Food network cooking with gas

A PASSIONATE group of food lovers is working hard to connect Central Victorian producers with venues.

The Food Fossickers group was formed in the mid-2000s with the goal of putting local food on local plates.

Since its formation, the group has promoted restaurants and bars, put on food tours, and held events.

President Sarah Lowe said it was no surprise to see Bendigo named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in 2019.

“It’s such an honour to be recognised for our gastronomy here in Bendigo and what I love about it is it’s more than having great places to eat out, we have fantastic places to eat out, but it’s a bigger picture than that too,” she said.

“We’ve got these wonderful food producers; it encompasses everyone and the whole process.”

Ms Lowe said during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group increased its online presence, and turned its attention towards hampers and working with producers at the Farmers Market.

“We’ve done lots of hampers to give people a chance to support local in their own homes, we put together all bits of pieces in that to give people a taste. It’s been a great way to get names into people’s homes.”

On 8 October the group received $20,000 to host 16 food events and activities throughout Central Victoria through the latest round of the Federal Government’s Building Better Regions Fund.

Ms Lowe said some of the money will also go towards a cookbook.

“The cookbook will be around our local chefs cooking with local produce, but it will also be a bit of a storytelling book as well,” she said.

“You’ll get a chance to find out the amazing stories we have behind our producers. That’s what I think makes our region so special, there’s incredible stories and people doing incredible things behind the scenes.”

For more information, and to become a member of the Food Fossickers, head to foodfossickers.com.au.