Cosy up in the Southern Forests with divine autumn food

Forget about preparing another salad and hovering over the BBQ! Autumn is a wonderful time for enjoying slow-cooked food and the new-season fruits and vegetables we’ve forgotten about all summer.

Under our spotlight is the Great Southern region of Western Australia and the fresh produce that comes out of this fascinating food bowl.

The Great Southern region of Western Australia covers country towns such as Albany, Denmark, Walpole, Mount Barker and Pemberton and within this huge and diverse region lies the Southern Forests area —renowned not only for its incredible forests but also for its fresh produce and passionate foodies.

We asked Sophie Zalokar, author of the Food of the Southern Forests cookbook and operator of a field kitchen and cooking school in Pemberton, to give us her thoughts on what makes the Southern Forests area so special.

“Our region offers not only some of the most spectacular scenery but offers an incredibly diverse range of delicious primary products — many of which West Australians and many beyond would’ve been eating all their lives and not known that it was grown in this special place.

“Early autumn is particularly abundant with potatoes, new season apples, pears and quinces, figs and the last of the plums and, as the season progresses into winter, the truffle season commences, which is always exciting and the best kind of foodie treasure hunt.

“Having such an abundant array of wonderful food, together with the exhilarating and breathtaking experiences in the forests (throughout picturesque undulating pastoral landscapes and along our wild and wonderful southern coastline) is to me the heart and soul of what makes the Southern Forests region so special,” said Sophie.

From small wine and food tasting events, roadside stalls, the annual Taste Great Southern festival, annual Porongurup Wine Festival to new and emerging attractions such as the Taste of Plantagenet Fair, the Great Southern region has an event just about every month to attract visitors to the area.

We can’t wait for the Truffle Kerfuffle event in Manjimup, to be held on the last weekend in June!

Photo credits: Thanks to Elements Margaret River for the roadside image and to UWA Publishing  for the book cover.