Following a cold and wet QLD winter, Harris Farm Markets West End is celebrating the advent of spring with five of its best produce, highlighting locally grown products and helping to ease those winter lurgies.
Strawberries from Stothart Family Farm in Moreton Bay. Broccoli from Windolf Farms at Upper Tenthill in the Lockyer Valley. Carrots from Kalfresh in the Scenic Rim. Corn from Mulgowie in the Lockyer Valley. Avocados from Balmoral Orchards in Toowoomba.
These are the Top Guns of Spring 2022 – locally grown stars at Harris Farm Markets.
1. Stothart Family Farm in Moreton Bay: Strawberries
Bryan and Jane Stothart started growing strawberries five decades ago on the family’s 20-acre farmland in Bellmere. David Fairweather, a son-in-law, now runs the farm and has introduced new ideas to improve what his parents-in-law started. He developed The Hanging Gardens of Bellmere, an innovative system of growing strawberries without any soil. Instead, the plant is cultivated in a hydroponic system using coil, a coconut fibre mix.
Stothart Family Farm’s quality strawberries are tabletop grown, easily picked from the hydroponic system with its nutrients and deliciousness well-contained. The strawberries are protected from pests and diseases.
2. Windolf Farms at Upper Tenthill, Lockyer Valley: Broccoli
Henry Windolf founded Windolf Farms in the 1930s in Lockyer Valley and is now managed by third-generation family members Paul and his wife Sharron, alongside Paul’s cousins Jayson and Jillian. The farmland primarily produces broccoli, lettuce, parsnips, washed potatoes, watermelon and pumpkin.
Their broccoli production is for export quality. The family has been exporting to Singapore for more than a decade, aside from supplying local supermarkets.
3. Kalfresh in the Scenic Rim: Carrots
Kalfresh Vegetables, based in Kalbar in the Scenic Rim, has operated for three decades. The farm was established by father and son Barry and Robert Hinrichsen.
The company has built a solid reputation as one of the leading producers of juicy and nutritious carrots in Australia, picking, washing, packing and shipping the produce in minimal time so its quality is maintained. Kalfresh also provides premium prepared vegetables to the food service industry as well as ready-to-eat products for retail.
4. Mulgowie in the Lockyer Valley: Corn
The farming company developed by the husband and wife team of John and Dell Emerick started more than 70 years ago. Today, Mulgowie Farming Company spans five locations across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, as it has become the largest sweet corn grower in the country.
Mulgowie started growing super sweet corn varieties in the 1980s and then launched baby corn varieties around 2004. The farming company has received awards for its streamlined operations, allowing the supply of sweet corn for 12 months a year.
5. Balmoral Orchards in Toowoomba: Avocado
Established in 1988, Balmoral Orchards in Toowoomba South grow avocado trees, with fruits that have a distinct buttery-nutty flavour, in free-draining, volcanic red soil so the environment remains disease-free. The harvest is done by hand with the help of a Nifty Lifty and the fruits are then decanted into bins and moved to cold storage before it’s carefully inspected, graded, and classified for distribution.
Balmoral avocados are packed with vitamins and minerals. Their products are highly sought after for their excellent value and supply.
In addition to the spectacular, Harris Farm Markets is shining the light on Imperfect Picks, Harris Farm Markets’ seasonal range of fruit and vegetables that might not look perfect from the outside but are as perfect and full of flavour as ever on the inside.
“Our Imperfect Picks program helps reduce the astonishing statistics that *25 per cent of Australian crops currently never leave the farm gate because they are a bit, well, unattractive, and do not meet the visual specifications of some supermarkets and consumers,” said co-CEO Tristan Harris.
“It means that every time you buy an Imperfect Pick, you are helping us take more from our farmers, you are helping reduce food wastage, and importantly, you are saving up to 50 per cent!”
So, if you see Pudgy Imperfect Pears, Lumpy Pink Lady Apples, Warped Eggplant, Twisted Sweet Potatoes, Unruly Imperfect Zucchini and Scruffy Mangoes in the aisles, remember they taste just as good as their “perfect” looking cousins!
Harris Farm Markets along Boundary St, West End is open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Here are some fresh and delicious ideas for the Easter weekend! Harris Farm Markets West End shares six new recipes for Easter, using seafood and some of the best produce in season.
Whilst the kids prepare for Easter hunts at home, keep an eye on Pink Lady Apples, avocados, pears, and red grapefruit, as well as raspberries, broccolini, white grapes, lemons, limes, chestnuts, carrots, red capsicum, plums, sweet potatoes, blackberries, zucchini, bananas, passionfruit, celery and truss cherry tomatoes at the fruits and vegetable section of Harris Farm Markets.
Swing by the seafood aisle as well and check out the ingredients and supplies you can use to prepare these meals below:
Easter Tom Yum Gravalax
A simple and quick dish to make, this cured salmon recipe incorporates tastes of Thai soup with coriander, lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves. For that little bit of extra preparation time, place the gravalax on fried rice paper crisps with pickled radish, fresh truss cherry tomatoes, and crème fraiche.
The best thing about a platter is that it caters to every palette, even the pickiest of people. This recipe couples the most mouth-watering lamb cutlets and vegan sausages with eggplant, capsicum, broccolini, and truss cherry tomatoes, seasoned with rosemary and a touch of garlic.
For the love of all seafood, you can’t give this one a miss at Easter. A dish of art with octopus and marinade, black mussels, king prawns, and scallops. The platter is placed with final touches of freshly made saltbush butter, capers, and lemon wedges.
This recipe is one not spoiled by the overindulgence of Easter chocolate, with all ingredients carefully selected to harmonise perfectly with eggs in this Easter dish. A traditionally Turkish take with emphasis on spices, sided with Macadamia Flatbread to dip into the delights.
Hot Cross Bun Ice Cream Sandwiches with Chocolate Sauce
You can’t go wrong with a classic hot cross bun recipe, but maybe you can do a little better. This possibly controversial take on Hot Cross Buns provides an option for the warmer days of Autumn. We’ll leave you to decide if it’s worthy.
Adding in-season Pink Lady Apples, or any red and green apple of your choice – this recipe allows you to pick the apple from whichever tree you prefer. Still focusing on a classic cinnamon flavour with a dash of lemon juice, you can share this dish with all your guests – vegan or not.
West End’s Harris Farm Markets have shared what’s in season throughout autumn along with six awesome recipes that will fill your tummy and your soul with goodness.
For this season, expect an abundance of raspberries, Pink Lady apples, broccolini, white grapes, pears, figs, avocados, mandarins, red grapefruit, truss tomatoes, citrus, and of course, loads of veggies, perfect for building your immunity up for winter.
Here are some autumn recipes to make use of the ingredients currently in season:
Baked Spiced Plums with Cinnamon Quinoa Porridge
Spice up breakfasts with a spoonful of baked sweet plums and the flavours of cinnamon and star anise in the morning. Or spoon them over yogurt for a quick and simple dessert. These versatile baked plums are a saviour to have in the fridge.
The perfect Autumn flavour combination and great with a cuppa. This recipe was created by Georgia aka Koori Kitchen for Harris Farm Markets. Georgia is a proud Gamilaroi woman born in small-town NSW, who has a passion for health and food, coinciding to create healthy, wholesome recipes for everyone to enjoy.
This slow-cook flavour pot is perfect for cooler nights, is great with a red wine, and seems even better the next day. It’s best served with crusty bread or garlic bread.
Harris Farm Markets is a family owned and operated business with over 500 lines of fruit and veg, a gourmet grocery section of boutique local products, an extensive deli, more than 400 cheeses, a butcher and fish market and bakery.
The stores ‘pour your own milk’ from Queensland’s multi-award-winning Maleny Dairy or Barambah Organics milk, BioSota Honey on tap and make-your-own Nut Butters among a myriad of flavour-filled treats. For 50 years they have delivering goodness to Australian families.
Always check harrisfarm.com.au every Wednesday for seasonal specifics.
Simple and easy to prepare, these rice balls make a great alternative to a sandwich. To make this a healthier option for your kids, you can add grated carrots into the mixture.
Preparation and cooking time for this recipe takes about 10 minutes and yields about 6 to 8 balls.
What you need: 1 cup cooked sushi rice (cooled), 1/2 cup edamame beans and 1 tbsp nori flakes.
First, you need to blanch the edamame beans in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain them. In a mixing bowl, put the pre-cooked sushi rice, edamame beans and half of the nori flakes before gently mixing the ingredients using wet hands.
Wet your hands again and roll out small balls. Sprinkle the rolled out balls with the remaining nori flakes. You can prepare this recipe the night before and store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
Mason Jar Salads
Zucchini zoodles with Kale pesto and roasted cherry tomatoes
This healthy recipe serves 2-3 people. Preparation and cooking time is between 30 and 35 minutes.
What you need: 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, 1 tsp olive oil, 2 -3 zucchinis, boiling water and sea salt.
For the Kale Pesto, you need: 2 cups kale washed & roughly chopped (stems removed), 1 cup basil leaves, 1/2 cup raw cashews (pine nuts or almonds can also be used), 1 garlic clove, 2 tbsp parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp olive oil, and sea salt to taste.
Preheat the oven to 180°. Next, bake the cherry tomatoes on a small baking tray for 20- 25 minutes at 180° until the skins start to split.
In the meantime, you can start preparing the pesto. Using a food processor, blitz all of the ingredients until you come up with a smooth creamy paste. This recipe makes extra pesto that can be stored in the fridge for 4-5 days or frozen for a later meal.
Note: If you find the paste too thick, you can start adding extra olive oil.
Now for the zoodles. Using a zoodle maker, spiralize the zucchinis, then blanch them in boiling water for a couple of minutes until they just start to soften. Drain the zucchini zoodles into a colander and rinse under cold water. You can skip this step if you prefer them raw.
In a mixing bowl, combine the drained zucchini zoodles and 2-3 tbsp of the pesto then gently toss the mixture to coat before adding the baked tomatoes.
Crunchy spiced chickpea, pumpkin, and kale salad
This recipe serves 4 -5 people. Preparation and cooking time takes about 40 minutes.
What you need: 1/2 butternut pumpkin, ½ bunch kale rinsed, ½ bunch parsley leaves only, 1 tbsp olive oil and a good pinch of sea salt.
For the Spiced chickpeas, you need a 400g can of rinsed Chickpeas,1 tsp sweet paprika powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1-2 garlic clove minced, a good pinch of sea salt, 1 ½ tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp maple syrup.
For the dressing, you need ¼ cup coconut or dairy yogurt, juice of ½ lemon, a pinch of cumin powder and a pinch of paprika powder.
Preheat the oven to 180° and line a medium baking tray with baking paper. Then, slice the pumpkin into 1.5 cm wide slices and arrange them on the baking tray. Drizzle the pumpkin slices over with olive oil before baking them for 30 -35 mins or until they are cooked through.
Meanwhile, you can toss together the rinsed chickpeas along with all the rest of the spiced chickpea ingredients in a small bowl. Spread the chickpeas out onto a small baking tray lined with baking paper and place them in the oven. This should take about 20-25 minutes or until they are crunchy; toss the tray a couple of times throughout the baking process.
In a large salad bowl rip up the kale with your hands before drizzling it over with a tbsp of olive oil and a good pinch of sea salt. Massage the kale until it softens.
Next, dice the cooked pumpkin up into small cubes then add them to the kale salad along with the crunchy spiced chickpeas and the parsley leaves.
To make the dressing, you need to combine the¼ cup coconut or dairy yogurt, juice of ½ lemon, a pinch of cumin powder and a pinch of paprika powder into a jar or small bowl. Stir the ingredients well. Fill a mason jar or lunch box with the salad and a separate small jar for the dressing to be drizzled over at lunchtime.
Colourful raw vegetable salad
This recipe combines fresh and colourful vegetables and herbs which makes it not only healthy but very appealing for kids to eat. This recipe serves 4 people with preparation and cooking time taking 35 -40 minutes.
What you need: 1 bunch broccolini finely chopped, 1/8th red cabbage finely sliced, 1 carrot, 1 avocado diced into cubes, ½ bunch mint leaves roughly chopped, ½ bunch coriander leaves, 1 tbsp pepita seeds, 1 tbsp sunflower seeds, 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water and a pinch of sea salt.
For the avocado dressing, you need these: ½ ripe medium avocado, ½ bunch of coriander stems, a small handful of mint leaves, 1 ½ tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt.
First, you need to mix the quinoa, water and a good pinch of sea salt into a medium saucepan. Cover it with a lid but keep it slightly open. Bring it to a boil before turning down the heat to a low simmer.
Let it cook for 15-20 minutes, allowing the quinoa to absorb all the water. Once cooked, remove from the heat and allow to steam with the lid on for a few minutes. Let it cool completely before adding to the salad.
Then, slice up the carrot using a mandolin into thin matchsticks. Combine all the salad ingredients onto a large salad bowl along with the cooled quinoa and gently toss.
For the avocado dressing, simply combine all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until a smooth consistency. If the mixture is too thick, try adding a little more lime juice to it.
Dinosaur Sandwiches, Rice Paper Rolls and Apple Stars
This recipe serves 1 medium round pizza with a cook. Preparation time will take about 35 minutes which you can have more fun doing by gathering the kids around and letting them take part in preparing this colourful and tasty recipe.
Note: You can make it even healthier by using a cauliflower pizza base.
What you need: ¼ red onion diced, ½ punnet of red snacking tomatoes, ¼ orange capsicum, Corn kernels of ½ cob, ¼ cup broccoli cut into little trees, ¼ green capsicum,1 gluten-free pizza base and ½ cheddar cheese grated.
Start by preheating the oven to 200°. Then, place the pizza base on a round baking tray lined with baking paper. Sprinkle the pizza base with grated cheese.
To create the outer board, sprinkle the finely diced red onion, starting around the outside. After that, add in a row of snacking tomatoes cut in half, a row of orange capsicum, a row of yellow corn kernels, a row of broccoli and finish it with diced green capsicum in the centre.
Bake it in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until you see that the cheese has melted and the vegetables have started turning brown. Then, let it cool down before storing it in an airtight Tupperware in your fridge.
For the colourful rice rolls: You can use whatever veggies you have in the fridge. Cut them into thin slices before wrapping them up in rice paper.
Note: This version didn’t use rice or rice noodles.
For the Pin Wheel sandwiches: Fill your wrap base with whatever filling your child enjoys most (This recipe used turkey, lettuce, thinly sliced cucumber and cheese). Then roll it and cut it into bite-sized chunks.
For the Vegetable bugs: Fill the celery sticks with hummus for a savoy option; alternatively, you can use peanut butter.
For the Apple star sandwiches: Cut the apple into even rounds. Make it more attractive by using a star cookie cutter to remove the centre pip area and to create star-shaped patterns. Then, fill with peanut butter (if the school allows), otherwise, you can use sunflower seed butter and another slice of apple to secure as a sandwich.
Want to create your own Sunflower Seed butter? Then check this link for the recipe.
For the Dinosaur and Frog sandwiches: Cut out bread shapes using cookie cutters to make a fun turkey and cheese sandwich. Use scattered toms as a dinosaur egg base.
Harris Farm Markets is a family-owned and operated business that has more than 500 lines of fruit and vegetable along with a gourmet grocery section of boutique local products, an extensive deli and more than 400 cheeses
Here, you can also find a butcher and fish market and bakery, pour your own milk from Queensland’s multi-award-winning Maleny Dairy or Barambah Organics milk, BioSota Honey on tap and make-your-own Nut Butters among a myriad of flavour-filled treats.
Locations
Harris Farm Markets – WEST END | West Village, 97 Boundary St
This musical event takes inspiration from five “heroes”- from the recently opened Harris Farm Markets at West Village – pineapples, tomatoes, passionfruit, strawberries, and capsicums. West Village wrote, “These are from Harris Farm’s seasonal range of fruit and veg that might not look perfect from the outside but are as perfect and full of flavour as ever on the inside!”
This weekend, 3 July, the public was given a chance to see Camerata’s ensemble deliver a live rehearsal in The Common with their chosen fruit and vegetables for free. Camerata Artistic Director Brendan Joyce led the performance of 12 musicians on violin, viola, cello, and double bass from Camerata.
Camerata will also perform some well-known pieces, such as Peter Allen’s “When My Baby Goes to Rio” and some pieces from Astor Piazzolla, who was known for revolutionizing tango music in the 1950s by infusing Tango with jazz and classical.
A first for Camerata, the group is pleased to present Edible Encores, which is a musical response to fruit and vegetables. Mr Joyce said it has been delightful and surprising to see where this adventure has taken the ensemble.
For the world premiere, guests will be treated to a delightful musical event as they enjoy a complimentary cheese platter, fruit juice, and fruit bag which is an inclusion in the $15 ticket. The event is a collaboration between West Village, Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra – and Harris Farm Markets.
“A flavour-filled showcase of Queensland and Australian produce under one roof.” This is how Tristan Harris, co-CEO of Harris Farm Markets, describes their flagship West End store as it finally opens.
Enter the food mecca beginning 4 June 2021 with heaps to find at Harris Farm Markets in West Village. Taking up more than 1,800 square metres on the ground floor of the historic 1920s Peters Ice Cream building, here are some great finds.
Milk on Tap, Loose Coffee & Tea, Honey on Tap
Similar to Harris Farm Markets in Clayfield, the West End store will have its very own Milk on Tap corner offering the creamy goodness of Maleny Dairy, Barambah Organics and Oat Milk from Inside Out.
Lund Coffee from Bowen Hills will supply eight types of roasted loose bean options and 20 loose teas. There will be four lines of Gold Coast’s Pour Your Own honey on tap as well, a first for Harris Farm.
Nut Butters, Danny’s Boulangerie, Salumi Deli
Also another first? The self-serve Almond, Peanut and Cashew Butter, which will be great to pair with the artisan, organic baked goods from Teneriffe’s very own Danny’s Boulangerie.
The bread choices would also be perfect for whatever you can find at the Cheese Alley, marked as a turophile’s haven with 500 kinds of cheese, including a range of vegan and local stars Barambah, Woombye and Casa Motta.
Imperfect Picks
Harris Farm Markets’ popular Imperfect Picks program will also be carried over at the West End shop. It’s where visually unappealing, yet still equally delicious and nutritious fruits and vegetables go.
“Our West End flagship store will be home to the best in fruit and vegetables, including a huge organic fruit & veg section and a leaderboard of Queensland flavours, a gourmet grocery section of boutique local products, an extensive deli and offering of more than 500 cheeses, a local bakery section with the best breads such as sourdough and brioche from our Teneriffe mates Danny’s, and a premium meat selection,” Tristan said.
This flagship store will also carry Brisbane’s most famous food brands: Sol breads, Roza’s Sauces, CJ’s Pasta, My Berries, Madders Brothers Patisserie sweet treats, and Woggoon Farm honey and edible flowers.
Shoppers visiting Harris Farm Markets West End are advised to park on Mollison Street for their convenience.
The wait is finally over! More than six months after Harris Farm Markets announced it’s coming to West End, the doors of the family-owned enterprise will finally swing open and welcome shoppers at its Brisbane flagship store.
On Friday, 4 June 2021, Harris Farm Markets at the West Village on Boundary Street will begin trading over 500 lines of fruit and vegetables, 500 kinds of cheese, four kinds of Pour Your Own Honey, three direct pour milk variants, and 150 plant-based and vegan products from the popular Imperfect Picks brand.
The new supermarket takes up 1,800 square metres of warehouse space on the ground floor of the historic Peters Ice Cream and it will be a “flavour-filled showcase” of local products from Queensland and Australia.
The West End shop will serve as the headquarters, where the priority is to showcase local concession partnerships between the store and producers. After all, Queensland is known for its range of quality-grown vegetables and fruits, especially strawberries and mangoes.
Expectedly, the West End supermarket will have a large section of organic produce that will cater to the popular dietary needs of the locals. The store will also have a gourmet section for boutique products, extensive deli choices, a range of freshly-baked bread, and choices of premium meat.
Harris Farm Markets has been in operation across Australia for more than 40 years, with more than 25 stores. Its other Brisbane shop is in Clayfield, which opened in late 2020. The site once belonged to the Harris family 30 years ago, before it became Clayfield Markets, owned by Carlo and Susan Lorenti. The Lorentis are now the managers of Harris Farm Market Clayfield.
Harris Farm Markets, the popular family-owned enterprise operating for more than 40 years, is set to open its West End flagship store at the former Peters Ice Cream Factory with heaps of job vacancies for over 150 workers.
To prepare for the opening, the management has announced the hiring of temporary, permanent and part-time workers who could fill in roles like customer service staff, bakers, butchers, dairy experts, deli and cheese specialists, fruiterers and florists, as well as backend employees who will be streamlining the operations.
Interested locals who would like to grow with the Harris Farm Markets family may apply online. Co-CEO Luke Harris said that they are keen on giving jobs to “passionate, hard-working food enthusiasts,” who will immediately be entitled to staff discounts at the store.
“Authenticity is everything to us, in the way we buy and present our produce through to the people we employ,” Mr Harris said.
Mr Harris is also happy to reveal that the West End flagship store will be based at the former building of the historic Peters Ice Cream Factory, which was built and established long before the development of refrigeration technology.
Once a thriving hub for innovation, Peters Ice Cream Factory employed food technologists who developed many of the brand’s iconic ice cream flavours using the crudest of technology to lower the water temperature that would keep the ice cream frozen.
The West End factory shut down in 1995 and the building is now part of the $800 million development of West Village.
“The space is nothing short of extraordinary and will allow us to build the flagship Queensland Harris Farm Markets, with great local fruit, veg and gourmet grocery, as well as some local concession partnerships we’re really excited about,” the CEO said. “Opening in West Village, one of the most exciting urban developments we have ever seen, is a fantastic opportunity, particularly given the history of fresh fruit and veg markets in the area.”
West End’s Harris Farm Markets is the second store in Brisbane. The company opened an outlet in Clayfield in November 2020. Incidentally, the Clayfield site on Sandgate Road was the original site of Harris Farm Markets 30 years ago, before Carlo and Susan Lorenti took over.
“We were incredibly excited to open at this site because Harris Farm used to own it 30 years ago before selling it to Carlo and Susan. It’s a full-circle story and we are thrilled that Carlo and Susan have stayed on as our managers, along with as many staff as possible,” Mr Harris said.
Harris Farm Markets has plans to recruit new staff as they open a newer flagship Queensland market — one that might possibly be the greatest market they’ve built yet — at West Village in West End.
Following the success of their first Brisbane branch in Clayfield, Harris Farm Markets intends to set up in West End. To seek out the best potential employees, a recruitment pop-up will be set up on The Common at West Village, Boundary Street from March 5-6 and March 12-13. Interested locals are encouraged to meet with members of the company face-to-face and discuss job opportunities.
With a grand total of 150 spots available, West End locals interested in applying can find windows across senior and junior levels for permanent, temporary, and part-time jobs in the upcoming West End market. “We particularly want to welcome passionate, hard-working food enthusiasts to join the team,” says Harris Farm Markets co-CEO Luke Harris.
Employees are also entitled to a 25% discount on some of the grocery’s products such as fruit and vegetables, among other things. Mr. Harris adds, “Supporting local is key for us. We source from local farmers and suppliers, create job opportunities for locals, and we really want to become part of the Brisbane community by employing Brisbane’s best”.
Harris Farm Markets’ West End branch is set to take over part of the Peters Ice Cream building. “If Clayfield is our historic family home in Brisbane, then West End will be the greatest urban market we have built yet.” says Mr. Harris.
Those interested in applying can visit the Careers page of their website. Further details on job opportunities and Harris Farm Markets in general can be found by visiting their recruitment pop-up at The Common at West Village, West End.
Venue The Common at West Village, Boundary Street, West End
Times Friday March 5: 1:00PM to 6:00PM Saturday March 6: 10:00AM to 3:00PM Friday March 12: 1:00PM to 6:00PM Saturday March 13: 10:00AM to 3:00PM