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This site is the creation of Michael Wilson, based these days in Medowie in Port Stephens. I'm a long term but now retired olive grower and processor from the Hunter Valley, originally from England but over 40 years in the Hunter, so I feel I qualify by now.

Why did I create this site? A couple of reasons, really. One is that I have a brand of olive oil and gourmet vinegars (Belarna Grove) that I want to promote and make more people aware of - my products are all hand made and I operate on a tiny scale, so selling on-line is by far the most practical option, and the second is that while I am not hard-line vegetarian, I do tend to eat more vegetarian based foods that anything else.

Having lived in the Hunter Valley for many years, and with easy access to many great restaurants and talented chefs to cook for me, and having eaten out with vegetarian friends and found many restaurants focus on meat, meat, meat and fish, I became frustrated that vegetables and pulses were given such a low profile. There are some fabulous cuisines on this planet that do not rely on meat.


This is Pho, a flavorsome and fragrant broth-based dish. The broth is simmered for hours with rock sugar, aromatic herbs, spices, and vegetables with soy sauce, seaweed, and/or mushroom often included in chay (vegetarian) versions for an umami flavor. The final dish is assembled with noodles, fresh vegetables, sprouts, quay (fried dough), tofu, and/or condiments of choice. From: bestofvegan.com, A classic dish, beautiful to look at and a staple of Vietnam and other parts of South East Asia. I would love to be able to eat this sort of food.

Michael Wilson
belarna2330@gmail.com
0419 244785