The idea of chefs sourcing ingredients directly from producers and highlighting the resources of their regions is relatively new in Australia, but the rise of regionalism in the last ten years or so has seen significant changes in this regard as chefs and restaurateurs exploit the gastronomic potential of their local regions. Mark McNamara, one of the 1,000 cooks that will be participating in Terra Madre 2006, has been among the pioneers.

Mark McNamara started the Pear Tree Cottage Restaurant in Greenock, in the Barossa Valley of South Australia, in 1992 and continued as chef/restaurateur until 1999. He was a founding member of Food Barossa, a group established to market high quality and accredited produce from the region. After a stint teaching in the region and in Adelaide, he returned to the kitchen in 2005 at Peppers The Louise, Seppeltsfield, in the heart of the Barossa – though not after extensive travels in North America and Europe, part of his prize as a member of the Barossa team which won the Regional Culinary competition at Tasting Australia in Adelaide in 2003.

For more information, write to Elena Aniere, e DOT aniere AT slowfood DOT com.

Read on for Australian Ark Commission Chair Barbara Santich’s interview of McNamara.

How do you see the role of the chef in the paddock-to-plate food chain?

At Peppers I want my menus to express the region’s agriculture and reflect what is being produced, season by season. If we can’t source an ingredient locally, within a range of 50 km, at least we make sure that it comes from South Australia and prefer to deal with producers themselves. And in dealing with local producers, I can let them know what I need now and in the future, in terms of both quantity and quality. I find that producers are now more prepared to listen to chefs and to produce to specifications, and reciprocally chefs are more interested in details of the production processes – what the chickens are fed, for example. The end result of all this is better quality produce available locally, and benefits to both producers and restaurants.

How do you establish and nurture a relationship with local farmers?

Farmers’ markets, which have a role to encourage local producers, represent a fantastic opportunity to establish relationships with farmers. I visit the Barossa farmers’ market every Saturday and often take guests from the resort with me. I purchase about 90 percent of the restaurant’s vegetable supply from the local market, though I’m now establishing gardens around the restaurant so that we can grow our own.

How do you promote public awareness and educate customers about the importance of supporting local producers?

The chef is the intermediary between the producer and the consumer, so I visit the dining room every day and also make sure that the front-of-house staff are fully informed on the ingredients we use, and their provenance, so they, too, can tell the stories to guests. It’s probably easier to promote public awareness through my teaching, but I also do demonstrations at the farmers’ market. Even simple classes, on using herbs or cooking broad beans, can help develop links between producers and consumers. In the Barossa area, Food Barossa is certainly enhancing general awareness of local produce – to the extent that some of the supermarkets are now responding, for example by stocking local peaches.

What can producers do in this regard?

There are always some passionate producers who love food and are doing a lot to promote local produce, and there are others for whom farming is a business. We have to respect both philosophies. Thanks to them, even in this one region I have seen a lot of change, and thanks to these passionate individuals we now have options that were not available years ago – local cheeses, for example. When I was in England recently I was amazed at the resurgence of local traditions, the reestablishment of old breeds. Even though we continually have to battle against bureaucracy, it’s essential to buy locally to keep the towns vibrant and sustain the local Barossa culture.

Finally, what are the benefits of creating an international community of chefs?

In the past the international chef associations have appealed more to chefs from large hotels who are more concerned about their careers than with local produce. With the encouragement of Terra Madre, chefs who enjoy interacting with producers and who are interested in issues of sustainability can form an alternative community. People with similar passions are always willing to share information, to pass on links. There are huge benefits in learning from people with similar experiences – as I found when I was in California last year.