Last Sunday afternoon I ducked out of the house to have a moment of peace. With the March edition of Gourmet Traveller tucked under my arm I set off to a local café for an afternoon espresso and a quick flick through my magazine. Amongst all the gorgeous recipes was an article about The Agrarian Kitchen, a sustainable farm-based cooking school situated in a 19th century schoolhouse at Lachlan, forty five minutes from Hobart in Tasmania's Derwent Valley, Australia.

I was so taken by Rodney and Séverine's pioneering spirit that I decided to contact them and let them know of my intention to feature them on my blog. Rather than re-hash information I asked Séverine to explain the 'journey' in her own words so that readers would gain a personal insight into their world. Séverine was a little reluctant to do so, because she stated that 'Rodney is the writer in the family' as he used to be a food editor for Gourmet Traveller. I am so glad that I insisted that she have a go because this is what she had to say.

Photo - Amanda McLauchlan (2009).


"Rodney and I met in 1998 when he worked at Tetsuya's restaurant in Sydney.  Rodney is originally from rural NSW and in my eyes he was a country boy and I, a true city girl from Sydney.  After being together for 8 years and living in Sydney, we were getting tired of the same routine and wondered if life could get better than this.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that we would move to the country one day. When I was younger I didn't even venture into my own backyard. Therefore you can imagine the surprise when I told my family that we were moving to the country and that it was to country Tasmania!  

Rodney and I both left our good paying jobs in Sydney. We took the giant leap to sell our Newtown apartment and move to Tasmania.  Our son at the time was only 4 months old and to top it off, we moved right in the middle of Tasmania's cold, cold winter. Some think that we were crazy to move and start up 'The Agrarian Kitchen' but something just clicked and we realised that if we didn't do it now, when we were still young and had the energy, then we would never do it and always regret it.

Photos - Luke Burgess (2009).


We have been in Tasmania for 19 months now and we have not looked back.  Our new home is an 1887 old schoolhouse which we have renovated with the assistance of the Tasmanian Government through a grant which we applied for in October 2007. I thought that I would miss Sydney, but after being back there a few times I realise that I am not missing out on anything. Our son Tristan loves our new life with all our animals and he loves the outdoors. We cannot imagine what life he would have had if we stayed in our apartment.  He loves picking fresh raspberries, strawberries, peas and carrots from our garden and is enjoying the good life."

The Agrarian is not just a cooking school it is also an opportunity to reconnect with the land in a meaningful way.  Guests are given the opportunity to pick vegetables and fruit from the 500sqm vegetable garden and taste the different varieties of vegetables that you may never find in your supermarket or green grocer. You can collect eggs from rare-breed Barnevelder chickens and feed the Wessex Saddleback pigs.

Photos - Luke Burgess (2009).
Its then off with the Wellies and into the kitchen with Rodney to cook five
 different dishes throughout the course of the day which you then get to enjoy in a convivial feast served with fine Tasmania wines and ales. The Agrarian also offer 'Master Classes' and recently had Alistair Wises (who worked for Gordon Ramsay) teach guests how to make classic pastries such as croissants, pithivier, mille feuille and quiche. The next pastry Master Class will be held on Sunday the 24th of May and I suggest you book early so to avoid disappointment.

If you're the type of person who loves to pull ingredients from the garden and want to see some of the most picturesque scenery in the Southern Hemisphere then I suggest you contact Rodney and Séverine and organise a visit to their little piece of Paradise.

Photo - Luke Burgess (2009).