Indice dei contenuti per February 2016 in Country Style

Imagine this. You’re in the kitchen cooking dinner and you realise you need some rosemary. When this used to happen to me, I’d ask my son to go out and pick a few sprigs, as we always had herbs and a few vegetables growing somewhere. I’d tried hard to teach Harry to garden — and to cook, but more about that another time — so I was dismayed when he would come back with sprigs of lavender instead of rosemary. The lasagne would definitely not taste the same flavoured with lavender! Teaching our kids about how the food on their plate is not only made but also grown is a big responsibility and Country Style’s Harvest Table Competition is a good place to start. Reading the entries every year, I’m…

“I LET THE FLOWERS BE THE INSPIRATION AND DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO.” Foraging for wild and fragrant blooms has always been a favourite pastime of florist Alison Kennon. Now based in Mittagong, in the NSW Southern Highlands, she vividly remembers playing in the garden of a friend’s house as a child. “We were always outside in the overgrown bits, picking flowers and playing fairies,” Alison says. “It has always been about that, really.” Today, Alison — who styles weddings and events, and has a handful of private and corporate clients in the region — is pleased to get roses, hydrangeas and olive branches from the gardens at The Loch guest house and farm stall in Berrima. “It’s an ever-growing garden and they use all organic processes, so there…

GETTING AROUND DRIVING From Adelaide you can take the most direct route on the Southern Expressway, (M2) or the Main South Road (B23). These two routes merge near Port Noarlunga and continue on to Cape Jervis, the southernmost point of the peninsula and the terminal for the Kangaroo Island Ferry. Alternatively, turn off on the Victor Harbor Road that takes you to McLaren Vale, Victor Harbor and Goolwa. Victor Harbor is 83 kilometres from Adelaide. TRAIN The SteamRanger Heritage Railway travels between Mount Barker and Victor Harbor with a number of different steam and diesel tourist trains. 1300 655 991; steamranger.org.au BUS Premier Stateliner runs regular services from Adelaide to towns on the Fleurieu Peninsula. BEST TIME TO VISIT Summer holidays and Easter are the busiest times, but with such…

“There was a lot of travelling, and often I’d come and sit on the tractor just to be with him.” WHEN THERE’S a spare moment, between planting, harvest or cattle work, Nigel and Beth Burnett take their children down to the Nogoa River for a picnic and some fishing. They often catch a catfish, or even a yellowbelly, but for Millie, seven, and four-year-old Lachlan, it’s just as much fun to scramble around the bank and explore. The river, on the boundary of their property Colorada, 25 kilometres north-east of Emerald in central Queensland, forms part of the Fairbairn irrigation scheme and is the lifeblood of the region. Between two properties, Nigel and Beth manage 4000 hectares with irrigated cotton, chickpeas, dryland sorghum and wheat grown on Colorada, while they…

WE SHOULDN’T JUST ACCEPT THE INTEGRITY OF RURAL VALUES WITHOUT ROLLING UP OUR SLEEVES. I WAS SITTING on the verandah the other day, refreshing myself with something I’d mistaken for a cordial, and exercising what our prime minister might call “unilateral restraint”. It was a recipe for contentment, but a cerebral short-circuit kept zapping me with the complexities of the rural economy. There’s a widespread belief that change comes a little more slowly out here, where locals point to the skies when a plane flies over. And I’m not talking about the tardiness with which the price on the petrol bowser changes even after the price of crude plummets on global markets. No, what’s been slow to change up here is the belief that rural communities can influence the rural…

LISA MADIGAN The Sydney-based artist, designer and stylist created the beautiful atmosphere at our Champagne dinner in Byron Bay, see page 86 . “It had to be beautiful, celebratory and have a sense of belonging,” Lisa says of her vision for our latest Champagne dinner, held in the tropical surrounds of the Byron at Byron. The area holds plenty of appeal for the artist, designer and stylist. “I do love a good journey north,” she says. “Up here it just feels special, rich, fertile and rejuvenating.” Back home, Lisa is preparing for her next solo show, Grace, at Saint Cloche in Sydney starting on February 24, and now offers the beautiful 1880s cottage she and her husband own in NSW’s Kangaroo Valley as accommodation and an event space. “It’s…

book a table VICTORIA Mr Carsisi 26th Owners Clare and Matt Fegan are hosting an end of summer five-course modern Middle-Eastern degustation dinner matched with pinot noirs, a pinot gris and a chardonnay from Curly Flat vineyard in nearby Lancefield. Guests will take in the view of the neighbouring St Paul’s Park from the banquet’s setting on the verandah. $130 a head. (03) 5422 3769; mrcarsisi.com TASMANIA Stillwater In Launceston, the stunning Stillwater restaurant is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Chef Craig Will’s summer menu includes torched kingfish, roasted quail and lamb rump with freekah, roasted nuts and asparagus. The recently redecorated interior has new tables designed and made at the local UTAS School of Architecture Design Studio, yet the heritage of the landmark site, in an 1830s former…

“CHAMPAGNE IS about fun and enjoyment, and sharing a glass with good friends and strangers alike.” The Champagne Bureau’s director, Elisabeth Drysdale, launched Country Style’s recent Champagne dinner at The Byron at Byron Resort and Spa with these words and so it proved on the night. Before dinner, guests mingled on the deck overlooking the subtropical garden, enjoying Champagne, canapés and conversation. The airy dining room was beautifully decorated by artist and designer Lisa Madigan, who filled silver Champagne buckets with delicate white roses and peonies, and displayed them alongside lotus pods and tropical pandanus fruit. The four-course meal was prepared by guest chef Massimo Mele, and each dish was paired with a complementary wine to show that, as Elisabeth says, “Champagne is a wine that easily matches with food.”…

Baggins goes to work every single day, rain or shine. MAKING HOUSE CALLS Malt, one of our golden retrievers, is one-quarter of the canine guard that greets customers at Peter Seppelt Wines, our family winery in South Australia’s Eden Valley. But he is much more than that, for Malt is the mate of some other very special people whom he visits every week as part of a program of canine companions for older citizens. The night before the visit, we bathe Malt and he always goes through the process without so much as a whine or a whimper. Each week the staff and residents at the aged-care facility at Mount Pleasant Hospital are waiting for Malt, some expectantly, others remembering his soft golden face when he appears in the doorway.…

“I THINK WE SHOULD START USING THE PHRASE ‘LIVING’ INSTEAD OF ‘AGEING’.” ON THE FACE of it, it’s not exactly what you would expect of a world-famous cosmetics guru, but Bobbi Brown has always been one to go against the tide. She joyfully admits that her happy place isn’t a glitzy Manhattan fashion event, it’s the ocean. Happiness is summer spent with her family at their easygoing New Jersey beach house. Perched just steps from the sand, the glorious oceanfront getaway is an hour’s drive from New York City, but a world away from her hectic work schedule. “It’s where I relax, recharge and keep my creativity flowing,” says Bobbi, who spent years with her husband searching around the tiny seaside town for the perfect holiday house. “My favourite place…

365 Days of Colour in Your Garden, by Nick Bailey (Kyle Books, $59.99). Bailey is the head curator at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London and has collaborated with award-winning photographer Jonathon Buckley. The book includes great photography and excellent planting ideas. Photographer Andrew Lawson’s The Gardener’s Book of Colour (Frances Lincoln, $60), first published in 1996, is still the definitive work on the subject. If you don’t already own this book, the good news is it was reprinted last year. Great on single colours, contrasts and harmonies in the plant world. The Australian Native Garden, by Angus Stewart and A.B. Bishop (Murdoch Books, $49.99) has an exhaustive list of colourful native plant cultivars. Published in December 2015. All books available from garden book specialist Florilegium. (02) 9571 8222; florilegium.com.au…

HOME HILL WINERY Boutique winery and restaurant set among the vines and farmland in the heart of the Huon Valley, with a program of concerts and musical events. 38 Nairn Street, Ranelagh. (03) 6264 1200; homehillwines.com.au RED VELVET LOUNGE Famous Cygnet eatery owned by Country Style’s Country Cook Steve Cumper, it serves excellent food, fresh-baked bread and great coffee. 24 Mary Street. (03) 6295 0466; redvelvetlounge.com.au THE APPLE SHED A museum, ciderhouse and café showcasing good produce from the region in the original apple shed built in 1942. 2064 Huon Highway, Grove. (03) 6266 4345; williesmiths.com.au THE LOTUS EATERS CAFE A menu driven by the freshest seasonal food and made right on the premises that day. 10 Mary Street. (03) 6295 1996; thelotuseaterscafe.com.au…

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FACEBOOK Oh how I long for a quiet time sitting in the orange grove. The scent of the oranges and time to reflect on days as a child playing among them. Maggie Obst I could sit there all day with a brush in hand. Owen Pointon, Australian wildlife/heritage artist INSTAGRAM Our story on how Mickey Robertson does Christmas at Glenmore House, her beautiful home in Camden, NSW, proved very popular on Instagram — particularly her hat by @axelmano! Photography by Mark Roper and video by@colourmehattie. Mine arrived in the mail today. Looks so beautiful as always. I want to dive between the covers but will wait until I can give it the time it deserves. Petina Sewell I could not live without my Country Style, so look forward to it…

“It was a daunting task to convert them to liveable spaces, but we just took it one step at a time...” Taking a cooling dip in the ocean at Bondi Beach one hot day almost thwarted Danielle McEwan’s chance to own an unusual piece of real estate on the north coast of NSW. While she was enjoying Sydney’s surf, her partner Julian Packshaw was desperately calling her mobile. Julian was standing on a property in Nashua, a village five minutes’ drive from Bangalow in the Byron Bay hinterland. He’d come with friends to inspect some old church pews that were to be auctioned and had just learnt there was more than furniture up for sale. Two churches, only 11 metres apart, were also going to auction. One was the village’s…

A WATERFRONT restaurant is the prize for many chefs — and Dave Campbell’s Wharf Rd, on the bank of the Shoalhaven River in Nowra on the NSW south coast, is most certainly that. Tucked away beside the Nowra Bridge, the weatherboard building was once the harbour master’s residence, and its expansive glass windows frame the bridge, and blue of the water and sky. “We’re hidden away, but when you get here it’s all open and it’s beautiful,” Dave says. He opened Wharf Rd with his wife Nicole in 2012, and its reputation is built on Dave’s two decades of experience, which includes working for top Australian chefs such as Neil Perry and Tetsuya Wakuda. The couple, who have two daughters — Bronte, 10, and Poppy, nine — also founded The…

A TERRINE — OR PATE as it’s called in France — is essentially a posh sort of meat loaf made from finely or coarsely minced meat, fish, poultry or even vegetables. The vessel in which it is cooked is called a terrine and this name has been appropriated — like casserole and tagine — to describe the resulting dish. Thus, terrine and pâté are interchangeable. I’m a huge fan of terrines because they’re very tasty and can be made in advance. They are also incredibly versatile. Crikey, how many dishes do you know that can be served as an entree or a main course? They’re suitable for lunch or dinner, and even breakfast is not out of the question. Simply coat a slice of terrine in breadcrumbs, shallow-fry it and…

If you’ve never been to the Fleurieu Peninsula, you might be excused for thinking it begins and ends on the vine-clad slopes of McLaren Vale. And who could blame you for lingering here at the foot of the sun-beaten Willunga Hills with the dazzling blue of St Vincents Gulf stretching out before you? But tear yourself away from the cellar doors and excellent restaurants, and you’ll discover that there’s much more to the peninsula, with even more diverse attractions, and only a short drive away. When you reach Mount Compass, the countryside is suddenly noticeably lusher, the stands of eucalypts taller, the breeze is cooler, faintly salty — and it’s about here you get that first, heart-fluttering, fleeting glimpse of the roaring Southern Ocean. There’s a long history of indigenous…

“He’s now as much a mate as a work offsider.” EARLY MORNING LIGHT filters through the woolshed windows onto the stooped frames of shearers as they make deft strokes through the wool. A steady buzz of electric shears reverberates within the corrugated shed at Scarsdale Station, peppered by the bark of a sheepdog in the backyards, who keeps the flow of sheep up to the contractors. Owner Terry Smith is outside drafting sheep, while his trusty offsider, Frank, a six-year-old purebred kelpie, is further back — amid a whirl of dust — darting methodically to push the mob forward. Shearing is the busiest time of year at Scarsdale, a 25,000-hectare property 70 kilometres east of Broken Hill, and Frank relishes his role, with barely a pause for hours on end.…

SUMMER IS NOTORIOUS for leaving your skin in need of a big hit of hydration, so there’s nothing better than a deeply moisturising mask like Bobbi Brown Skin Nourish Mask (75ml, $65). IF YOU LOVE plumping and thickening your lashes with one quick swipe, you’ll love the new Bobbi Brown Eye Opening Mascara ($44). WITH 30 SHADES to choose from you’re sure to find your perfect lipstick match with Bobbi Brown Luxe Lip Color ($52). Packed with conditioning, hydrating ingredients so you’ll never have dried or cracked lips again, it’s shown here in Pink Sand. BOBBI BELIEVES THAT “daily moisturisers replenish the skin with a boost of hydration that helps even out and soften the skin, ensuring a flawless make-up application”. This Bobbi Brown Hydrating Face Cream (50ml, $82) is…

GATHER ROUND Transform an under-used pocket of garden into an after-dark meeting place with a rustic cast-iron fire pit and log stools — like the ones at Danielle McEwan and Julian Packshaw’s Nashua house on page 52. For something similar, try the cast-iron fire pit, $600, from Earth Homewares. 1300 760 664; earthhomewares.com.au NATURAL ORDER COPPER AND CONCRETE PLANTERS ADD SUBTLE COLOUR AND TEXTURE, INDOORS AND OUT. COPPER VASE, $245, GREENHOUSE ROSE POTS, $40 (LARGE), $20 (SMALL), AND SECATEURS, $35, ALL FROM GARDEN LIFE, (02) 9517 3633, GARDENLIFE.COM.AU HOT TROPICS GIVE YOUR OUTDOOR SEATING A SUMMER HOLIDAY VIBE WITH THE JUNGLE FEVER’ ALL-WEATHER CUSHION, $65, FROM BASIL BANGS. (02) 9938 4759; BASILBANGS.COM grey matter Modern and understated, the lightweight ‘Zeth’ concrete bench, $499 from Schots Home Emporium, seats four or…

CROWD FAVOURITES Cygnet Folk Festival Highly regarded festival in January that attracts thousands of visitors each year. (03) 6295 0202; cygnetfolkfestival.org Cygnet Market Held on the first and third Sunday of every month, with fresh food, music and art. Cygnet Town Hall, Mary Street. cygnetmarket.com.au Port Cygnet Sailing Club Formed in 1863, races are held on most Sundays from October to April. In March the regatta attracts more than 50 boats. Lymington Road. (03) 6295 0464; cygnetsailing.org.au St. James Church The Spanish Mission-styled church in the heart of Cygnet is the final destination for Tasmania’s new pilgrimage walk inspired by the Camino de Santiago, The Way to St James. 25 Mary Street, Cygnet. (03) 6295 1541. EXCURSIONS Bruny Island Explore lovely beaches and the National Park. Take the car ferry…

IT WAS A GLORIOUS day at Melbourne’s Albert Park for a game of polo and a glass of Champagne at the Country Style tent. We watched Australia’s top polo players and polo ponies in an action-packed match and at half time took to the field for a bit of traditional divot stomping! One of the oldest team sports in the world, the first game of polo is thought to have been played in 600BC, and today it’s one of the fastest growing spectator sports. Now in its 10th year, Polo In The City is held in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne.…