MEET THE PRODUCERS
What began as one couple’s shared passion has turned into a range of kimchis and sauerkrauts that are harvesting praise from every quarter
The fermenting brand that foraged its way to success; and Woody’s Free Range pig farm.
When Kelli-jo Walker and husband Simon Allen moved to the pretty rural area of Clevedon three years ago, the idea was to live in harmony with the land, grow more of their own food, reduce chemicals and waste, and teach their sons to be eco-warriors. ‘Building a multi-award-winning business’ wasn’t part of the plan… but that’s precisely what they’ve done, with Forage & Ferment.
The brand offers a range of kimchi and krauts made through wild fermentation – ie, where microbes naturally found on foods or in the air are used to initiate the fermentation process.
The couple had always been into harvesting produce from their garden and the move to Clevedon, 35 minutes south of Auckland – to the family farm where Kelli grew up – saw this passion take off, with Kelli “fermenting my garden and anything foraged from the home farm and local bush: red clover flowers, watercress, dandelion, stinging nettle.”
The seeds of the business were sown when Kelli – who’d previously worked in corporate marketing – took some products along to Clevedon Farmers’ Market. She was studying for a Permaculture Design Certificate and was inspired to apply what she’d learned to her fermenting. “We’d just moved our lovely 40L German crocks into a local commercial kitchen facility after fermentation experiments were threatening to take over our home kitchen.”
The market foray was a hit and Kelli posted product shots on Instagram. “We had a flash flood of enquiries from retailers around New Zealand for our Wild Kraut and Wild Kimchi. That was the start of our wild journey.”
That journey involved building the business while balancing farm life and three sons aged three, six and nine. So naturally, things have changed a little. The 40L crocks now sit alongside 200L stainless steel vats (they never use plastic in the fermentation process). “Recipes were amended for the change in scale. We learnt about food safety plans, council compliance, manufacturing equipment etc. We were thrown in the deep end and swam for our lives!”
The Fermentary – the commercial kitchen and garden ‘farmacy’ – now also employs Kelli’s childhood friend Jen and some local mums who finish at ‘school o’clock’. “What once was a couple’s romantic lunch (ha!) is now a shared lunch on production days, with a tools-down policy so we can spend an hour interacting and connecting.”
Their products are stocked in over 30 stores nationwide, and the accolades are flooding in. In their first year they were recognised in three major NZ food awards. The newest flavour, Mexi Kraut, has just won silver at the 2019 Outstanding NZ Food Producers Awards.
The farmacy grows herbs including marigold, oregano, lemon verbena, spring onion, lemongrass, nasturtium, lavender, pineapple sage and stinging nettle. And when they need inspiration? They go wild. “Gathering wild and going deep into the bush is a wonderful meditative process.” They also have ‘responsible’ local growers who give them the freshest produce with the least food miles.
The couple are very much plugged into the fermenting community, and an exciting moment came last year. Sandor Katz, author of The Art of Fermentation, the ‘bible’ of the ancient practice, invited Kelli to a residency programme at his home in Tennessee. She travelled the 13,000km to Short Mountain, Cannon County – the ‘beating heart’ of international wild fermentation revivalism. “It was a week of non-stop learning, sharing, eating, drinking and collaborating with wild fermentation junkies, manufacturers, researchers and scientists.”
As for the future? “We want to continue to push the boundaries, to produce more innovative wild fermented products. And because we’re passionate about encouraging others to join us, watch out for few workshops on the horizon too.”
“We want to continue to push the boundaries, to produce more innovative wild fermented products”