A visit to Bream Creek farmers' market on Tasmania's east coast is an exercise in nostalgia. Tucked into the lush green countryside, it's a kind of composite scene of what a dinky country market should be. It's Byron Bay meets Bream Creek. There are a lot of plaid-clad blokes with beards. Women in flowing floral dresses with floppy hats and work boots. And scampering children on the loose.
The market is held at the Bream Creek Showgrounds on the first Sunday of the month and, by chance, we're here for the annual pavlova competition.
The first order of business is to dutifully cast our vote in the People's Choice for the great Bream Creek bake-off (mine went to the one with fresh berries and a furious blizzard of icing sugar, which incidentally took out the top prize). Less is more here. It doesn't take long to mooch around the market, which reads like a narrative about the region's bounty.
We chat to the rosy-cheeked farmers from Stoney Banks Orchard, meet members of the Bignell family from Bream Creek Dairy, and add a loaf of garlic and sage focaccia from Dino the Bread Guy to our stash of picnic provisions. We also buy food souvenirs to take home such as a curry paste from T and D Curries and a jar of Tasman Honey.
Interspersed with the long-term stallholders are a sprinkling of semi-retired sea changers who upped stumps from the mainland and relocated here to live a life on the land. Together, they are emblematic of an increasingly sophisticated food culture in Tassie, with a requisite being that the producers who sell the food also grow it. Bream Creek Vineyard has a stall. As does Gillespies Ginger Beer, a drink with zing made from the cleanest water.
There are also food vans and a coffee cart and we kick back on the lawn with a beverage, listening to the live music. This market has something we didn't know we were looking for. And it's worth bottling.
