Jim Steele shows off his free-range chickens to Linda Cains, Jane Holman and Stephen Cains.
GETTING to know the faces and places behind Orange region food was one of the highlights of today's FOOD Week Farm Gate Tour.
The tour took 23 guests around the Millthorpe and Forest Reefs areas to get an up close and personal experience with the produce they regularly buy and consume from the Orange Region Farmers Markets.
Guests from as far away as Queensland and the north coast enjoyed the tour of the Beekeepers Inn and learning what makes different honey, roaming around with the free range chickens at Egganic, sampling the best nuts at Fourjays Farms and sampling the entire Angullong wine range.
Orange Region Farmers' Market manager Cath Thompson said the tour was a great chance to showcase the stories behind Orange's food basket.
"Some people came to the district for the first time to check it out," she said.
"It is a great opportunity to get up close an personal with the people who obviously produce wonderful products.
"It's just a wonderful way to get to know their stories."