Overlooking one of the oldest vineyards in the Tamar Valley sits Timbre Kitchen.
Head chef Matt Adams has turned away from food fashions, as well as industrialised production and globally sourced ingredients.
The daily menu is a product of old-fashioned bartering, seasonal harvests and preservation methods such as pickling and fermenting.
Community members and small-scale growers bring armfuls of home-grown produce to the restaurant in exchange for dining vouchers, returning a few days later to eat their plated produce, now completely re-imagined.
This regenerative business model has caught the attention of diners from around the world, and has landed Timbre Kitchen at the centre of new research about the rise of regenerative tourism.
The pantry and coolroom are restocked daily with seasonal produce grown in community gardens, backyards and on local farms, and the menu is informed by the ingredients that are delivered.
“We barter. We make no demands; we simply receive and work with it and put it on the menu,” Mr Adams said.
“It’s ultra seasonal. We’re not sourcing things in other seasons when it’s not available.”
Local supplier Gregory Howitt’s delivers crates of silverbeet called ‘perpetual spinach’, as well as endive — a “weird” bitter French variety of lettuce.
Mason jars of zucchini pickle, peach paste, and redcurrant chutney line the walls, extending the shelf-life of produce so nothing goes to waste.
“The guys in the kitchen were getting into vinegar so all the apples we received this year were being turned into cider vinegar, some into an apple crumble,” he said.
“I think it’s a really good expression of the area … for anyone coming in, they’re getting a true expression of the West Tamar.”
Food tourists: becoming the state’s food bowl
For some, food is one of the main motivations for travel, and tasting a destination’s cuisine is considered essential to experiencing its culture.
Tourism is Tasmania’s second-largest industry, employing 13 per cent of the state’s working population.
This year’s ‘Off Season’ advertising campaign was Tourism Tasmania’s biggest winter investment to date.
Flaunting food and drink as a major drawcard, the campaign invites visitors to take part in uniquely Tasmanian experiences.
In 2021, Launceston was recognised by UNESCO as a City of Gastronomy; one of only 49 around the world.
This title tempted tourists to embark on tasting trails, hopping from restaurant to restaurant across the state’s north.
Researchers believe that sourcing locally is a way to support the livelihood of suppliers, growers and workers while sustaining its local economy.
What is regenerative tourism?
In Tasmania, regenerative tourism first rose to popularity in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was initially marketed as a hopeful, responsible, conscious, transformative, or slow alternative to other forms of tourism.
Researcher Maree Gerke believes regenerative tourism takes practices present in sustainable tourism and eco-tourism to the next level.
“[Sustainable and eco-tourism] look at how can we maintain the resources that are there,” she said.
“Regenerative tourism is about making it better.”
“Making environments better, making communities better — involving them — having other people benefit just as much from food tourism as the business itself.”
Mrs Gerke has been studying Timbre Kitchen’s practices as part of global research on food tourism.
Her chapter contribution for the Handbook on Food Tourism book is titled ‘Regenerative practices and the local turn: food tourism in rural regional context’.
The book provides an overview of the past, present and future of research traditions, perspectives and concerns about the food tourism phenomenon.
It takes the reader on a tour across the globe. From research on sustainable noodle suppliers in China to insights into local Swedish traditions.
“In the case of Timbre Kitchen, what [Matt’s] really doing is creating a business that really meets the needs of locals and in doing so he’s created something very attractive for tourists as well,” she said.
Mrs Gerke’s research reveals consumer behaviour was shifting towards prioritising local and sustainable options.
For Tasmania’s food industry to continue to thrive, experts say tourism operators must adopt a regenerative model through fostering transparent and positive connections with communities, much like Timbre Kitchen.
