Agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank is highlighting leading Tasmanian food producers through an ongoing partnership with Network 10 cooking show Farm to Fork.
The bank – which is a global specialist in food and agribusiness and one of the leading providers of financial services to Australian agriculture – has joined with Network 10 and Farm to Fork’s producers Dual Entertainment as a partner in season five of the television program, which launches next week.
The cooking show, which airs nationally, aims to help inform Australians how to eat and live well, inspiring viewers to not only cook at home but also have a better appreciation of where and how their food is grown.
In the latest series, the show comes to Tasmania for the first time to visit a number of state’s leading food producers, spotlighting and cooking with premium local produce – from vegetables to dairy.
Local Tasmanian food producers featured include:
- young vegetable grower Caitlin Radford (from RADCO Agriculture, based at Moriarty in the state’s north west) where the program showcased the operation’s brussels spouts
- Elizabeth Town’s Paul Bennett, director of Ashgrove Cheese, a family business which has been operating since 1908 and
- Forth’s Mark Kable, managing director and CEO of Harvest Moon, which produces over 90,000 tonnes of vegetables and employs up to 300 people.
Caitlin Radford said the time spent filming with the Network 10 Farm to Fork team was an exciting opportunity for the industry and the region.
“To not only have a nationally-acclaimed television program in Tasmania, but to be showcasing a plant that people don’t really know a lot about was such a thrill,” she said.
“I’m very passionate about vegetables, and educating consumers,” she said. “Many people are ‘scarred’ from the over boiled brussels sprouts of their childhood, and this episode proves that brussels sprouts recipes are quick, delicious and healthy – and there is no longer any need to fear the brussels sprout.”
Rabobank Head of Marketing Kate Holden said Australians have a strongly-growing interest in the source and provenance of their food and a television program like Farm to Fork is a perfect vehicle to showcase the outstanding produce that the local farm sector grows.
“As an agribusiness bank, we are committed to promoting the importance of the agricultural industry and growing Australians’ understanding of where their food comes from,” she said. “We want to be involved in telling farmers’ stories in both rural and urban areas and raising awareness of the farm to fork journey.”
Celebrity chef Louis Tikaram hosts the episodes of the program filmed in Tasmania.
Mr Tikaram said, “as a chef nothing beats getting out of the kitchen, meeting farmers and seeing where our produce is grown”.
“Tasmania is an incredible part of Australia that without doubt produces some of the best produce in the world. It was such a rewarding experience to film in Tasmania and get a deeper understanding of what this amazing place has to offer,” he said.
