The Southland Times printed this story today, along with a very nice photograph of Robyn looking friendly and accommodating, with our farmers market as a backdrop. The yellow banner is my work, I'm proud to say, and my knuckles can just be seen in the photo, but not the rest of me, crouched as I am, behind the banner, holding it up. Al Brown's cooking show, btw, is on Saturday night at 7:00pm, on TVOne and features both the farmers market and our orchard, I'm led to believe. I hope for at least a brief moment of exposure, talking with the big man.
Homegrown potatoes, free-range eggs, heritage apples, fresh blue cod and a kitchen in a 120-year-old Riverton cafe will feature on TV One's Get Fresh with Al Brown tomorrow night.
Al Brown, the former chef of Wellington restaurant Logan Brown and host of TV One's The Coasters, spent five days in Riverton in February preparing a Southland segment for the cooking programme, which features the best of fresh ingredients in coastal settlements around New Zealand.
Riverton Promotions chairwoman Cazna Gilder said the cooking show crew ate about four dozen of her cheese rolls – a Southland "delicacy" that was new to Brown – during the five-hour filming of cooking in the kitchen at Mrs Clark's Cafe in Palmerston St, which she runs with her husband, Pat.
"The place has a lot of character. I think that he liked [the fact] that Riverton was a bit rough around the edges."
Riverton Organic Market co-ordinator Robyn Guyton said she was looking forward to seeing the heritage apples that she and Brown picked out of her backyard, along with some of the potatoes they dug up as a side dish for the blue cod, kina and crayfish that fishermen Blair Stewart and Paul Tobias caught for the chef's cookup.
Produce was also sourced from Otautau and Nightcaps for the meal, though nothing was used that didn't fall within a 75km radius of Riverton, Ms Guyton said.
The town's first barn dance at Flecks Hall next door would be keeping many people from their television sets, but she was trying to organise a later screening of the show at the hall for later that night.
"It's a good promotion of small-town life – I'm quite proud that he was pleased with what he found."
9 comments:
Very cool...saw Al Brown on Australian Masterchef last night, took 2 contestants out fishing in Wgton catching blue cod. He comes across as a down-to-earth (funny expression when you think about it), lovely guy, whom I'm sure would have been in 7th heaven with all your produce.
For a guy who is "a little rough around the edges" Riverton sounds perfect. I look forward to our first opportunity to see it. It is one of the few places left to visit in NZ. Along with Nightcaps.
I,m sure Al would have been quite at home with you all.
Will keep an eye out for you, Rg, on the show.
Cheers Suz and Fred - Al was/is a nice guy and seemed to really like our little hamlet.
I suspect his production team might have tidied-up his experiences here and my grizzled visage is unlikely to remain on screen for long, if at all.
I'm at a 'country dance' at the time it shows, so will have to record and watch afterwards.
When you do head for Riverton Fred, let me know you're coming and I'll make preparations. I can recommend some good people to visit in Nightcaps too.
Y'all must have a freakish arm-span there Robert, that's one long banner!
It's something I don't talk about in public Suz, but yes, awesome span!
Can only imagine Lofty's shared genetics!!??
Mum was Masai
:-))))))))
The garden looked lush on TV tonight and the gardeners were also impressive.
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