A new agritourism venture in the Southern Highlands is promising to take the idea of farm-to-table dining a step further, with visitors learning how to grow heirloom vegetables before tasting produce straight from the farm.
Hen Dog is a collaboration between Rebecca Bradshaw, head chef and owner of Black Hen Kitchen, and Casey Kirchhoff, head grower and owner of Three Dogs Flower Farm.
Based at Aruna Estate in Penrose, the venture will combine vegetable growing, education and food through a series of five-hour on-farm experiences beginning in early 2027.
Its first workshops, dubbed “Tomato School” and “Pumpkin School”, will teach visitors about growing specialty heirloom vegetables from seed to fruit, alongside farm-to-table grazing featuring produce harvested from the property’s one-acre market garden and polytunnel.
The working farm is growing more than 60 varieties of heirloom tomatoes and more than 30 varieties of heirloom pumpkins, along with less-common produce including golden tomatillos, caigua and the Bolivian cooking fruit known as ‘Fat Baby’ achocha. One-third of the farm is also dedicated to flowers.
Rebecca Bradshaw said the project would give visitors a particularly direct farm-to-table experience, with ingredients picked just metres from where they would be cooked.
“When we talk about farm to table dining, well, here you’ll be eating straight from the field, in the field, and learning how to grow and cook all this yourself too.”
The farm says it does not use pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Casey Kirchhoff, a former ecological research scientist, said her scientific background influences the way the farm operates, including keeping soil covered, maintaining crop diversity and growing flowers for pollinating insects.
Casey Kirchhoff has been growing and researching heirloom vegetables for more than a decade and is an Australian Museum Eureka Prize winner for her work in citizen science following the bushfires that destroyed her Wingello home in January 2020.
Hen Dog also plans to offer heirloom tomato subscription boxes and produce to the Southern Highlands community.
Tomato School sessions are scheduled for February 13 and 27 and March 13 and 20, 2027, while Pumpkin School will run on April 3 and 17 and May 1 and 15. Tickets are due to go on sale at 10am on Friday, October 30.
