I dreamed of a rambling old farmhouse where I could grow my own food, learn how to bake cakes and make jam. I wanted to wear gumboots. Every day. Organising cocktail parties at the Sydney Opera House sounds perfectly glamorous, and for a while it was for Michelle Crawford. But once she became a mother, the yearning to find her own little slice of heaven in the country could no longer be ignored. For years she had daydreamed of a little farmhouse, with smoke curling out of the chimney, where she could slow down and grow her own food. Last but not least, she was hungry for a new adventure. An old farmhouse nestled in Tasmania s lush Huon Valley offered the chance to make that dream come true and adventure in spades, from her first disastrous attempt at planting a vegie garden to raising a bunch of chickens with attitude, learning to love her wood stove and foraging for treasure to make sloe gin, jam and bake cakes. Lots of cakes. Warm, down to earth and inspiring, and lushly illustrated with lip-smacking images and recipes, A Table in the Orchard is breathtaking proof of how seductive a taste of slow living in one of the most beautiful valleys in Tasman

Author Biography

Ten years after ditching the bright lights of Sydney for the Tasmanian countryside, when not wrangling two children, a husband, 10 chickens or nurturing a large vegie patch, Michelle Crawford is busy recipe testing, food styling for cookbooks, working as a food curator for events, running workshops or writing her popular blog, hugoandelsa.com. What motivates Michelle is a passion for real food and getting to know the people who produce it. A devoted cook and eater, she can often be found exploring the countryside for fresh produce from local growers and spending far too long talking to them about potatoes.