Monday, 22 October 2012

For the love of food... meet Sirocco South

It's one of those warm, sunny Sunday mornings, when the sun embraces you like a long lost friend. It's only just gone 9am, but the Farm Gate Market in Hobart is already buzzing with people.

Mic Guiliani and son Max are already at their stall, packed with fresh pastas handmade that morning: sauces, sweet cannoli, freshly picked swiss brown mushrooms and wild asparagus.  Their business, Sirocco South, epitomises why farmers markets are booming -they reconnect people with quality local produce and providores.

Mic Guiliani was always going to be involved with food.  With a father from Apulia and a mother from Benevento he grew up cultivating, cooking, preserving and making the most out of local ingredients. One of his enduring memories as a child was walking with his grandmother along the railway lines in regional Victoria, harvesting wild asparagus. Now he takes his own family, using his grandfather's knife, to collect wild asparagus and mushrooms growing in the pine forests in Tasmania.

Mic draws inspiration from traditional recipes, handed down through his family, as well as bringing together modern influences and local produce.  There are dishes like wild rabbit with figs and spices, vegetarian, Moroccan goat or smoky wallaby lasagne, sauces such as the classic ragu, or shiraz, olive and pine nut sauces.  Sirocco South also makes a gluten free beef lasagne.

Sirocco South however, is a family affair.  Jo, Mic's wife, is a chef by trade, and has worked overseas and interstate. She is responsible for the mouth watering cannoli. Despite buying them a number of times, I'm yet to really try them as the kids get to them first!


Ravioli and Cannelloni
Sirocco South is now being sold through a small number of shops around the state: Aproneers, Greens Beach Shop (Launceston), Callington Mill in Oatlands, and Vines and Designs near the Copping Museum.  It seems that a love of cooking and sharing good food, is a great recipe for success.

You can find out more here, or visit them at the Farm Gate Market every Sunday.  Sirocco South will also deliver free of charge for bulk orders over $150 to the Hobart area.