There is nothing like the scent of strawberries or the crunch of the first new season’s apple and more and more Nelsonians are taking to rural shopping and markets to get their fix of the fresh, extraordinary array of produce and artisan food items that are now being produced here.
Words: Adrienne Matthews
The trend was underway before the arrival of Covid, but the pandemic has encouraged a greater determination to support the region’s local growers and producers, leading to what looks like a change in purchasing habits of food items.
Nowhere is this more obvious than at Connings Food Market in the Old factory Corner Complex in McShane Road. The Connings family have been market gardeners in the region for forty years and the store is an extension of their primary business of growing vegetables and fruit, based on the principle of ‘Our paddock to plate.’ What started previously as a small shop to sell the vegetables that the supermarkets wouldn’t take has been transformed into a substantial shopping destination for people from all over the region.
Director Simon Connings explains, “We were having to throw away, or not harvest, far too much of our good produce simply because it didn’t match the exact specifications of the supermarkets. When we first set up a shop it was to sell these out-of-spec vegetables, but as demand has increased we have expanded to meet it. We really try to make it worth people’s while to travel out here from wherever they live in the region and stock vegetables and fruit from other local growers too, aiming to provide produce that is super fresh and affordable.” Customers are voting with their feet with the carpark generally full.
Being keen to entice other businesses on site so as to provide a “one stop shop” experience, The Junction and Good For food stores have added to the popularity of the site along with other non-food based shops.
Virginnia Thomas, a member of the prestigious French Guilde Internationale des Fromagers, is proudly part of The Junction’s team which sits opposite the Conning’s store. She has experienced first-hand the change in customer’s purchasing habits over the last few years. “Increasingly people are more health conscious and want to know exactly where their food comes from,” she says, “along who it is made by and what ingredients it contains. They are also much more conscious of packaging and appreciate that here they can bring in their own containers for products like cheese, honey, milk, Kombucha and so on. They also comment that they like to know that the money they spend is going to local people.”
The region is blessed with an array of weekly markets which gives the opportunity for urban dwellers to benefit from the local fruits of the land. Manager of the Nelson Farmer’s Market, Miriam Clark, is excited to see the increasing trend for marketgoers to shop seasonally and the benefits that brings. “There is a real shift towards eating food that has low food miles attached to it,” she says. “Shoppers are discovering that eating seasonally is really affordable. Our stall holders are really consistent with their pricing throughout their season, so you always know what the costs are going to be”.
In Golden Bay the manager of the local village market, Grant Knowles says, “The quality of food producers we have in the Bay is exceptional and people even come over from Nelson to experience it first-hand.” He quickly reels off a volley of names of Golden Bay businesses that are based in the area. Included among them are Kervella Cheese, one of only three accredited raw milk cheese producers in New Zealand, Bacca Bakery who use Golden Bay grown flour, Ellis Creek Farm who are third generation farmers focused on farming in an ethical and environmentally sustainable way and Flower Power Honey who are passionate about caring for bees and making honey using methods that are in complete harmony with the environment.
Todd Bray who owns Golden Bay Ferment Works with wife Kate says, “People’s habits have changed. They want to buy food from the people who’ve actually made it. They know they’ll get a straight answer from us about where our ingredients come from.” Like so many other businesses based on the principles of locally-grown and made-with-love, their business is thriving.
The Moutere contributes its own share of food products including the well-known Moutere Gold range of jams, chutneys and curds. Taking over the business in 2003 in the early days of artisan food development in the region, Joanne Costar went on to establish The Old Post Office in Upper Moutere as a place to sell her products direct to the public. “Over the years I gradually introduced items from other local producers such as Oakland’s Milk along with free range eggs, berries and other seasonal goods.”
Still producing Moutere Gold, she has now leased the store to the owners of ‘Tasteology’, Cam Woods and Maria Gonzales. With a passion for food and wine they are thoroughly enjoying taking up the banner of bringing the taste of the region to the Moutere. Along with takeaway coffee and baked treats the store has an array of artisan foodstuffs to whet any appetite including brands such as Neudorf Mushrooms, Kakariki Olive Oils, the Sausage Press salamis and sausages, Cranky Goat cheeses, Yum Granola and Nutty D’Lites. “Tasteology is evolving as we discover more artisan foods produced in the region,” explains Cam. “We are enjoying celebrating the array of great food items available now and sharing them with the local community and visitors to the area.”
Owners of Moutere Strawberries, Sally Wishart and Barry Clelland opened a shop last summer because of the increased interest in their large range of fruit jams. “We found that people wanted the experience of coming out to our farm and seeing where we grew the fruit, so we started to include tastings,” explains Sally. “What with cycling tours growing in the area and our store becoming so popular we are going to open a day a week through the winter months just so people can get their jam fix regardless of the season,” she laughs.
Just out of Motueka, Caroline and Peter Pomeroy of Victoria Gardens know exactly how much their community appreciates being able to buy their fruit and vegetables locally. Despite a devastating tornado in 2020 that they only survived by leaping into a container for shelter, the couple have worked tirelessly to rebuild shattered tunnel houses and growing fields. “Our customers are very loyal and we live in an area where people really care about how things are grown,” says Caroline. “Everyone is looking forward to us being able to grow our own produce again.”
The regional local/artisan food wave is being contributed to by people from other shores such as Liezel De Wet who owns African Flavours in Landsdowne Road. “It started with me making some of the food I missed from South Africa, biltong and dried sausage,” she says. “In the beginning it was mostly my fellow country-people buying the goods but now they are taking off with locals as well, as they realise how much they love the flavours.”
The Nelson region is awash with people growing produce and creating all manner of delectable foodstuffs and the public is lapping it up, appreciating the effort and love that goes into making food that has heart, soul and plenty of Nelson sunshine in it.
