By Kate Foreman
Hand picking 40 tonnes of native herbs and leafy vegetables each year hardly sounds like fun.
But on a family property, just a short drive from Kingston SE, it’s a loving task taken on by Gayle and Mike Quarmby.
Outback Pride is a wonderful example of a small, rural South Australian business that is now taking on the world – in this case, a most successful and sought after Australian food distributor.
Based in Reedy Creek, Gayle and Mike’s property is home, nursery and a native bush food empire.
Since 2001 they’ve been working within the native bush food industry with the aim of providing opportunities to remote Aboriginal communities.
“I grew up visiting these communities while my father painted with local artists and was very lucky to have an insight into their culture,” said Gayle
“We’ve spent a lot of time in the outback learning about native bush food species and introducing them onto the food market.”
Since starting the Outback Pride project, there’s been an explosion of native bush foods into restaurants around the world and their wholesale business has blossomed.
“We love working from Reedy Creek because it is remote and we can get a lot of work done without distractions,” Gayle said.
“We have fabulous employees and the best possible conditions to work with.
“Mike has worked hard to create an irrigation system which allows us to produce a large amount of high nutrient leaf vegetables.”
Every week 2000 seedlings are planted to keep up with the demand of hand-picking all those native herbs and vegetables.
It’s a job they do themselves – with the help of some local employees.
The Quarmby’s nursery is not open to the public, but that hasn’t stopped a few famous faces from dropping in.
With testimonials from chefs Simon Bryant, Kylie Kwong and Peter Gilmore it’s easy to see why they’re so popular.
MasterChef regular Kylie Kwong
MasterChef regular Kylie Kwong credits the Quarmby’s for helping her reinvent her menu.
“Discovering native foods has completely revolutionised the way I cook at Billy Kwong, and after 12 years, such a discovery in one’s art, is extremely invigorating and exciting,” Kylie said.
And according to Adelaide chef and native food ambassador, Simon Bryant, “The Quarmby’s are people who believe in what they do and pursue the journey with passion and integrity.”
Gayle and Mike are grateful for the journey thus far, crediting the people around them for their success.
“You can always chose to do something different and innovative, but you will always need those positive people, who believe in what you’re doing to be successful.”
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