Dick Plumb's Pasties!

Dick Plumb's Cornish Pasty Co.  Can you give us a brief history of how pasties came to play such a pivotal role in your life and when the concept of having a market stall became and reality and why

Firstly, I LOVE CORNISH PASTIES!!!

My family moved from London to Cornwall when I was 2 years old, so I grew up surrounded by the Cornish Pasty culture.  The Cornish people are fiercely proud of their Celtic heritage and the pasty plays a vital role in defining their "independence" from England.

I wanted to start selling Cornish Pasties here in Australia since my very first visit back in 1998, but I had to be patient.  Here we are, 15 years later, and I've made my dream a reality.  I made the decision to leave my corporate job and follow my passion in July last year (2013) and I've never looked back!

We see you are a member of the Cornish Association of NSW, moreover for doing a "Proper Job"!  No mean feat!  What credentials does one need in order to be recognised by this most austere Association and how long did it take you to attain said "ober da"

I approached the Cornish Association of NSW as I wanted to add authenticity to my product.  If I was going to do it, I needed to do it right and there are very poor limitations of this wonderful food item available here - I need to distinguish myself from those immediately, not just relying on taste!

In Europe the Cornish Pasty enjoys geographical protection status which means unless it has the original ingredients of Skirt Steak, Potato, Swede and Onion AND is made in Cornwall then it cannot bear the name "Cornish" pasty.

The President and Secretary (Chris & Joy Dunkerley) came to my stall, took half a dozen away for their ladies to try and the results was a 'YES' to it being an authentic product: Proper Job (Ober Da) as the Cornish say.

They critiqued every aspect of it and although it was mentioned that there were a few aspects that could be improved upon, it did meet all the criteria needed and I was given a thumbs up from everyone on the panel.  It was my first attempt too!  They presented me with my certificate the following week.

Since starting at market, you have literally smashed it out the door which is sensational positive reinforcement for you.  How did you first find us and what is the greatest number of pasties you have sold at one market.

I have always known of Frenchs Forest Market and indeed the other markets run by OFM and had been in contact with them several months prior to my starting.  Timing is everything I guess, so I had to be patient and work on my product before presenting it to such a cultured food audience.

The most I have every sold at one market to date is 150!

We are guessing there is a secret recipe for these beauties and your dedicated fans attest to their above and beyond taste sensation.  What is it about market life that keeps you grounded.

There really isn't any secret to the humble Cornish Pasty - it just takes the correct ingredients and a whole lot of love to make a delicious one!

I love market life.  It really has a community feel and I and my product have been welcomed with open arms.  I already have a dedicated following of repeat customers from the very young to the very experienced and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for my fledgling company.

How would you sum up the world of Dick Plumb's Cornish Pasty Co. in 5 words

I'll give you just 3 words: 

Heritage

Authenticity

Taste

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So if you haven't already, we strongly urge you to wrap your laughing gear around one of these heavenly creatures and when you do....we reckon you might become part of the Cornish Pasty world!

Huge thanks to Dick for sharing some time with us, but more importantly for being a firm fave stallie at our markets!

ps: for those Inner Westies, Dick is now at Orange Grove Market so don't be a stranger AND you can keep up with his goings on "here".  

Reckon it's time to do a shoutout!

Katrina

Bar Pho

Amber

Edge Wellness

Hayley

Aneka

Alexandra's Table.....possibly the Northern Beaches answer to Heston!

A most welcome addition to Frenchs Forest Market and judging by the interest in your products, a much needed one!  Can you give us a little bit of history behind the beginnings of Alexandra's Table

My family has been on the Paleo diet for more than 4 years now.  When we started, there weren't many good recipes, so I did lots of experimenting.  I've made ice creams as well, but dairy free ice creams are quite different than the "real" ones.  If they are made with soy milk, you can taste soy.  If they are made with coconut milk, you can taste coconut.

Once I had an idea which I tried and it seemed to work.  I worked on the recipe a lot to find the right ratio of ingredients.

As a food blogger, my first impulse was to post my new ice cream recipe on the net, but then I thought that it was too good to give away...so instead we started a company called Alexandra's Table.

These ice creams don't have soy milk, coconut milk or any disturbing flavours.  They don't have additives, colours or preservatives.  They are creamy and scoopable straight from the freezer.  People describe them as being "moussey".

Since we introduced Alexandra's ice creams, I've still been working on the basic recipe to make my customers more satisfied.  I make these ice creams sweeter now than at the very beginning.  I've added new ingredients to stabilise the texture so they won't drop in volume while you take them home, they stay fresh longer, they melt slower and are colder on the tongue and they are a little bit less moussey. 

The Paleo movement has gained an incredible momentum.  From your personal stance, why do you think that is

You can be on a Paleo diet long term without side effects, which is very important. You can keep your weight down, you don't feel bloated after meals etc.  Paleo is not only a diet, but a lifestyle which is pretty easy to keep on in our Australian climate.

There are so many people who have cured their so-called "life time sickness" with Paleo, so it doesn't surprise me that this movement is gaining more and more people widely around the world, and is becoming increasingly well known in Australia as well.

I am originally from Hungary where there are heaps of followers of Paleo.  There are Paleo cafes, patisseries and shops in almost every city and big town in the country. You can buy Paleo ingredients which are not yet available in Australia.

I personally thought I was healthy even before Paleo.  However I quickly realised that some problems I had (and never thought about them as sicknesses) just disappeared due to my new diet.

I think that given time, people's personal experiences provides the proof that being on Paleo is healthy.  it is hard to find anything wrong when you eat organic vegetables, organic fruits and your meat comes not only from an organic source but from animals that have been fed what they are meant to eat.

The flavour combinations you come up with for your ice cream peaked with the Bacon & Egg!  Where or what inspires these delightful moments of madness

On the very first day of our market appearance, I realised that people don't want to by ice creams early in the morning.  I truly understand that, so I thought I should make a breakfast ice cream.  

As we eat bacon & egg almost every morning it was an obvious choice.  I always thought that a savoury ice cream would be interesting.  The somebody reminded me that Hetson Blumenthal has already made an Bacon & Egg ice cream and it's on the menu of his restaurant, The Fat Duck.

I don't know how I forgot about it as I've learned a lot from his shows and books!  My Bacon & Egg ice cream is different from his one though....but keep tuned...I'll come out with other crazy things!  I have to keep up with Heston!!!!

What is it about market life that keeps it real for you

The main thing is that I can meet my customers directly.  Their feedback is very important to me because I can change my products to their satisfaction.  If they are happy, I am happy.

I know what it means when you kids are not allowed to eat dairy ice creams.  I know what it means when you cannot try new flavours.  It's really thrilling when I see those little children eating my chocolate ice creams and they like them just as my kids do and they come back the following Sunday for another one.

We have a special flavour every Sunday which is not available anywhere else.  We have Bacon & Egg (savoury ice cream), Apricot, Sweet Basil and Olive Oil with Iron Bark Honey.  If you want to know ahead, I usually post the news on my facebook page a day or two before market day (you can see Alexandra's Table facebook page "here") 

not ice cream but seriously Alexandra's Table's moreish yumminess 

How would you sum up the world of Alexandra's Table in 5 words

Free of everything bad, full of flavour!

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So you heard it hear first peoples!  Find this amazingingly happy face of the lady who makes the delightfully crazy sounding ice creams and while you're there a) let her know you read all about her, b) sample some of her yummies and c) BUY up big cause she's one in a million and she's all ours!