I couldn't work out if this was an ironic take on the normal "captured" moment used in camera advertisments (eg Usain Bolt or fast-moving wildlife ) or it just implies New Yorker Magazine readers love organic food. The guy in the ad is a New York photographer who photographs food among other things.
New yorker advert for Fuji X E1 camera showing a food photo by Robert K Jacobs.
My image of life as a dairy cow reached new highs when I first sighted this delightful milking shed bathed in the early morning light. Owned by an American couple who left the US when George Bush was elected in 2000, the milking operation near Dunedin numbers between 16 and 20 cows.
With a backdrop of faded washing hanging from the roof of the milking shed, a yodel-like call brought the cows running. Once inside the milking shed each cow knew exactly which bay to head for. One cow, who left the property for two years, still remembers which bay was originally hers.
The cows are milked using a bucket system. Before the milk is taken from the cow each one receives individual grooming (to remove muddy patches) and the udders are hand washed with a cleansing solution.
The milk – straight from the cow - has less than 10% of the maximum allowed limit of bacteria found in milk (pasteurised and homogenised) sitting in your supermarket fridges.
With National Radio broadcasting, and a breakfast of local Harraway oats mixed and sweetly scented lucerne the cows looked very contented. As did the customers who could take away milk, cream, ghee, cottage cheese, quark or even a mango flavoured lassi.
“Please bring organic olive oil and flour if possible…” Having booked numerous accommodation suppliers over the years, I was impressed by this unique approach from Swasti Eco Cottages in Bali. After leaving Common Sense Organics with the Bali bound bottle of Moutere Grove Organic Olive Oil I looked forward to handing it over to the Swasti kitchen once we got to Ubud.
Arriving at Swasti we quickly made a tour of the organic garden. The range of produce included turmeric, mulberries, egg plants, tomatoes and some Avatar lookalike goats.
Entrance to Swasti Eco Cottages in Ubud, Bali
Organic tumeric at Swasti Eco Cottages in Ubud, Bali
Organic Anglo-Nubian dairy goat at Swasti Eco Cottages in Bali
After a couple of days exploring the wonderful Ubud surrounds I finally got to photograph Pa Putra (one of the Swasti kitchen staff) holding the Moutere Grove oil in the dining room. In return for the organic oil we received two free desserts.
Pa Putra from Swasti Eco Cottages holding Moutere organic olive oil from New Zealand
Other highlights were the squirrels darting around the treetops, the frangipani flowers draped around our room, frogs croaking through the night, very friendly staff and the abundance of fresh produce on which we dined.
Interior of Rama Room at Swasti Eco Cottage in Ubud, Bali
Breakfast at Swasti Eco Cottages in Ubud,Bali
However it will have to be the next visit for the 3 in 1 chocolate massage, black rice icecream or a special drink of organic raw cacao, banana and cashew milk.
Special drinks blackboard at Swasti Eco Cottages in Ubud, Bali
Although it was left behind the Moutere Grove Organic olive oil will feel right at home.
Looking for an organic producer to photograph on a recent trip to Northland my sister- in law put me onto “Mr Organic” who put me on to Okura Plantation.Okura plantation, an organic citrus orchard in Kerikeri, has been in the family of Mike and Pat Collins since 1954 and has been organic since 1987. To give you some idea of the history of organic farming in New Zealand, Okura plantation’s Biogro certification number is eighty one. If you were to register a new organic operation with Biogro in New Zealand today your number would be in four figures.
Organic Kerikeri citrus orchard in New Zealand
Mike Collins
Originally three times the size, the orchard has been scaled back to the present size of ten acres. The plantation has crops of navel and Harward Late (Valencia) oranges, Satsuma and Encore mandarins, limes and a recently planted row of Seville oranges. Valencia oranges although named after the Spanish city, are actually a hybridised orange originating in California.
Organic encore mandarins being washed
Mike Collins checking fruit
Organic encore mandarins
Let loose in the orchard by Mike, the weather gods were on my side providing beautiful soft light for the table top photography and sunlight for the landscapes.
Organic Kerikeri citrus in New Zealand
Organic Kerikeri citrus in New Zealand
Organic Kerikeri citrus in New Zealand
Organic Kerikeri citrus in New Zealand
Organic Kerikeri citrus in New Zealand
Most of the organic citrus from Okura heads to Auckland for distribution but while I was at the orchard Mike was expecting pickers to take some of his oranges to the local farmers market in Kerikeri. I was surprised when he told me later his oranges had been usurped by some late ripening oranges arriving from Gisborne …six hundred kilometres away.
Fresh picked seville oranges from New Zealand
The scent of Andalucía, described as bitter and lumpy arrived in my studio recently. Hard to source in New Zealand, it was a surprise to find the Seville oranges had originated from an orchard in Whenuapai.
Jennifer and Roy Taylor, who in the past made jams and chutneys under the Forgotten Fruits label, now deal exclusively with 65 Seville orange trees. Regarded as THE marmalade orange (do not eat!), the Seville oranges are named as such because there are thousands of these trees lining the ‘calles’ of this beautiful Spanish city.
Encouraged to make marmalade (for the first time) I hauled out Jane Grigson’s recipe for whole orange marmalade. It all seemed straight forward until I got to the line “boil vigorously for 10 minutes”. Great I thought - it will be done before dinner. Wrong. It was after 10pm before the jars were being filled.
However the dark, flavoursome brew spread on the next morning’s toast made the effort well worthwhile.
Homemade seville orange marmalade on organic toast with organic coffee
Try your luck on Trademe when the oranges are in season around September each year.
Te Mata Wine, Te Mata Cheese, Te Mata Peak may all be names recognizable to Hawkes Bay visitors and residents but Te Mata Orchard less so. Only a stone's throw from the Te Mata Cheesery, the orchard is an organic operation growing apples, pears and plums. Ian Kiddle, who has hosted me on a couple of occasions exports produce and also supplies the Pure Fresh brand seen in New Zealand supermarkets. The domestic organic market in NZ is worth about $350 million (at last count) and more than half that value is exported. Evidence is mounting the world wants sustainable produce.
Epicurus (341–270 B.C.) founded one of the major philosophies of ancient Greece, helping to lay the intellectual foundations for modern science and for secular individualism. Many aspects of his thought are still highly relevant some twenty-three centuries after they were first taught in his school in Athens, called “the Garden.” Epicurus primarily promoted the pleasures of the mind, friendship and contentment - pleasure without pain. However recent use of the word epicurean links this philosophy to a life frequented by bouts of hedonism especially food consumption and sex - this pleasure is said to derive from pain i.e hunger and desire
Epicurean Supplies , a garden in Hawkes Bay, spans the divide between the ancient philosophy and the recent interpretation linked to food. Indeed perhaps Clyde Potter (owner of Epicurean Supplies) is the modern Epicurus.
Clyde's disciples in this case are a small permanent staff and a varying band of itinerent woofers. I imagine anyone who has eaten his organic micro salads, fresh herbs and heirloom vegetables can attest to this. Clyde's jewel- like produce not only provides good health but allows your eyes to feast as well, bringing a sense of pleasure completely unaccompanied by pain. It is with sad news I learnt of Clyde’s passing recently.
Clyde Potter
You may have seen the Lawsons True Earth label around town, especially as they distribute carrots, onions, blueberries and pumpkin all over the North Island in plentiful quantity. Situated in Hawkes Bay next to the Gimblett gravels (as branded by the wine industry) Scott and Vicki have farmed the 100 hectare block organically since 1992.
It seems they have brought organic fresh veges and blueberries very much into the mainstream as the produce can not only be found in the organic supply chain but also in foodie destinations (Moore Wilsons etc) and regular supermarkets.
However you won't see their organic potatoes as the pest psyllid has made it uneconomic to grow them unless dealt with in a non organic way. This is a big loss but really lives up to the the name True Earth.
sorting blueberries
Blueberries in factory
Pickers with pumpkins
pumpkins being loaded onto a truck
Pumpkins growing
Organic carrots on farm
Picking organic carrots
sorting organic onions
organic onions being bagged
picking organic blueberries
Organic blueberries growing
True earth organics
Located in Hastings, the Organic Farm Butchery processes and distributes beef and lamb from Ti Kouka an organic farm near Waimarama (they also have some pigs). After photographing at the farm last year I thought it would would good to see another side of the operation. The mainstream media have published large quantities of material about farmers markets, local produce and consumers wanting to know where their food comes from.
However thinking more about images of beef carcasses and slabs of meat I wonder if the public is ready for an even closer viewpoint. While I was photographing, numerous boxes of organic meat went out the door. Nothing was wasted as the bones seen in the trolley were destined for the beef stock at a gourmet food supplier.
Organic butcher
Butchering an organic carcase
Exterior of the organic butchery in Hastings
Multiple awards in the Cuisine cheese awards establish Hohepa as one of New Zealand's preeminent boutique cheese making operations. The staff at Hohepa could not have been more generous with their time while I photographed the cheese making operation in Hawkes Bay. I particularly like the vintage Danbo and the fenugreek flavoured cheese.
Bio dynamic cow
Bio dynamic cattle
Bio dynamic jersey cow
Mother cow licking new born calf
Calf at Hohepa
Milking at Hohepa
Bio dynamic cattle being milked
Milker at Hohepa Cheese
Milk at Hohepa Cheese
Packaging the cheese
Cutting cheese
Cumin flavoured cheese
Cutting mature cheese
Inacio Guimares the Cheese maker at Hohepa
Hohepa cheese
Organic piglets in barn at Ti Kouka, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
I ran into these little piggies at Ti Kouka, an organic farm in Hawkes Bay. I have been told that less than 1% of pork production in New Zealand is organic. Although this number is unconfirmed I figure these piglets are pretty rare.
Pigs at Ti Kouka organic farm
Organic cow
Portrait of owner of Ti Kouka with his dog
View from Ti Kouka
Organic cows
Organic sheep and lamb
Organic sheep with lambs
Organic sheep and lambs
Organic calfs
