My husband Harvey and I moved out little family to Tasmania in 2010 because we wanted to start a hazelnut farm and find a community where we felt we belonged.
We still haven’t found a farm but we’ve definitely found the community. The value of that community has been proven again and again through friends helping out with our children, the beautiful conversations we have with producers at our local farmer’s markets and the families who attend our boys’ school. However, I have never felt prouder to belong to this community than in the past few weeks when we all banded together to help someone who is important to all of us.
I’ve followed chef Steve Cumper on Twitter for years now, I’ve cooked his recipes from Country Style and we’ve visited his iconic restaurant, the Red Velvet Lounge, several times so when I discovered it had been gutted by fire a fortnight ago I felt like I needed to do something to help. I wasn’t the only one.
