City of Belmont - Ruth Faulkner Public Library

Gourmet farmer, Series 5

eng

videorecording

Censorship classification : E - Exempt from classification

Gourmet farmer

294

This series follows the well known food critic Matthew Evans as he finds and settles into a farm in rural Tasmania. To succeed in this new venture he must learn about the best animals to rear, how to plant a fruitful garden and to cook with a wood fired oven. Matthew's philosophy is that to really know our food, to trust our food, we need to have an association, or at least knowledge of, those that grow it or rear it for us. The more degrees of separation from our food, the less it resonates in our lives. Matthew poses a currently novel question, 'What does what I eat, eat?' From what his animals graze on to the earth his fruit and vegetables grow out of, he turns to the soil. It's something we take for granted. If you have the right fertilisers, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium and water, you get food. Such a simple equation produces the bulk of our food but at a price: weak soil which is vulnerable to drought and weeds and food that is more vulnerable to pests. All of which amounts to less nutritious and less tasty food. Matthew's challenge now is to leave his land in a better condition than what he found it for future generations by embarking on various projects from digging swales to trap water, companion planting and crop rotation. And in his usual refrain, he wonders, How hard can it be?

general

live action

Gourmet farmer, Series fiveGourmet farmer, Season fiveGourmet farmer, Season 5