The Farmer's Wife

It's only been in recent times that you have been the "face" of The Farmer's Wife (which we adore!).  How long as The Farmer's Wife been part of the Orange Grove Market community and when did you take over the reins

I've been "The Farmer's Wife" for just over 4 years.  The Farmer's Wife has been part of Organic Food Markets for many years with the original Farmer's Wife being from Mudgee.

Wendy with one of the many loyal The Farmer's Wife fans

What is it about market life that makes it all worthwhile

I love coming to markets and seeing all my lovely customers (young and old) enjoying our produce, especially my jams and chutneys which are all home made by moi!

I love working with other stallholders. Ensuring that the customer is happy with my produce is a fantastic experience and when the sun shines there is no better way to spend a morning!

What has been one of the biggest or bizarre orders of any product you have had to date

I make in total approximately 45 different products and am amazed at the requests for something I don't have/make

Always with a smile and love to share despite/inspite early starts.  From start to finish, how long does it take to stock up/load up and get ready for market day

I try to cook 4 to 5 jams and/or chutneys every day otherwise I can't keep up.  Once a week I collect eggs from the markets and once a month I drive to Mudgee to pick up the best honey you will ever eat! 

It takes approximately 1 hour to drive to Orange Grove Market and 1 hour to set up, but only 30 mins to pack down and then when at home it's time for the ceremonial feet up/cup of tea!

If you could sum up Orange Grove Market in 5 words, what would they be

Great food, atmosphere, customers and happiness!!

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We love the, we know YOU love them so huge thanks to Wendy for spending some time and giving us a little bit of insight in to exactly how that Farmer got the Wife!

we couldn't resist putting this sexy new display for The Farmer's Wife...cause it kind of sums her up to a tee: stylish, old fashioned and a permanent fixture in all our lives!

5 questions with Moo & More

How Long have you been at Orange Grove Market?

Moo & More have been at Orange Grove Market since around 2008

We know at times you have had to put up a "gate" made from crates so you can actually finish setting up before trading, but what is the record number of milk/cheese/yoghurt you have sold in one day?

Being predominantly a Jersey dairy stall winter is our busiest time, with the exception of Easter & Christmas market time.  Our record for milk sales is 1076 litres at a single market (and that was just MILK!).

Best cheese day we sold 214 pieces

Best day for our exceptional tomatoes was a quarter of a tonne!

Before becoming a Moo'er, what was your previous life & why the change?

Both of us were in the Hospitality Industry for around 20 years and were/are dedicated foodies who genuinely enjoyed the interaction with people we met along the way.  But Tony is from the Land and was wanting to get back to it somehow, and as we were used to working long hours in hospitality, weekend market life was not an issue.

We wanted the independence of working for ourselves and promoting the things we believed in. The Moo part of Moo & More was born out of our close friendship and association with Malcolm Rose, a Jersey dairy farmer from Wooloomin near Tamworth.

Doing markets allowed us to bring Malcom's premium quality milk to Sydneysiders. Something that he simply could not achieve otherwise.  We love our market life and wouldn't change it for anything, inspite (or even despite) the early mornings & intense workload to ensure all our produce is the freshest you can buy.

(ps: for those who may already know, Malcolm's dairy was featured recently on Matt Moran's "Paddock to Plate" and take it from us, it's beyond sublime! and must buy each market!)

What is the best aspect of market life for the Moo'ers?

Without a doubt, the best aspect of market life are our customers.  Their loyalty and commitment to us has been humbling.  We love that they share their high's and low's with us, as we do with them.

We love the wonderful sense of community that exists between all of us - customers and stallholders.

We especially love the children that we have known since before they were born, who now walk in to our stall and say "Hi Libby!  Hi Tony!"

We know that you are strong supporters of "buy local" and helping to keep those on the Land keep on keeping on.  What more can we (as a community) do to keep this mantra alive and educate others?

We should all maintain integrity in what we do.  We should help our customers to understand their choices.  We should be generous with our knowledge and of our time.

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We would like to thank Libby & Tony for sharing their story with us and you can find them every Saturday, rain, hail or shine, and always but always with a smile. Word to the wise: get in early cause these guys sell out in a blink of an eye!

shouting out time!

Sheridan

www.sheridanrogers.com.au

6cleaningredients

piratically_incorrect

simonfoodfavourites

make sure you check out Simon's blog on Bowen's "here"

iheartflamingo

Nicki

Alice

fermentitgood

g_l_0_w

Stgram land is all a flurry!

@feelgoodjoey

lee

alex

golden is great

@djgocher

stephanie

Linda

ekfairy

jaaacobw

Sharing the love with Brona

When did you first discover the joys known as Orange Grove Market

I've known about Orange Grove Markets for about 5 years but only visited for the first time last year when both our boys had finally turned 12 and their weekend sport commitments shifted from Saturdays to Sundays....leaving Saturdays free for marketing!

What is it about these markets that makes it stand out from others

My first visit last year was memorable.  I walked from Birchgrove early one sunny wintry morning.  The markets were already buzzing.

The stallholders were happy friendly and happy for me to taste their wares.  There was a colourful bustle of activity and aromas.  I quickly realised that future visits would require me to pack more carry bags into my backpack for my return trip home!

Is there a "simply must have to have, can't not buy" item and if so, why

My "must" items change depending on the season because my big love is the organic seasonal produce.  At the moment i love the rhubarb

asparagus

and broccoli.

I usually buy a dozen eggs, some meat for the BBQ, a bunch of flowers (the proteas are amazing right now)

and occasionally some potted herbs or succulents.  I also love the smoked salmon packs as a treat.

When you swing by is it a solo or group expedition

Most of the time I walk up by myself.  I love the early morning quiet time to myself at the end of another busy week.  Occasionally my husband joins me on the walk for a lovely long chat about life, the universe and everything (and OFM knows the answer to THAT question is 42!!)....including our next week's menu!

For anyone who has yet to be introduced to the Saturday Morning Ritual known as Orange Grove Markets, what 5 words of encouragement would you use

Vibrant, colourful, aromatic, fresh eclectic

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And on that high note we say a MASSIVE thank you to Brona not only for taking some time to share her love of our markets but for doing couple of amazing pictorial/snap shot blogs which you can check out "here" and "here".

August SHOUT OUT!!!!

amy

@kingfrodi

paul

will

lee

mick

laura

stephanie

alice

@sydneyliving

Shout out to our stgrammers!

Nothing like a stgrammer's shoutout and here are a few from OG who were more than happy to let us share their love with you!

@janeypops1

@wywyfung

@alicegruzman

@kclaface

@stephayre

@_allycaat_