“People know to bring us stuff,” she says. “They just drop in with lemons or basil.” I check my notes after our visit and notice my daughter has added “awesome” in the margin.
At the insistence of everyone we meet, we visit the local market on the banks of the Ovens River and, maybe it’s all that fresh air, but we go a little crazy.
All stalls must stock locally made or grown products and we buy jams, chutney, nuts, candles, soap, a bacon butty and even a knitted rainbow beanie. Next stop is the Bright Brewery, just up the hill. The microbrewery is in the process of making itself less micro by building a grand new premises next door. We help out by buying every sort of beer they have.
A sit down is required at Ginger Baker, a cafe further along the river. Ginger Baker looks like it was roughly hewn by lumberjacks, but it was renovated only late last year. And while the setting might put the rust into rustic, the food is pure sophistication. Manager Tim Schroder says the formula was an instant success. Ginger Baker has a tapas-style menu, which Schroder says was owner Tim Walton’s choice.
“It’s fresh food, beautifully grown in the area and you can’t really go wrong with that,” he says.
I concur. The locally grown rocket in my salad has so much flavour it almost tastes like chilli.
Our last stop is the Butter Factory in Myrtleford, run by mother and daughter team Bronwyn and Naomi Ingleton. Naomi started a cafe in the former butter factory in 2007, and Bronwyn joined her after the birth of Naomi’s first child.
Over a dish of Bronwyn’s delicious roasted mushrooms on toasted pumpkin seed bread, Naomi says she decided to diversify after a slump in the tourism market. She says while making butter in a former butter factory seemed the obvious choice, her father sealed the decision. “He told me to stick to the staples,” Naomi says.
We indulge in a butter tasting (no really, it’s work), and I make a silent promise to my tastebuds to find a supplier when I get home.
As I am, once again, tearing myself away, I tell Naomi and Bronwyn I seem to have done nothing but eat the entire weekend. They both nod. “That’s right,” Naomi says. “And drink,” she adds.
Jan Fisher travelled to Bright courtesy of the North East Victoria Tourism Board.
