 Jjaras farmgate and café focus strongly on fresh produce that has been grown on the Jjaras property. A variety of certified organic and locally grown produce is also available throughout the year; including locally roasted organic coffee and certified organic teas. All food is homemade on site, with breakfast, freshly baked cakes and biscuits and light lunch options. Jjaras Farmgate and Cafe is located at 69-77 Cashin Street Inverloch and is open Thursday to Saturday 8am – 3pm. Easter Weekend: Open Saturday and Sunday 8am – 3pm (Closed Good Friday and Easter Monday) HOME GROWN HEROES...Very few - if any – interesting stories begin with the inclusion of an ironing board, but that is precisely the humble beginnings of Jjaras Farmgate and Cafe. Owners Joseph and Susannah Aiello first started expanding Joseph's father’s 4-acre block of grazing land which had been in the family for some twenty years after Joseph's father Albert and mother Josette retired to Inverloch from Melbourne. What began as a small, but rapidly expanding garden seven years ago, the success of an honesty box system out the front of the property to sell their excess harvest was the seed for the idea to bring the garden out even further on the land and to begin selling a wider variety of their own organic fruit and vegetables to meet demand. “We started coming up here to Inverloch helping my dad grow a few veggies and we started to grow a few too many, so we just put them out the front driveway and it was all disappearing." “We started coming up here to Inverloch helping my dad grow a few veggies and we started to grow a few too many, so we just put them out the front driveway and it was all disappearing, and we had people coming up asking if we had any more because they couldn't find any out the front. So we started to grow a little bit more and then because we started to grow more, we needed to display it a bit more, so we put a sign out saying 'come out in the garage' on Saturday mornings; and so we had an ironing board in there on Saturday morning with a few veggies on it and then more and more people started coming in and it just started from there.”
With a lot of self training and the addition of Certificate III in Horticulture and tireless dedication, Jjaras Farmgate was alive and thriving, then with the addition of the cafe 5 years ago in the converted garage, they – much like their amazing garden – have grown from strength to strength every day, with no need for the rapidly outgrown ironing board display. Walking through the garden you continue to be wowed by the sheer expanse of it, paired with the knowledge that this was, not too far in the past, a blank canvas – the scale of the obvious amount of love and passion is evident. Joseph's father played a large role in his love of gardening and inherited a down-to-earth and strongly organic stance, which was passed down through their culturally rich background, and has played a large part in their core values of providing the freshest, flavour filled, certified organic produce. The garden has been plotted in such a way to provide maximum efficiency for the restricted amount of space, from their vineyard to their many plots of vegetables, berry patch to the orchard area which last season saw 100kgs of cherries from only two cherry trees alone. The garden has been plotted in such a way to provide maximum efficiency for the restricted amount of space, from their vineyard to their many plots of vegetables, berry patch to the orchard area which last season saw 100kgs of cherries from only two cherry trees alone. The heritage pears and apples as well as many of the other fruit tree varieties were specially sourced from Tasmania, to the many other varieties of stone fruits which have now become mature enough that they will also provide a large harvest for the coming season over summer.
There is no doubt that this unassuming asset to Inverloch and the surrounding towns is creating some of the finest organic produce anywhere in Gippsland. With the coastal benefit of low or no frosts, all natural fertilisers and tireless dedication and passion by the Aiello family it's clear to see why this hugely impressive garden and kitchen are going from strength to strength. With the benefit of 75 raised garden beds – all built by hand by Joseph himself – they are able to grow vegetables that would typically not last the season due to varying temperatures. With so much focus on wastage today, it's an added bonus to know that all scraps, leaf litter and even weeds, are composted and used as an organic fertiliser for the next harvest. Whenever there is an abundance of a particular fruit or vegetable, the ladies in the kitchen simply create a new dish to showcase it and in turn, once again minimising wastage. With so much focus on wastage today, it's an added bonus to know that all scraps, leaf litter and even weeds, are composted and used as an organic fertiliser for the next harvest. Whilst the Aiellos may have physically run out of room to expand their garden any further, that hasn't stopped them from expanding in other ways, such as making their own jams, chutneys, preserves, as well as cakes and biscuits. You can also purchase home made takeaways such as soups, lasagne and pies. Somewhere in between all of this, they still find time to maintain their six beehives, which provide the obvious benefits of producing honey for their menu as well as being available for purchase from the cafe, but also do a fantastic job of pollinating their entire garden. Of course, if you prefer your fruit to be more of the fermented liquid variety, you're in luck! Jjaras also produce their own organic wines and currently make and sell their own pinot noir, chardonnay and shiraz varieties, which are all kept in their impressive, purpose built cellar.
In a world where people are striving to get back to nature in so many aspects, it's wonderful to see this come to life in a living, breathing, and passion filled, family environment. The down-to-earth and fresh is best attitude of Joseph and his family is also abundantly clear to anyone who visits their cafe, where you are greeted by his wonderful staff who clearly also share the passion for fantastic quality and service. In a world where people are striving to get back to nature in so many aspects, it's wonderful to see this come to life in a living, breathing, and passion filled, family environment. For those of us that don't have the skill, means, or even the space to create this for ourselves, it's a credit to the Aiello family that their joy in life is providing it for people who so clearly know a good thing when they see one. Very rarely could you inquire about more of a particular item and have the offer of it being freshly picked then and there on the spot, but so is the benefit and charm of a place like Jjaras, and also what keeps their regulars coming back from more. By Rebecca Twite  This article appeared in Gippsland the Lifestyle Magazine Summer Edition 25 click here to view full issue. FURTHER READING... |
Photo used under Creative Commons from jikatu
