Georgie’s at the Gallery, Grafton

Photograph by Cher Breeze

Dear Reader,

It’s a mellow autumn morning in Grafton on the NSW north coast. The wide river outside my gracious Edwardian B&B is like glass and as I walk towards Georgie’s at the Gallery, red and gold leaves drift quietly by.

Grafton is often referred to as the “City of Trees”, not just because it’s surrounded by tall timber and temperate rainforests, but also because of its  avenues of glorious jacarandas which burst into bloom in spring.

Straddling a horseshoe bend in the mighty Clarence River, it sits halfway between Sydney and Brisbane and was once a vital river port and major urban centre for  the north coast.    

The Aborigines called the river ‘Booriyimba’ or ‘Breimba’ (Big River).  It travels 400km from its source in the McPherson Ranges in southern Queensland through tall timber and temperate rainforest before joining the sea at Yamba.

As well as being very long, it is also very wide and according to one river directory, a greater volume of water flows along the Clarence per year than along any river in Australia.  “Its watershed is a huge roughly pear-shaped area of approximately 23,000 square km,” says local historian Stuart Lee in his book,  ‘Riverboats of the Clarence’.
“That is to say, its area is slightly larger than the whole of Wales; a little smaller that that of Belgium.”

Home to more than 100 islands in its lower reaches, the mighty Clarence is flanked by fertile alluvial plains, grazing land and fields of sugar cane.

As I stroll into the light-filled gallery and through the airy café, I am led by my nose out to the sunny courtyard.  Here, under a spectacular golden rain tree, a handful of locals are drinking the excellent coffee and tucking into delicious house-made cakes. For many, the gallery is the heart of Grafton and since its opening in 1987 has become a centre for local foodies and art lovers.

Late last year, Georgie’s was nominated “Australia’s Favourite Place to Eat” by the Life Style Food Channel and is well-known for featuring the fabulous seafood and fish of the area on its menu.  For the filming of the TV program, owner-chef Mark Hackett highlighted the fresh moist blue eye cod, sea scallops and Yamba prawns he’d picked up just down the road that morning from fishmonger Colin Hambly at Naeco Blue.

It’s only fairly recently, however, that easy access to the local seafood has been available.
“Six years ago, the only way I could get hold of it was to meet the Co-Op truck on the Pacific Highway on its way to Sydney,” he says, grimacing. “Now, thanks to Col, I have a consistent regular supply.

“For a long time, the valley has looked inward,” he adds.  “But as younger people move back here after working and studying in the city and overseas, things are slowly beginning to change.”

Hackett and his wife Judy returned to Grafton 12 years ago after working at Nicole’s in London and at Bill’s and the Macleay Street Bistro in Sydney. Together with a handful of other adventurous chefs and local producers, he’s at the forefront of a new culinary identity for the Clarence Valley.

“Small country towns hate change,” he says. “When I first moved back here, I remember putting a dish of Tasmanian Atlantic salmon with Asian greens and chilli jam on the menu at the local pub.  The owner went home in tears.” A sign of the shift in taste was the “Gate to Plate” celebration of Clarence Valley cuisine and produce at Enders’ Olive Farm in May.

A sit-down, six-course degustation lunch, dishes included Wooli Rock Oysters with finger lime caviar; a seafood plate of Yamba prawns, crabaccino and braised octopus with red wine and olives; an antipasto platter of Brahman hump sausage and homemade beef bresaola with pickled organic Mountain View garlic; crispy silver perch Thai salad; a regional meat plate of BBQ sugar-cured lamb loin, goat curry and oxtail crepinette; fresh Challacombe Farm strawberries with vanilla pannacotta, passionfruit caramel and Davidson plum compote with honey and pecan wafers. 

“The potential of this valley is untapped,” remarks strawberry grower Jeremy Challacombe when I visit his farm later in the day. “Our strawberries taste so good because of the rich alluvial soil and there’s huge scope for more fantastic horticultural produce all along the river.”
  
Pecans, such as those grown by Trevor and Mary Day up river at Mylneford, thrive on the river flats, as do Brahman cattle at the magnificent Bizzy Brahman Stud at Nettle Creek while down river at Lawrence, organic leafy greens thrive under the stewardship of the gals who run the Narvi organics store in town.

There’s always the risk that the river will flood.  The levies built up and down its banks are a constant reminder of its power to both destroy and to give life.
  
www.clarencetourism.com