Meet The Locals - Larder and Spade
Kate Willbourn
Annette Guyatt is the award winning small batch maker behind Larder and Spade artisan preserves. These premium preserves are lovingly made in the copper pans of Annette’s rural property in Gippsland, Victoria.
Annette recently won “gold” for Larder and Spade’s Seville, Cumquat and Cranberry Marmalade at the 2017 The World’s Original Marmalade Awards held in England. Think of this as the Oscars of the marmalade world.
Annette shares with us below her humble beginnings, the dream for Larder & Spade and more about the beautiful region she produces in.
>> Larder and Spade's sweet and tangy Lemon, Vanilla & Vodka Marmalade was included in the April 17' Discovery Box.
Larder and Spade on Instagram
What's your food philosophy?
Seasonal and real. For Larder and Spade preserves, traditional preserving methods with contemporary flavours. I believe preserving helps to negate waste ….. and I hate waste.Where and when did you story with making marmalade begin? What was the inspiration behind launching Larder & Spade?
I have held Larder and Spade in my heart for many years, it is more than marmalade, marmalade is just the start. This is a very long story but the marmalade started when myself and a neighbour started entering our preserving efforts in the local agricultural show. Soon I discovered that there was a marmalade competition in England where the winning marmalade is made by and sold in Fortnum & Mason in London...and I thought how cool is that, so I started researching and entering. Believe it or not there is a big marmalade world out there. Larder and Spade is about my dream of a large country kitchen garden and a kitchen in the garden, some day a cooking school.Can you tell us a little about the region you produce in & where you source your citrus from?
Gippsland, Victoria, paradise as my late father used to call it. Gippsland is south east from Melbourne nestled between rivers, lakes, mountains and the sea and is where some of the state’s best produce is grown. Most of the citrus I use comes from the warmth of the Murray region or bequeathed from local trees. I do have access to one very special local orange tree, a Poorman Orange, it makes the best marmalade….bitter, a bit like a Seville but it has really interesting characteristics of caramel and vanilla, just need to find a few more trees which I am sure are dotted around the countryside. Larder and Spade on InstagramWe know you like to experiment with different ingredients to make your marmalades that extra bit special. Where do you get your inspiration from?
Books, books, books and food experiences. I always have cookbooks open somewhere in the house. The Flavour Thesaurus is my bible. I tend to use alcohol a lot, gin in particular. Last year I collaborated with a local distiller in Loch and as well as using their beautiful gin I also added one of the gin’s botanicals - lemon myrtle - in the marmalade...delicious.
What's your biggest achievement to date with Larder & Spade?
I am a bit chuffed I have recently won “gold” for Larder and Spade’s Seville, Cumquat and Cranberry Marmalade at the 2017 The World’s Original Marmalade Awards held in England as an artisan alongside my marmalade peers.As a small batch producer, what's the most challenging and rewarding part of your job?
Challenging part is fitting it all in when it is in season but the rewarding part is the joy in doing something that I love, the alchemy and chemistry of it all, and the end result ….producing a product that people enjoy.What would your ultimate last supper be?
It would definitely involve a roast chicken preferably cooked by Ottolenghi.To discover more and connect with Larder & Spade, click below:
Website: www.larderandspade.com.au Instagram: www.instagram.com/larderandspade
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