The Dirty Chef : From Big City Food Critic to Foodie Farmer

Matthew Evans
The Dirty Chef : From Big City Food Critic to Foodie Farmer

The Dirty Chef : From Big City Food Critic to Foodie Farmer
ISBN: 9781760112820
Publication Date: 1 December 2014

The funny, heart-warming and at times exhausting behind-the-scenes story of Matthew Evans' transformation from high-profile food critic to television's Gourmet Farmer.

How do you go from being an urban dag to a country boy without any experience of the bush?

In 2008 Matthew Evans, one of Australia's most powerful food critics, stepped off the Sydney treadmill to farm 20 acres in Australia's southernmost shire.

What is it really like to take the plunge, leaving a whole world of familiar people, places and work behind? How does it feel to use a cordless drill for the first time, to plant a vegetable garden, to milk a cow, to slaughter a chook for dinner? And what if a TV show is filming the whole process?

This is the story of that transformation. The story of a life more in tune with the seasons and more connected to the soil. A life that is as rewarding as it is exhausting. The story of a family trying to turn a living from the noble and ancient art of growing things on the land.

About the Author

Matthew Evans is a former chef and food critic turned Tasmanian smallholder. He fattens pigs, milks a cow, tends a garden and writes about food from his office overlooking the silver birches atop his cottage on Puggle Farm, in the gorgeous Huon Valley. Matthew is the author of eight books on food, including the authoritative Real Food Companion. He writes regularly for Feast magazine, presents a television show, Gourmet Farmer, on SBS, and runs a small artisan food store in Hobart with a cheesemaker mate, Nick Haddow. The shop specialises in old and rare breed pork products from Matthew's Fat Pig Farm, amongst other goodies.