Here we have a loin of the wessex saddleback pork from mount gnomon farm. we bone out the loin then seperate the loin from the belly. then portion the loin into steaks. you can see that the meat is darker than your supermarket pork and has a lovely layer of fat around the meat that when grilled tastes fantastic. we slow cook the belly over about three hours using a chinese method. the steaks we seal on the grill and roast for 4-5 minutes at 210 c. the crackling we place in a small heavy pan and place another small heavy pan on top and roast in the same oven for about 10 minutes or until crispy, you need to keep tipping the melted fat out of the pan and you will end up with light crisp and fool proof crackling. photos and recipes of both dishes will be posted tomorrow.

how can you not be inspired by these little beauties.
I enjoyed an entree of stuffed zucchini flowers at Piccallily restaurant in battery point last saturday that were baked not the usual battered or crumbed and deep fried. And I must say they were sensational.

heirloom tomato, ready to grow vegie gardens in trays - how easy is that- and some of the best produce that i have seen and had the pleasure to use.

the glorious pig

I have been using the Mount Gnomon Farm Wessex sadle back pork now for a few months and I can certainly say that it is the best pork that I have ever eaten. Guy & Eliza do a fantasic job breeding this rare breed pig on their farm. You can follow their blog through the link. I will get my next delivery on Wednesday and plan to post photos of how we process the pork and how we cook it for our restaurant for the two dishes we do. Just bear with me as this is the first week of blogging I may be a bit slow to work everything out and how to post it, but I will get there. And the end result will be woth the wait. I will also post the recipies so you can try this at home. If you get into trouble or have any questions let me know and I will guide you through it. The pork belly is one of my favouite dishes and can be presented a number of ways. My visit to Anvers Chocolates this morning was fantastic what a way to start the day with one of their sensational hot chocolates. If you are every at this end of the state it is well worth a visit. Well it is off to work now to get ready for a busy week so I will be back soon with the promised postings and photos.

Hello my name is Simon Cordwell and this is my first posting on my first blog. I am the executive chef at Cradle Mountain Lodge and I have been inspired to start blogging to share what we do at the Lodge and share my adventures in sourcing food for the Highland Restaurant at the Lodge. I have been amazed at the variety and quality of produce available to me and I have had an absolute ball traveling around the north end of the state on my scooter, that is another story riding a scooter up and down Cradle Mountain road in winter, bracing to say the least. As stated the aim of this blog is to share so coming soon I will have photos and recipes of some of our dishes at the restaurant. Photos and links to some of my suppliers and even an ask the chef section where I will endeavor to answer your food questions and share ideas and recipes. Also I always visit the farmers market in Hobart Sunday mornings and depending what is good on the day then that becomes dinner. And I must say that we have had some of the best dinners we have had in Hobart at our house there. After being away from Tasmania for the last 22 years we are enjoying finding our favorite restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So I will keep you posted on this search. On my way back to Cradle Mountain tomorrow I have an appointment at Anvers Chocolates at Latrobe so I am looking forward to sampling some chocolates. Stay tuned.