INITIAL IDEAS

Rooftop Honey

There’s a little organisation called Rooftop Honey that place beehives on the rooftops of  buildings across Victoria. There are a few cafes near me that sponsor a beehive on top of their cafe, and use the honey that they produce in their menus. I think it would be interesting to trace where the bees pollinate, how the beehive itself works and how the chefs of the cafes incorporate the honey into their dishes. (Cafes are: The Coffee Cupboard and Middle Child). Basically: Following an animal product to dish.

Najwa’s family’s labneh.

I thought of this idea after reading the New York Times article on heirloom yogurt. My friend Najwa always talks about the labneh that her mum and auntie make from scratch. She tells me that it’s a recipe that they brought over from Lebanon. I think it would be interesting to trace the roots of the recipe through her family tree…. Najwa and her family are all independent, forthright women, and I think they would make interesting subjects. Basically: Following a family recipe.

Daniel’s job, picking tomatoes.

I don’t know Daniel very well but we’ve talked a lot about his work on a farm where he picks tomatoes. Sometimes he’ll bring some home from work, and his grandma – who’s European (I think Italian?) makes him all kinds of pastas. I think that kind of exchange between grandson and grandma would be really lovely to explore. Daniel’s quite a reserved person, so it would be interesting to see what that interaction is like. Basically: A day-in-the-life of a person who picks fresh produce.

Update 17/3: Contacted Rooftop Honey. Said they would be happy to do it through their tour program but it costs $185… Which I can’t afford. Would also be the issue of paying social actors, I guess.

Update 19/3: I decided that the last two ideas weren’t very strong, and when I pitched the idea to Naj & Dan, they weren’t that keen on the idea… I think they thought it would be a bit intrusive.

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NEWEST IDEAS

Updated 7/4: (Since the three ideas I pitched in Week 2 fell through.)

A little ice-cream store in Port Fairy.

There’s an artisan ice-creamery in Port Fairy that’s about a few metres squared in size – it’s tiny. But there’s always a line out the front that stretches down the street. When my family and I camp down there each summer, visiting Poco’s is the highlight of our trip. The thing about Poco’s is that they have a new set of flavours of ice-cream each week, depending on the produce that month. They’re always switching things up and playing with native inspiration or fantasy flavours. It’s a family business: typically the women make the ice-cream and the men serve it. Basically: A cafe/restaurant, their story/dynamics, and how they source their produce.

My family’s restaurant/wine bar.

I completely forgot about this but my uncle & my mum’s uncle run a restaurant and wine store in Port Fairy in our family name (it’s called Conlan’s). It could be interesting to run with this restaurant as a backup plan if all else fails. I know there’s a bit of history behind it: my Pa’s Pa owned the property for years before it was completely renovated about 2 years ago to become a restaurant. Before that it was just a shack on the main street. Basically: A restaurant with family history.

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PROGRESSION OF IDEA – FOCUSING ON NATIVE INGREDIENTS

Update after consultation with Kim, 8/4: The Poco’s idea seemed a little bland, with their most interesting aspect being the native flavours that they have. Kim suggested that I could use Poco’s as one example in a series that explores how native flavours are being used in modern Melbourne. She suggested Charcoal Lane, or see if there’s any cooking schools around. I mentioned that I know that there’s a book – Fervour – that talks about this in depth. I could try and contact them. My mum might also be able to help – she uses native ingredients at her work sometimes (she’s a food tech teacher) – so I could talk about how it’s taught in schools, or at the very least use it to get my hands on some ingredients.

Update 14/4: Contacted Poco’s. They said they would be happy to talk to me about their flavours and their store, but they need further information before they give me permission to film.

Update 14/4: Researched “native ingredients melbourne” and found a few promising results:

• Attica and Altier – upmarket restaurants that cook w/ native ingredients –
• Charcoal Lane – cooking w/ native ingredients and supporting the community – while they are doing so much good, I think their tone isn’t what I’m going for.
• Mabu Mabu at South Melbourne Market (run by Nornie Bero, a chef and Torres Strait Islander) – this store has heaps of personality & so does Nornie. They’ve been to RMIT before so they might be more inclined to help! Plus they’re a new establishment.
• Peppermint Ridge Farm (which runs garden tours, cooking classes and an extensive menu of native foods), good be great to go on a tour & get B-Roll and voiceover.
• Talked to my mum – she said her school sources their ingredients from Taste Australia (based in Sydney).

Update 18/4: Pitched Poco’s, Mabu Mabu and Peppermint Ridge Farm.

Update 24/4: Called Peppermint Ridge Farm to book tour and ask permission to film. They said they have a policy against filming but I *might* be able to get stills. Contacted Mabu Mabu – said it would be ok. Contacted Poco’s via email – no reply as of yet.

Update 28/4: Garden Tour @ Peppermint Ridge. Didn’t allow me to film the tour but I got some voiceover and plant B-Roll.

Update 14/5: Contacted CERES – said they would be ok to film a tour.

Update 21/5: CERES Tour. Some visuals deleted somehow ??? Audio captured and sounds good. Mabu Mabu interview set back to 1st June.

Update 23/5: Consulted with Kim and agreed that I would need to do more: cook my own dishes, provide stats, present info in an expository way with a voiceover or vlog-style segment, have people react, etc.

Update 25&26/5: Made 3 dishes and filmed processes. Contacted an artist (Taylah Aimee) about doing some Indigenous illustrations for the video.

Update 1/6: