Think food trail and you immediately think of boutique industries with folks toiling away out in the country growing their own produce and processing it by hand selling direct at the farm gate. But the truth is you don’t have to head bush to enjoy the best local flavours – now there’s an exciting new food trail right here in Adelaide – in downtown Campbelltown.
There’s no escaping the multicultural feel of Campbelltown – in fact the monument opposite the Glynde Hotel pays tribute to the thousands of immigrants who now call Campbelltown home. There’s a very ‘Italian’ feel about the place – not surprising given about 25 percent of the local population comes from Italy – and as a result – this is food heaven!
The Campbelltown City Council has signed up a dozen local food producers for the new food trail called ‘Flavours of Campbelltown’. And according to Councilor Helen Nichols, they all have their own story.
Cr Helen Nichols, City of Campbelltown: “Campbelltown was known as a market garden area initially and although many of those market gardens have now been transformed into streets and houses etc, the people that settled in this place were food produces and they’ve gone into food manufacturing and there are so many of them we thought what a pity not to capitalise on that.”
Tucked away in many back streets, you’ll find food businesses – big and small. Some are family outfits like Vella Pasta on Lower North East Road and then there are big specialist wholesalers like Elbio All about Sweets in Meredith Street.
But I’m on the trail of something a little more low-key. It takes some finding but tucked away in Reynell Street, Rostrevor is an iconic little bakery, Salta in Bocca. In here, Therese Carstensen and her team quietly beaver away hand-making a product which has been a popular staple for centuries – Almond Bread.
It’s a very hands-on, artisan type process – the bread is baked and rested overnight – then sliced to a very precise thickness, laid out on tray and baked a second time – biscotti – meaning twice cooked.
Therese Carstensen, ‘Salta in Bocca’: “For many years I cooked almond bread and biscotti as travel food so whether I was camping in the outback, down at the beach house or diving in Borneo I always almond bread as a security food while we were away. Then I discovered that historically, biscotti which means twice cooked in Italy were made for the soldiers and sailors and the fishermen so they could have their food when they were away from home for long periods of time – so it made sense.”
The Salta in Bocca range doesn’t end with Almond Bread. Therese, an avid cook is always experimenting and has perfected a seriously melting moment – Croccantini. It means ‘ugly but nice’ – it’s a gluton free biscuit that’s loaded with roasted hazelnuts and almonds.
Then there’s Therese’s latest creation – the very extravagant, very decadent French Macaron. Two carefully baked, delicate meringues held together with a generous spread of rich creamy Ganash. To top it off, it’s lovingly rolled in crushed Pistachios.
Salta in Bocca products are made with organic flour, quality almonds and locally sourced fruits and nuts. They are available direct from the bakery at 53b Reynell Road, Rostrevor or a range of retails outlets throughout Adelaide. Log onto www.saltainbocca.com.au for a full list.
It’s just one of a dozen of food producers on the Campbell food trail – Flavours of Campbelltown. Pick up a copy from the Campbelltown Council office on Montacute Road, the library.
