Kylie cooks up food for thought

The author, who cooks only with local, organic and biodynamic produce, travelled across the country to interview 40 of those food producers for her latest book It Tastes Better.

Yesterday, Ms Kwong brought those stories to Orange, a region, she said, that knew the value of supporting its own producers.

“It’s such a privilege to be here with all these amazing, like-minded people,” she said.

“And it’s so nice to be in the country.”

Ms Kwong said she wanted to share her philosophy of sustainable and ethical eating, and the stories of the people who produced the food she loved to eat.

“These people, to me, are the real Australian heroes and are at the forefront of what I see as the greatest problem facing us, and that’s climate change,” she said.

“They are all about the planet in their sensitivity to the soil and the water.

“I believe their produce tastes better because it’s got no chemicals and it’s made with all that love and energy.

“Let’s really get behind these amazing producers and look after them, because they are directly looking after us.”

Guests at yesterday’s lunch, which was supervised by Billy Kwong head chef Matthew Lindsay, enjoyed four of Ms Kwong’s recipes, including a soup made with lamb from Cowobbee Pastoral Company in Oberon.

Owners Paul and Virgnia Kurtz have been operating the farm biodynamically for 20 years.

“When we started, I was thought we might go broke and I was worried about weeds,” Mr Kurtz said.

“As it turned out, 15 years later, the neighbours said to us, ‘we spray, you don’t and we’ve got more weeds’.”

Their daughter Tammy now helps to run the company and will help the family to manage a second property.

“It was a struggle but it’s been a worthwhile struggle because it’s been successful,” Virginia Kurtz said.

“You can go to bed at night and sleep knowing you haven’t [produced] anything bad, it’s good for the environment.”

lisa.cox@ruralpress.com