Facing up to the Challenge

I’m aiming to stay head of the game here and not allow myself to be subjected to another haranguing from the dreaded Plans.

Here is the outline for my Ausfood Challenge. I must stress the word outline – I don’t want to paint myself into any tight corner that I might wish to wriggle out of at a later date.

The idle thought which crossed my mind as I was setting up this blog went along these lines:
What would happen if one third of the adult population of this country elected to eat only Australian produced food for one third of each year?

Would this make any difference to Australian farmers regarding their income?

All very fanciful, you might be thinking as you read along here. However fanciful it might be, I decided I might put it to the test and see what was involved. Already at this early stage I am aware that it might not be that easy, there has to be a will to make this happen and where people cannot see an immediate outcome which benefits the person participating (think money here), there will be little or no interest.

I decided, quite rightly - after all, I’m the one making the rules here - that I should ease into this month by month through this year and then face the real challenge next year.

Now, for some boring but simple mathematical calculations.
One third of a year equates roughly with 120 days; this divides neatly, over a twelve month period, into ten days per month. These ten days will be random and as time passes I may find grouping the days into threes, twos or single days may work best.

I will apply the Australian only food rule to all ingredients used in the preparation of all meals, snacks and drinks consumed on the Ausfood days.  There will be no eating and drinking out at cafes etc. because it is impossible to verify the ingredients; eating at the tables of friends will be allowed if I am able to verify the ingredients. I foresee some problems here; close questioning about the verification of ingredients making up a dish and snooping through pantries and kitchen bins may not endear me to many people and may lead to invitations to make my own meals or to stay away until the following year.

It will now be abundantly clear why I have allowed myself such a long lead time; a certain amount of fine-tuning will be taking place throughout this remainder of this year.

I hope, when December 2013 rolls around, to be eating Ausfood for ten days each month and not eating my words.

Time for a lunch break

There are a number of cafes to choose from in the main street of Rutherglen and I spent a pleasant half hour in one of them this morning, sitting in the courtyard in the shade enjoying a coffee, a predictable cake and the passing parade.

When lunch time came around I chose a café that also opens some evenings; it was not going to be open in the evenings of the two days I was staying in Rutherglen, so lunch was my only option. I was curious to see how much Australian produce is offered on the menu.

A blackboard on the wall informed me that the fish were from Lakes Entrance and the oysters were from St Helens in Tasmania. A good start. I ordered the fish and chips and the owner/chef told me the fish that day was gummy shark; the oysters were from Coffin Bay and not St Helen’s. This alteration comes about as the menu items are selected daily on whatever is best available from the markets on that day.

In the days of long ago and far way no right thinking person would countenance ordering fish when eating out in an inland town. Too far away from the sea – who knows what might turn up on the plate and how it might taste. Times have changed – now ordering is done on the same day the order will arrive at the café and it is the best of what is available from the current catch. How good is that?

The plate of fish and chips arrives; the fish is battered and while the chips can be counted on the fingers of one hand this meal is about quality over quantity. There is salad with mayo, a side of tartare and 1/8 lemon. If this is a Taste of Rutherglen I’m all for more of it and I give this meal an A without hesitation. This is my new 2013 meal rating system and an A is not given out lightly. Great meal.

I’m note-taking while eating and this draws the attention of the chef who comes over to ask if everything is alright with my meal. I take the opportunity to praise his local food approach and skate over the idea of all Australian food making an appearance on the menu. We discuss the pros and cons and not unexpectedly he says that is a difficult thing to achieve for many reasons and estimates that 98% of their food would be Australian anyway.  I accept the argument, people running a cafe are running a business and business is business. 

Revived after a excellent meal, I leave the café, turn left and walk down to the tourist information centre where I will browse through the labels in their stock of locally produced food and have another cup of the best coffee in town.