Students sell fruits of their labour

Central Otago residents and visitors will have the perfect opportunity to stock up on plants, fresh baking and homemade preserves at Otago Polytech’s first Autumn Plant and Food Fair next Friday (3 April).

The fair, to be held from 10am to 2pm at the Otago Polytech nursery in Cromwell, is a culmination of the efforts of Horticulture and Chef students who have nurtured their harvest year-round, literally from orchard to plate.

On sale will be plants and herbs, fresh pestos, delicious bottled and preserved plum sauces, chutneys and jams made from locally grown fresh fruit, fresh baking including hot cross buns, bread, pies, and apple and rhubarb tarts and beautiful handmade chocolates. 

All the preserves are made from locally grown produce and were prepared in the commercial training kitchen on campus, using no additives, flavour enhancers, or chemical preservatives, and arriving at the fair free of food miles or carbon foot-print. 

The Horticulture students have nurtured lavenders, grasses, local natives and a range of drought tolerant perennials in their nursery which will be sold alongside the range of food.

Otago Polytech Regional Manager Jean Tilleyshort is very proud of the students’ hard work.

“They’ve found the whole process very satisfying, from growing the produce to cooking up a storm.  They’re all excited about the fair so we’re hoping lots of people will come along and support their efforts,” she said.

“It should be a great day – there’ll be music, plenty of delicious homemade produce for people to eat fresh or stock up their cupboards with and plants and herbs ready for autumn planting.

“We’ve enjoyed a bumper harvest this year so the chefs have been busy incorporating all the freshly picked vegetables, herbs and fruit into their cookery classes and into dishes served at The Molyneux Restaurant, our student training restaurant which reopens to the public on Thursday 2 April for lunch.

“We’ve even introduced preserving lessons into our cookery students’ classes so that we don’t waste any of the fresh produce we grow.”

The Autumn Plant & Food Fair will be held from 10am to 2pm on Friday 3 April at the Otago Polytechnic Nursery, with access from Blyth Street, Cromwell.

For more information please call 0800 765 9276.

3 April 2009