Hawkesbury hub strengthens links between hospitality and agriculture industries
A hub in the Hawkesbury connecting chefs to the farm gate is proving to be a viable model for the hospitality and agriculture industries.
Martin Boetz is founder of Cooks Co-op, which allows chefs to have direct access and influence over their own seasonal produce.
Mr Boetz supplies 25 Sydney restaurants with produce from his 800m2 plot in Sackville, New South Wales, as well as other niche products from local producers.
"As urbanisation creeps out here and people are giving up farming, unfortunately, I really want to try and preserve that," Mr Boetz said.
He said talking with farmers was important for chefs because it gave them a sense of seasonality and made them aware of where and how their food was produced.
"I think food is very undervalued and the amount of effort, blood, sweat and tears that goes into growing — people just don't understand that there's quite a lot of work to do before it's on a plate," Mr Boetz said.
"To end up thinking that a dollar for a bunch of beetroot is a lot, it's not really; it's actually not enough."
Mr Boetz has spent more than 20 years as an executive chef at Longrain restaurant in Sydney and Melbourne, before leaving two years ago to pursue this project.
To end up thinking that a dollar for a bunch of beetroot is a lot, it's not really; it's actually not enough.
Martin Boetz, founder of Cooks Co-op
"The majority of all of our products are actually harvested within 24 hours of the chef getting it, and I think that's what excites everyone," Mr Boetz said.
"And we hope they really enjoy the product, because it's product that I would like to see if I was a chef.
"I do totally think that this is what I am going to do now for the years to come. I'm very confident that it's a good business model."
Mr Boetz wants to extend the business, with plans to extend the garden, employ more staff, and organise another delivery day into the city.
He supplies a range of vegetables, herbs and other speciality items such as goat products, olive oil honey and apple cider vinegar.
Source: ABC Rural, Sofie Wainwright, 7th October 2015
Originally published as: Hawkesbury hub strengthens links between hospitality and agriculture industries
