For a very good day trip take the Stirling exit from the SE freeway to expertise Autumn at her finest within the quaint village of Stirling. The particular autumn gentle shining via the richly colored leaves and the aroma of roasting chestnuts.A scene paying homage to the previous which will transport you to a different time and place.
Autumn is scorching roasted chestnut time and would be the twenty-fifth 12 months that Quentin Jones will probably be organising his vibrant stall in Stirling village. It began in 1986 on the Aldgate Autumn Leaves Pageant. That first 12 months was an enormous studying curve and the chestnuts have been cooked very, very slowly in a kettle bbq. After a little bit of apply the nuts have been cooked and a legend was born. The present rotating cooking basket was developed in 1987 over just a few beers in a neighbour’s again yard. The basket is right as a result of it could actually cook dinner a whole lot of nuts in a short while. Over time Quentin has obtained a lot recommendation from the various nationalities making up our various tradition. “It’s important to burn them a bit so they’re simpler to peel”. This recommendation was accepted and provides to the color and odor as smoke from the nuts wafts up and down the road. Automobiles glide to a halt and entire households burst from the doorways to buy their weekend deal with. Walkers and window customers are additionally enticed by the odor and motion. There are some individuals who have by no means tasted chestnuts and so they can have a free pattern in the event that they ask. They too could also be seduced by the refined sweetness and delicate, heat texture of the common-or-garden chestnut.
Quentin says that he loves assembly folks and the common clients have turn into agency mates, sharing their final 12 months’s experiences as they scoff their cone of scorching nuts. Quentin is now serving the subsequent technology. Younger households who have been introduced by their mother and father are actually introducing chestnuts to their youngsters. The rhythm of life within the hills continues.
The cooking of the chestnuts additionally offers Quentin a dependable information to how the remainder of the crop is fairing within the chilly room, a type of high quality management for his recent nut gross sales on the farm gate. Quentin cooks chestnuts in Stirling Village on Saturdays from 11am and Sundays and public holidays from midday. The season normally goes from Anzac day to early July.
After a wander round Stirling you’ll be able to go to our farm store simply 3km from Stirling. On arrival you can be met by Deb and canine Myka and Frank and have a collection of some high high quality recent chestnuts , quinces feijoas and limes to select from in addition to our unique vary of jams and preserves, all of which have travelled not more than 300 metres from the place they have been grown.
