The Long Table recently hosted guests of a different kind at their property, having kinder students experience a taste of their farm and restaurant life.
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The youngsters from Deniliquin South School had a special excursion, where they were given a farm tour and cooking class by owners Kathy and Lawry Smits.
And it was chance for the youngsters to show their curiosity, and get hands on in both the paddock and kitchen.
‘‘Lawry does our farm tours and gets a thrill out of all the interesting questions from the five year-olds,’’ Mrs Smits said.
‘‘Each child had at least one question, they were all very interested in the farm animals.
‘‘On the farm tour, they were shown how the goats are milked, visited the sheep, fed the baby lamb her bottle, fed the chooks and collected an egg or two.
‘‘They were also very keen looking through my herb garden with edible flowers and taste testing as they went.
‘‘We also discussed how the bee hive works and how important the bees are to us all.
‘‘They were all hands-on for the cooking classes too which they loved which included making pasta from scratch, and making pizzas for their lunch.’’
Mrs Smits says the experience is about passing on a little knowledge about growing and cooking your own produce.
‘‘Having the kids come gives them a small insight into what happens every day here on our farm, teaching them about growing their own food, and how important it is to let some of your plants go to flower so the bees have something to eat. Then those flowers can grow into seed that can to used to grow more plants.
‘‘It’s a great start to get them interested in cooking at this young age, something that can be continued if they are keen enough.’’
The students were also lucky enough to take home a recipe book with the day’s recipes to try at home, including the recipe for pikelets that they enjoyed for morning tea.
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