Our Producers.
We would like to acknowledge that Ivy Joyce stands on the traditional lands of the Barapa Barapa people of the Barapa Barapa nation, and pay our respects to Elders both past, present and future. The Country at Barham is fed by the waters of the Murray River, we are surrounded by floodplains, rivers and estuaries that have a rich history of thousands of years of indigenous habitation which is still evident in todays landscape. The people of the Barapa Barapa and the Yorta Yorta lived here harmoniously sharing the abundance of food and resources, including cumbungi, Owlet Nightjar, Brolga, Black Swan, turtle, native fish (Murray Cod, Catfish and Yellow Belly), crayfish and yabbies, Bunyip bird (Australasian Bittern), and the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (sourced from Barapa Barapa)Our landscape has changed a lot since then, irrigation was introduced which has contributed to some problems such as salinity, land degredation and loss of biodiversity but has also seen our region grow to the settlement that is here today. The diverse industry that is here today includes but is not limited to cereal cropping, dryland grazing, citrus, lamb, beef, pork, vegetables, avocados and walnuts. The Barapa Barapa people, the CMA and the local landcare groups along with farmers and the local community are working hard to recover this regions natural state and work more with the environment instead of against it, planting trees and restoring creeks and wetlands so that the future of our beautiful region can be enjoyed for another 60,000 years.
We source our proteins, wines and some of our vegetables and fish from some of these small local producers following sustainable practices:
Aquna Sustainable Murray Cod. Brett Dunn and his family grow Murray Cod in large turkey nest dams north of Barham towards Moulamein. Aquna champions sustainability through setting targets for reduced water use, energy consumption, feed management and assisting in wild fish populations. Aquna also has no gender gap with employment. The fish are plump and highly sought after from fishers to export markets and are a critical part of our ecosystem in the wild. We purchase them whole.
Bundarra. Lauren is one of our owners and her farm is only 10kms on the Eastern side of Barham, Lachy and Lauren farm following a mixture of bio-dynamic and regenerative practices. The pigs and Sommerlad chickens from the regenerative raised animals is truly delicious and are processed locally, along with the menus charcuterie at their butchery in Punt Road, Barham.
Peninsula Fresh Organics. Wayne Shields runs several Certified Organic Farms, and we are lucky to have access to his hilly Barham farm. We handpick before service on Fridays to ensure the freshest and tastiest vegetables and salads for our menu.
Restdown Wines. Jo and Don Hearn are certified organic wine and beef producers just at Caldwell, east of Barham. Their farm has significant native grasslands and indigenous heritage and they guide visitors across their wetland site and underground cellar. Grapes left from winemaking are used to feed cattle and also for composting the vines, along with a farm-wide biodynamic practice known as the 500 soil preperation, which is also made on site. Their wine and beef is a reflection of their sustainable practices, light treading and deep respect for their country.
Talara Australian Native Botanicals. Near Lockington, on Barapa Barapa country, Michelle grows native Australian botanicals, herbs and greens on a very small scale. We source our native thyme, warragul greens, finger limes, pepperberry, native lemnongrass, river mint and lots of other unique native ingredients.
Wilare. Cynthia is one of our owners and her husband Daniel Burbury farm first cross lambs and Hereford beef. The lamb produced is superior in flavour and raised only on grass.
Saluté Oliva. Marlies and Peter Eicher and their Olive Grove of Saluté Oliva is located in the beautiful country side of Central Victoria nestled in between two lakes outside Boort. The clean environment and fertile soil has allowed their family to grow olive trees using organic certified principles, the way nature intended. The entire process from growing and tending to the trees, the irrigation management, harvesting, and pressing the oil or pickling the olives is done by their family.
12 Good Eggs. The Redfern family at Moulamein grow around 3500 free range hens in large rotating paddocks guarded closely by Maremma dogs, at a stocking rate of 150 hens per hectare, compared to the industry standard of 10,000 hens per hectare. The eggs are delightfully golden and flavoursome, reflecting the diverse diet the hens choose to pick and graze on whilst they roam all day long. The waste eggs are mixed with local oats into tasty dog treats, reducing all waste.
And we also source some excellent goods that we cannot live without from these not as local but equally terrific artisan producers:
Tinto Kitchen Bakery. Josh Taylor heralds from Barham and has settled in Shepparton to bake the most delicious wholesome sourdough bread and pastries. Josh uses Woodstock flour, uniquely grown and hand-milled on farm not far out of Rutherglen by Ian Congdon and Courtney Young. We sell Tinto pastries and bread at Ivy Joyce ans serve their sourdough on our menu.
Long Paddock Cheese. From a little further afield, we source our beautiful cheeses for our menu from Long Paddock Cheese, in Castlemaine. The cheesemakers hail from France, and
the milk is locally sourced. It really is some of Australia's best artisan cheese.
We source saltbush locally which we cook and use in dishes and red gum for cooking and smoking our meats and vegetables. We also accept abundance and seconds produce from locals to preserve and use in the kitchen, get in touch if you have lemons overflowing and herbs overgrowing or apples falling. We'll make good use of them.