion tart home from the Dunalley Primary School Parents and
Friends Stall where we met Elizabeth, a keen Parents and Friends' member and driving force behind
the Market. The school Principal also trades his tools of administration for a
pair of tongs and an egg flip and helps out. The students assist with food preparation
and staff the counter, developing and honing their hospitality skills.
On our visit there
was a few artisan stalls. They’re not a regular occurrence. The stand out by
far was the Hand forged Damascus
steel knives by artisan Tom Hounslow. These are beautifully designed utensils with
hand carved bone handles. If you’re in the market for a knife and you like a
beautiful object, PLEASE, do yourself a favour and look at his work before you
hand over your hard earned cash to Habitat. His knives are now on our Christmas
lists (loved ones note - hint hint).
You’ll find some,
but not all, of the stallholders also at Farmgate Markets in Hobart. But Bream
Creek is worth the drive for what makes this market different, providores on
their own stomping ground, warmth, connectedness and a nice day out in the
country.
