A homegrown festive feast
WA's farmers and food producers are celebrating a very WA Christmas and urging us all to think before we buy ham, poultry, seafood and vegetables for Christmas Day dining.
A group of WA producers sat down with _The Weekend West _this week for a Christmas feast made from WA produce, with recipes created especially for our readers.
The director of the WA Government's Buy West Eat Best initiative, Stuart Clarke, says every time a WA shopper makes a decision to buy local produce, they are supporting producers efforts to compete on the world stage and to stave off aggressive importing from "the massive overseas producers".
"There's a question mark over imported goods as well," Mr Clarke said. "We have the best quarantine and health monitoring in the world which ensures our products are pristine."
"As part of our Christmas message, we're saying that Buy West Eat Best is probably the best gift you can give your family and WA's primary producers at this time of the year."
Products widely sought after by WA chefs but available to the public include the Brummelman family's Wagin Free Range Ducks, butcher Joe Princi's Australian champion Berkshire hams, Dorper Lamb, Bannister Downs dairy products, Cone Bay barramundi, Linley Valley Pork and Shark Bay prawns.
"Consumer preference for local produce supports and sustains local industry," Northern Star Ocean Products director Ian Ricciardi said.
Ricciardi and his wife Loretta catch Shark Bay prawns and market them under the Shark Bay Wild banner.
Ricciardi says the Buy West Eat Best campaign "promotes WA produce to WA consumers and links up new producers with new local markets".
The week's WA Christmas dinner with _The Weekend West _ included Shark Bay prawns with coconut milk, kaffir lime and chilli; Linley Valley brined rack of pork with Southern Forests Brussels sprouts; baked and glazed WA Berkshire Ham; roast WA duck with thyme and orange and Victory Point Rose from Margaret River.
