Bittner and Twisted

Wangaratta Farmers Market celebrated five years. It’s fantastic. People are building the skills to use local seasonal produce and to cook the bounties that come with the seasons.  But a farmers market is more than food. It’s a social gathering. It’s entertainment.  It defines our food culture and is a reflection of our community.  Some farmers markets are even classified as tourism. For me they are a challenge. What can I buy that will feed my family for the week.  On our budget.  How can I support our farmers, use what we grow at home and put together a tasty nutritious family menu. J ust rocking up to your local farmers market and strolling past the farmers stalls and the local producers displays is not what it’s about.  Farmers markets are not a fairground to promenade. OK there is no entry fee so you are not obligated to buy. Give it a go though. Build your local shopping skills, build relationships with farmers and producers. These skills co...

In a time of unprecedented climatic changes, with bushfires raging in three states and heat waves on their way in others it is surely a time to review our behaviours as a human race.  Some brave people have declared a climate emergency in their homes because the Australian Government will not. Globally we have seen action by the wonderful and inspiring Greta Thunberg.  Countries going plastic free and carbon neutral. This is leadership on a global scale. Some of our papers report this leadership and other inspiring climate stories.  Media have a role to play in inspiring, educating and cajoling the populace into action on climate change.  I know our local newspaper is not doing enough to run the hard conversations about climate change and continues to publish letters to the editor from climate change deniers. Without a barrage of letters pointing out the fallacies of such a position.  Trying to remain impartial they say. Giving everyone a say, being demo...

  Recently my employer generously gave us all a day off work to come to a staff development day. And of course to listen to the CEO talk of the future and staff talk of the wins of the past. “It was the best development day” said my colleagues. Me? I was transfixed most of the morning by the T-Shirt wearing, say it like it is, brain trainer, body hacker, ad smasher Todd Samson . Presenting his motivational talk on how to improve your creativity. Why creativity? Because creativity and the ability to think laterally is the one skill that differentiates us from the computers taking over many jobs. And creativity is one thing that we should be teaching our children. What did I get out of the presentation? 3 things. Do something that involves the following Visualisation - what you see and watch happens to you or to get really existential on you - our existence becomes our essence. So ditch the screens and get out and do something. Emotional regulation -That's meditati...

Before Lauren and I opened Cafe Derailleur almost ten years ago we wrote a business plan. We set the goal of building the business and exiting within five years. Almost ten years have passed - so we well and truly made it! Different challenges await and to be ready for the future we have to let go of our baby, Café Derailleur. That’s why Cafe Derailleur will be closing for good this Friday. There’s no party, but we plan to celebrate over the next couple of days. So please stop in. We began with an empty building in which the team, Lauren and I created a vibrant cafe filled with energetic and talented staff, great local food and coffee. It’s more than just bricks and mortar; we created a community. And it's all taken plenty of blood, sweat, tears and laughter - plus some knitting and crochet - to get us to 2019. Thank you for being part of our community. We love those of you who knock on our cafe's door at 6:45am begging for coffee, as much as those who we leave alone...

You know I try and keep you all up to date with the goings on at Derailleur.  I am pretty open - to my detriment sometimes!  So I wanted to share with you some great news.  We have taken Cafe Derailleur off the market. I will repeat just so you know. Cafe Derailleur has not been sold.  I am still here most days and our business is no longer for sale. We are here for you our customers. Our commitment remains to provide you with awesome coffee, house baked food and friendly professional hospitality. Please share with your friends to let them know , or even arange to meet at Derailleur for a coffee to share the news. Your support means will be here for years to come. So thank you!

Last year I Blogged about plastic coming off the menu at Derailleur. Now all that you receive is recyclable or compostable in our little cafe. Those PLS ( Poly Lactic Acid ) straws that we were using have been ditched. Now just for the record I did put the remainder in the bin. Why? Because they looked too much like plastic straws and our customers were getting on social media and giving us a blast for using plastic straws. It took time to explain that PLA straws are biodegradable and yes when I bought them over a year ago I understood them to be compostable too. We have been trialling metal straws but they didnt sit well with me. Particulatly whether they were clean on the inside after each wash? I know what the Environmental Health inspector is looking for and it won’t be long before they are delving into the shaft of millions of metal straws that are being used across the country now. We are pretty impressed with people who are bringing their own metal straws b...

Carob tree in Wangaratta What if we could eat our way to prosperity? There’s no doubt that local food producers are under constant pressure – from the climate and the rising costs of production, to the expense of getting their products to market. However, what would happen if our community changed the way we bought food and made a real effort to buy it locally? What if the money we spent on food each week, stayed in our community? What if we paid local farmers instead of multinational companies? I’m proposing a regenerative agricultural[1] initiative, called RegenerAte Wang (RAW). As far as I am concerned it’s the only way to ensure a future where we live sustainably off our rural land. Regenerative farming is the way of the future - and this isn’t because it’s some cool, new-wave fad - rather it’s a necessity. We’ve been using the old, ‘tried-and-true’ European farming methods on our ancient land for far too long. What’s more we’ve taken more than our fair share. If you’ve r...

Passion is what gets a cafe started, but it's tough decisions that keep it going. I'm not talking about going green or changing coffee suppliers (we serve Coffee Supreme BTW); its workplace regulations keeping me up right now. Last year we made a commitment to open on Sundays, with a 10% surcharge to cover weekend labour costs.  A surcharge clearly links the cost (the products and services provided) with the revenue earned on specific days. That way, during the week you are not subsidising the products and services others receive on a weekend.  I think everyone gets it, that penalty rates affect small businesses like ours. Regardless, Wangaratta's embraced Sunday's at Derailleur; we get a great weekend buzz. Thanks y'all. There's nothing worse that working all week and finally, a public holiday; a free day to spend with friends or family... and all the cafe's in town are closed! Try us, we'll be open. Drum roll please... In response ...

Usually, it’s our politicians who get hit with the tough questions, but last week the tables were turned by Councillors Fuller and Fitzpatrick who swung by Derailleur keen to know why I think it’s so important we teach young people about growing food. Yeah, I had a some feedback for them. Cr Fuller wants our help to shape next year’s Council budget. He’s keen to know our ideas which is lucky, because I’ve got a few. I’ve suggested we need an Urban Farm Social Enterprise, interest-free loans for small plot farmers, and school gardens. Let me explain: Urban Farm Social Enterprise You all know I pitched a Pick My Project idea for an Urban Farm Social Enterprise at Mitchell Avenue last year.  It didn’t get up but what would happen if Council supported this idea by investing in it this year? Currently Council are funding an interactive children’s garden near the site. Now don’t get me wrong here, I think the children’s garden is great, but lets look a bit further....

Let me touch some more on how I see smart growth for Wangaratta.  Growing our communities doesn’t mean focusing solely on increasing our population. Instead, let’s put the emphasis toward making our town smart and sustainable and it’ll become a safe, healthy place where everyone wants to live, work, visit and invest.  We need to focus on our strengths and that’s why our access to water and land should mean we have a vibrant local food scene, weekly farmers markets, food swaps and neighbourhood nature-strip farming.  Our region will grow if we grow our own food and the spin-off from this is our food culture.  Let’s grow our own chefs and hospitality people by fostering pathways for our youngsters from Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Gardens to high school food and livestock gardens, and then onto TAFE gardening and agriculture courses.  Our community will grow when our community gardens thrive and our home gardens grow veggies, not grass. I will s...

There’s a lot to like about living in Wangaratta and as more people cotton on to this, our country town is going to grow and this presents a great opportunity to make that growth smart and sustainable. Is this a big ask? Growing our town means feeling safe. Safe to be able to walk our streets anytime. For children to ride on our roads, climb trees and catch bugs and butterflies in our parks. And an accepting culture where men might stay at home or work part-time and parents and carers of all ages feel supported.  Growing our town means making sure all people have a roof over their heads that won’t cost the earth to build or run (pun intended). Affordable community and social housing must be part of every new estate our Rural City approves. If it’s not possible, then developers need to make a contribution to community or social enterprise projects with similar aims. Growing our town means growing our own food. A local food-growing culture creates community and build...

Yesterday I watched a couple at the cafe. They looked like old friends with their heads knitted together in conversation so intense their eyes locked, only breaking away for a hearty laugh every few minutes. Food arrived, and you could see love and passion presented on those plates by my kitchen magicians. The couple’s conversation stopped for some ooh's and ahh’s, and I spotted a hint of food envy. They began eating, rekindled their discussion, smiling between banter, bites of gnocchi and --- a phone rang.  The lady in red stood up and left the café. My heart broke for her companion as she sat and ate alone. For thirty-two minutes. Their moment lost. A meal went cold. It may have been a life-changing conversation. Or it may have been a mundane one. Who knows, but a special moment looked gone forever. Running a café, when I’m not rushing on my feet or wrestling coffee - I people watch. Mostly, I watch people watching phones. It’s rare a customer comes in and doesn’t ke...

Have you heard of Community Food For All? It’s an initiative bringing together people concerned about our food - who’s growing it, who’s selling it, how it’s eaten and who can’t afford it.  The group began when a handful of locals wanted to know who was tracking and bringing together all food-related activities in our Rural City? So, they created a network to improve access to healthy and affordable food in Wangaratta and surrounding rural communities. We’ve just had our Food Forum – lemme share the low down. “It’s about building relationships” – according to Tony from Wangaratta Sustainability Network who has been doing exactly that by creating Waste Wise Wangaratta, an initiative focused on reducing and recycling plastic waste, organic waste, and food sharing. They also instigated a fruit fly control program and have been instrumental in the revitalisation of the Mullinmur Billabongs. Not everyone can afford fresh food. Loretta at Open Door has been doing gre...

Not long ago, a prominent local farmer told me that Byron Bay hipsters were behind our local farmers market and that this monthly event was disrupting the work of real farmers like him. If I hadn’t had my KeepCup lid on I’d have spilt almond milk double-half-caf-half-decaf cappuccino on my cardigan when I heard that one! As a cafe owner, I get to spend my day chatting to people and I’m usually pretty switched on to local gossip - so, how did I miss the hipster influx this farmer referred to? Honestly, I haven’t seen a good handlebar mustache or man bun in a while, but if support for a local farmers market makes Wangaratta a hipster haunt, that’s lit. Back to my farmer friend. His concern was that small-scale farmers selling their produce at local markets was disrupting the status quo. According to him, these markets disrupt the standard farm-to-market supply chain, and he reckons there’s not enough money in farming for smaller local producers to make any real cash at far...