Learning about Garlic in South Gippsland

It was a memorable and fulfilling vocational excursion visiting our club member Rotarian David Jones in South Gippsland to learn about garlic on a cool plus windy Saturday morning on 3rd November 2018. David explained how his wife Kirsten and him embarked this journey being garlic farmers and the obstacles they had to endure. With number of trials and errors, they found their formula and got going with production about eight (8) years ago. He also demonstrated the technology behind the end-to-end process from when garlics are picked from the farm to how it is sorted, quality assured and packaged for delivery. He also explained the variation of garlic which we find in the markets and which ones are of quality for different types of dishes for cooking (mouth watering for sure). 

David pointed out that every year in the South Gippsland region, it hosts the Meeniyan Garlic Festival which has draws many visitors from Victoria, interstate and overseas to celebrate and showcase garlic. The upcoming festival is held on Saturday 16th February 2019 which you can find more information by clicking here. Day ended with lunch at David's daughter (Felicity Jones) shop called 'The Meeniyan Store' which is a cafe and sells local farmers produce to the communities. Rotarian Judy Parslow (club member), Svetlana Beke (former club member and Past President - Rotary Club of Toorak), Rosa Lanteri (friend of Svetlana) and I enjoyed the hospitality of Rotarian David Jones and we hope we pay more visits to South Gippsland in the near future.

Remember to keep the following dates free and to RSVP on our website:

• 6th November - Melbourne Cup (NO MEETING)
• 10th November - Be Real Be You
• 17th November - Prance in the Park for Polio
• 20th November - Annual General Meeting (AGM)
• 28th November - 26th Rotary Foundation Paul Harris Breakfast (event of Rotary Club of Central Melbourne)
• 4th December - Rotarian Action Group of Multiple Sclerosis Awareness (RAGMSA)
• 18th December - Christmas & New Year Eve Celebrations (Theme: "Over the Rainbow")