Tastes of Australia
FINALISTS AT THE HEART OF EVERY FABULOUS DISH MADE WITH PRODUCE AND ENVIRONMENT IN HARMONY
If you’ve ever thrown a salad together with little more than oozing, fresh burrata and a crimson ox-heart tomato, or grilled a freshly caught fish with lemon juice and single origin olive oil, you’ll know the power of great produce.
Australian home cooks are blessed with a treasure trove of world-class ingredients at our fingertips, and to harness this culinary trump card, the list of national finalists in the Delicious Harvey Norman Produce Awards, is a tantalising place to start.
Announced today, the 24 finalists across the categories of dairy, sea, earth and paddock, supply to some of Australia’s leading chefs and establishments – along with humble home cooks.
According to chef and awards judge Matt Moran, great eat produce is the single most important element in a top meal, outweighing the impact of fancy technique or winning recipes. “Good produce ce makes all the difference,” he says. “You can’t make a good meal eal without the building blocks of great produce.”
Whether it’s crayfish from the cool, clear waters of the Bass Strait, oats grown in the fresh coastal air of Kangaroo Island, or a roast derived from genetically superior hens he that roam in native woodlands, the difference is palpable. Moran says food produced in harmony with its e environment is a clear sta standout.
“We are seeing a strong repres representation of producers using regene regenerative agriculture and aquaculture practices, demonstrating that producing delicious, nutrientdense food is the natural result of practices that build the health and biodiversity of the environment,” he
MATT MORAN says. The annual awards are now in their 17th year, with trophy winners and the 2022 Producer of the Year to be revealed in August.
Delicious editorial director Kerrie Mccallum says there’s an extra reason to scope out boutique local producers this year, beyond top taste and quality: “It is so vital to support our farmers and small producers, many of whom have been affected by severe drought, devastating bushfires, Covid-19 and the floods in Northern NSW and Queensland,” she says.