Tasty Orange!

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After returning from our big trip earlier this year, I found myself unemployed and not particularly liking the job prospects in the Central West of NSW. It was the middle of winter, and there were few job ads to search through. Businesses were nervous about the upcoming election and what that meant for future taxes and costs. And well, there aren't just that many jobs in the field of science in most country towns, despite the nearby gold mine.

So I set about trying to re-taste Orange. I hadn't had the chance to have a strong connection to the town, as my previous job saw me leaving town before shops opened, and getting home after most closed. Traditionally everything closed early on Saturday and nothing opened on Sunday. I didn't know very many people in the town, other than a few friends and acquaintances that I met through Dave's workplace. I had lived in Orange for over two years but still felt no connection to the place.

Also, quality control job descriptions bored me to tears, and thus I decided to get back into hospitality to tide me over until university next year. And so I started looking for the "fun" jobs. At first, not much luck, but as spring blossomed, suddenly more and more businesses awoke and were hiring. Within a few days of the start of spring, I had several jobs lined up!

And the main job has truly allowed me to taste all that Orange has to offer. Orange is quite the terroir area if you love food and wine, and the Agrestic Grocer is a fantastic place to sample the reasons why Orange is well and truly a food and wine destination. It features a lovely produce shop (the Grocer side of the establishment) offering local produce as well as tasty goods such as jams, chutneys, muesli, and sweet treats as well as local wines, beers and ciders from the Central West and other parts of Australia. The other half of the premises features a café, serving delicious foods made from the local ingredients. Second Mouse Cheese Company and Badlands Brewery are also producing on-site. Future plans include further expansions to make it the ultimate one-stop shop for local food, but for now, the Agrestic Grocer is already doing quite well.

A recent big event to showcase the Agrestic was a producer's dinner, which was part of the Salt & Pepe Roadshow. The amazing evening featured a 5-course meal made with the best local and unique ingredients, including einkorn, garlic scapes, hand-churned butter, purple "Sapphire" potatoes, venison crusted with cacao nibs, milk-fed lamb, sorbet made from morello cherries, parfait made from local hazelnuts, etc. Many of the guests of that night's events were local producers or otherwise big names in the Orange and Sydney food scenes. The passion for local ingredients and good food was contagious, and I felt quite honoured to be the maitre d'hotel that night.

Through working here, as well as a few other jobs such as at Racine Restaurant and tutoring local students, I have re-discovered the country town of Orange. I have met lots of interesting people with a variety of passions. I have embraced the recent exciting changes such as cafés opening on Sunday (finally!) and Christmas markets in Robertson Park. I am finally starting to feel like Orange and the Central West of NSW is home. I feel quite excited to give recommendations to tourists, whether it's to visit certain wineries and cellar doors, check out the great restaurants, or go for a hike around Mount Canobolas, visit the beautiful Japanese Gardens in Cowra, or explore Borenore Caves. I tell people living here of events that they should have on their must-do list, such as the Parkes Elvis Festival or the Running of the Sheep down the main street of Boorowa.

I have thoroughly enjoyed eating the food in this area - there are several great restaurants and the local produce is fantastic. This year in particular, the cherries, strawberries, blueberries and apricots have been outstandingly delicious. My fridge and pantry are full of lovely local goods including Lime Grove lime cordial, Second Mouse Cheese Co. quark, strawberries and blueberries from Borenore, apricots from a friend's trees in Bathurst, lemons from another friend's tree in Orange, Fourjay Farms hazelnuts, local duck eggs, salad dressings from Orange and Narromine, delicious milk from Dubbo - the list goes on and on. We eat very well here, and the cost of eating so well is negligible or even less compared to the not-nearly-as-tasty-nor-as-fresh produce from the big-chain grocery stores. The concept of the 100-mile diet just makes sense here in Orange!

But of course, a traveler never stays put for long.

Early in 2013, when life was not quite so rosy, we made plans to leave Orange. At the time, I was not happy here, and we were tired of the dry and dusty landscape. I applied to universities to re-train as a teacher, and my other half applied for new jobs. We dreamed of escaping the tones of yellow, browns and muted greens. We wanted to be closer to friends, closer to the coast, closer to big cities, and closer to an international airport. The stars have now aligned in our favour, so we shall be moving in January.

I am going to miss having 4 distinct seasons with the colourful leaves in autumn and the beautiful blossoms in spring. I am going to miss the people I have been working with over the last few months. I am going to miss the new friends I have made. I am going to miss having my fridge and pantry full of amazing fresh, local food. I have developed a new appreciation for the hard work that goes into producing and marketing local goods, especially when in competition with the almost-monopoly big chain stores.

I have also developed an appreciation for that idyllic country lifestyle that is advertised in magazines such as Country Style. I used to drive through towns like Trunkey Creek and only wonder how anyone could live in such a town in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do. I now drive through such towns with an appreciation of the rural life. And I get excited that people are trying to keep these towns alive through businesses such as Trunkey Creek Bacon.

I feel like I didn't give Orange a chance until it was too late. But now I have discovered how tasty Orange is, and we are already discussing plans to return to Orange for F.O.O.D. Week and Wine Week in 2014!

Orange, I shall miss thee.

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Photos

Storm clouds over Orange
One thing I will miss about living in Orange is the dramatic sunsets.

They don't grow oranges in Orange!
Some of the most beautiful apples I have ever tasted are grown in Orange.

Central Western Sunrise
The sun rises over the landscape between Bathurst and Orange, NSW

Fresh Hazelnuts
Fourjay Farms just outside Orange produces some of the finest hazelnuts

Cherry Season!
This year's local cherry crop was plump, juicy and oh-so delicious!

A Taste of France in Orange
Racine Bakery in Orange bakes delicious French treats!

Coffee Geeks Rejoice!
One of several amazing cafés in Orange, Factory Espresso is the roasting site of Bill's Beans and Orange Roasting Co.

Homemade Jam
Apricot-vanilla bean jam made from local apricots - yum!