What is it?
Florien Hofinger grows over sixty different varieties of heirloom tomatoes in his small market garden in the hills above Daylesford. The delicate-skinned fruit carry names such as Rouge de Marmande, Black Krim and Aunty Ruby. In the beds next to them he grows sweet and aromatic Musquee de Provence pumpkins, boysenberries, parsley, Vietnamese mint, six different varieties of garlic, peppers and great armfuls of Swiss chard.
Who is it?
“I grew up in an Austrian spa town 500 metres above sea level,” says Hofinger. “Now I live in an Australian spa town 500 metres above sea level.” After several decades working in kitchens around the world and in Melbourne, he found himself in Daylesford, divorced, without a house and with only 30 acres of compacted, acidic soil. “It was perhaps the least ideal place to grow vegetables,” he says. Determined to earn a crust from the infertile patch of dirt, he went to work with one of the founders of the Australian organic movement, Rod May, who had a farm nearby. After working in local kitchens such as the Palais-Hepburn and the Farmers Arms Hotel in Daylesford, Hofinger started Mount Franklin Organics in 2008. Through sheer hard work, determination, compost, and cover crops, he transformed his property into not only a fertile garden and orchard, but a thriving habitat for the phalanx of native birds who have re-colonised the once barren block.
Where is it?
As the name suggests Mount Franklin Organics is under the shadow of Mount Franklin. A sacred site to the Dja Dja Wurrung people who call it Lalgambook, it last erupted 500,000 years ago, leaving a great scoria cone – the recognisable circular indentation at the top of a volcano. Hofinger’s farm sits on the crest of the adjoining anticline, a fold of hard quartz rock which early gold diggers found so alluring. The lack of natural fertility in this part of the district is a testament to his exceptional skill at organic farming that allows him to grow such extraordinary produce.
Why is it different?
Mount Franklin Organics produce is known for its flavour. Hofinger only uses a scant one megalitre of water throughout the growing season from spring to late autumn to irrigate his entire property. That sparse use of water sees the produce reach its full ripeness without being overblown with water.
Who’s a fan?
David Willcocks from The Surly Goat in Hepburn has been using Hofinger’s produce since he arrived in the region over a decade ago. “Florien is meticulous,” says the chef. “The food has so much flavour. All his produce is picked when ripe, as opposed to some commercial crops which are artificially ripened.” Willcocks adds that Hofinger harvests at dawn to avoid the heat of the day, and as a former chef he knows exactly when the vegetables are at their peak. In early autumn, when the tomatoes are at their best, Willcocks slices a variety of the fruit into bite-sized pieces and serves them with vanilla-infused whipped ricotta and Mount Zero EVOO, and tops the dish with some torn shiso leaves. Local legend Alla Wolf-Tasker from Lakehouse says, “I think I bought the first carrot he ever grew.” The rambling beds reminded the chef of her mother’s garden. “I used to wander through his farm with a basket picking the boysenberries and marvelling over his companion planting,” she says. “One year I had to fight Andrew McConnell for the tomato crop. For years we ran a dessert of Florien’s white peaches poached in Champagne with which we made a sabayon and finished the dish with his sweet, dark boysenberries,” she says. “What I really like is buying produce from a decent man with such excellent principles.”
Where can I get it?
Mount Franklin Organics produce is available from October to May from Daylesford Sunday Market; Wild Things in Fitzroy North. Apple and Sage in Balwyn; Rhubarb in Preston Market and from the farm direct through pre-ordering at facebook.com/mtfranklinorganics
By Richard Cornish