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Jeffery Family The Jeffery family is one of the pioneering families involved in the clearing of the land and draining of the Koo Wee Rup swamp in the 1800’s. They made the transition to primary producers in 1909 and their innovative spirit has continued to this day. The family turned a negative into a positive when, as exporters, they were confronted with a depressed Japanese market. The family began exploring ways to expand their business in other areas whilst promoting the asparagus industry as a whole. The result was the development of the region’s first asparagus tours - Gippsland Green Asparagus Tours - which operate between September and December each year. The tours allow visitors to witness the fascinating journey of asparagus from paddock to plate. “We always had a feeling that there was a public interest in learning about asparagus. It is one of those products that people are very familiar with on the one hand, but on the other hand they don’t know it very well at all,” says Julie “Mostly the Australian experience of asparagus is from a can and people have little idea how to cook or store the fresh product,” explains Julie. “In terms of our family situation, it all fell into place. My husband Bill was busy growing the product and we had recently brought the packing operation onto our property by building a top class grading and packing facility for our son William to manage. Our daughter, Kerri Burge, has been operating Gippsland Green Asparagus Tours for three years.” In the packing shed a specially built viewing platform allows visitors to observe the whole operation from delivery of spears from the paddock through the computerised grading system, to the bunching or packing lines and finally into the cool rooms ready for dispatch. “Most people are fascinated by the operation of the shed - mesmerised by the technology,” Julie said. “They have no idea of what goes on between the paddock and the retail outlet, and it all comes as a bit of a shock to them.” The next stage of the tour continues in the homestead - a demonstration kitchen and showroom which can comfortably accommodate 50 visitors at a time - where visitors are shown a video of the asparagus story from paddock to plate followed by a cooking demonstration and tasting of fresh asparagus. At the end of the tour following the tasting session visitors can purchase their own supply of fresh asparagus and a range of value added products produced by the Jeffery family to take home and cook themselves. The Jeffery Family can be contacted by telephone (03) 5997 2202, or by email kerri@asparagustours.com.au. To find out more about Gippsland Green Asparagus Tours visit www.asparagustours.com.au | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Back | Home | About Asparagus | Recipes & Tips | What's New | From the Chefs | Supplying Asparagus | Contact us | Site Map Copyright© Australian Asparagus Council. Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure that the information on this website is correct and up to date, no representation is made or warranty given (either express or implied) as to the completeness, accuracy or currency of the information that it contains. Last updated August 2007 | |
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