Good food starts with the discovery of good ingredients.
Western Victoria is home to some of the highest quality produce in the world, fostered by passionate growers, farmers, foodies, and everyone in between. The ingredients in this region are lovingly cultivated, grown, reared, and handcrafted to promote healthy and delicious dishes.
Inspired by the already present culinary strengths of the region, Eat Drink West is an online community of sustainable farmers, thoughtful foodies, innovative chefs, and collaborative artisans, sharing expertise in order to showcase Western Victoria’s vibrant culinary industry. By creating a directory of like-minded food producers from across the region, Eat Drink West strengthens local food systems and constructs opportunities. Connecting across sub-regions of Western Victoria, our platform allows for communal interconnectivity, using digital and in-person forums to share information.
By clicking through our website, attending a workshop, or ‘liking’ a Facebook post, travellers and locals alike can connect effortlessly with all things food-related in their area.
Expertise
If knowledge is power, members of the Eat Drink West community are as mighty as can be.<br /> While connecting members, we responsibly ensure that community resources and knowledge come from knowledgeable and passionate individuals and sources. Local producers control the content of Eat Drink West, ensuring that information is informative, educational, and true to the Western Victorian experience.<br /> We want to create community while holding true to our desire to support local<br /> producers. We link experts in various fields with complementary contacts, making sure café owners, local producers, and culinary enthusiasts get the information and connections they need in order to thrive.<br /> In the end, we are educating individuals for the better. Consumers want to know what they are eating, how it affects them, and where their food is coming from. By connecting people with the sources that their meals are made from, we are establishing shared consumer-producer trust based on informed dietary choices.<br /> With Eat Drink West, expertise is easily obtainable. The most knowledgeable sources engage with people who care through an accessible forum.
Purpose
Eat Drink West is gaining momentum at a time when individuals around the world are showing increased interest in understanding where their food comes from and how it ends up on their plates. As an educational resource and connecting force, Eat Drink West provides a vital service to anyone that is mindful of the food that they connect to.<br /> We are the premier link between all things culinary in Western Victoria, connecting people from a myriad of backgrounds as chefs, connoisseurs, and producers.<br /> The purpose of Eat Drink West is to serve the communities of Western Victoria as a catalyst for culinary discovery, connection, education, and collaboration. It aims to evolve the way that we showcase and connect regional resources, making it easy for consumers and producers to share knowledge and products.<br /> The eventual goal is to reach a revenue and profile boost, support local tourism, create jobs, and promote overall awareness by means of interconnectivity. We are creating opportunities for growth and productive conversations simultaneously.<br /> By promoting community spirit through social and print media, an online directory, and educational gatherings, Eat Drink West raises the profiles of regional businesses and natural resources, engaging individuals from both within and outside of the sub-regions we support.
Connection
Eat Drink West believes that collaboration is the key to developing a vibrant ‘paddock to plate’ industry in Western Victoria.<br /> We live in a fast-paced society and in an environment where the comfort of interacting behind a screen further isolates community members. With the spread of media comes the spread of knowledge, leading to an increased desire from consumers for local ingredients and meaningful experiences related to their food. The best way to bring the community together face-to-face in this fast-paced setting is to use online resources for the common good; Eat Drink West connects culinary enthusiasts with their interests, with educational resources that engage them, and with producers that deserve recognition.<br /> Our connectivity strategy brings everything from the cellar door to the kitchen all the way to the convenience of your screen. From there, amazing ingredients that were lovingly cultivated make their way to your market, restaurant, and table.<br /> By creating a central source for Western Victorian food information, we also steward an ongoing space for connectivity. This is no ordinary online network—it works at the basic level as a directory for all partner producers across Western Victoria. If a customer is looking for an ingredient, a farm, or an expert, a producer on Eat Drink West is guaranteed to have what they need.
Community
Eat Drink West is not only a way to boost business through connection. The heart of this initiative is in the way in which we strive to connect a community of likeminded Western Victorians. As a community driven service, we create forums and opportunities that directly tie to the vision of the people that utilise our platform.<br /> Our community is uniquely Western Victorian, just like the ingredients and wares that they produce. In order to serve our community members, both online and in person, we know that interconnectivity is the key. By connecting producers across the Western Victoria food chain, we are a vital link for a growing food industry.<br /> Our producers represent several regions of Western Victoria, bringing together<br /> resources from a sprawling natural landscape. Supporting individuals that work out of Ballarat, the Central Goldfields, the Golden Plains, Hepburn, Moorabool, the Northern and Southern Grampians, and the Pyrenees respectively, we personalise the user experience of Eat Drink West from region to region. We celebrate Western Victorian creativity and expertise, celebrating the natural resources that inherently accompany being in the heart of fertile farmland and sprawling vineyards.
Sustainability
We are maintaining sustainability for consumers and industry alike as they find region- specific information and engage with what the people of Western Victoria consume like never before. The best way to lessen a carbon footprint for many individuals is to buy locally. Eat Drink West makes sustainable consumption easy for consumers within its network.<br /> We encourage sustainability by ultimately reducing food miles, meaning we shorten the journey from producer to consumer, reducing fuel use and nurturing the natural environment that sustains the vast Western Victorian landscape. By focusing consumer- producer relationships on one overall region (catering to all of the sub-regions within), the carbon cost of transportation lessens as it travels from local farm to local plate.<br /> Not only environmentally sustainable, but Eat Drink West also engages in sustainable business practices. By forging closer community connections through workshops throughout the year and online connectivity, Eat Drink West makes regional citizens stakeholders in the success of community members that engage as producers.<br /> Throughout the year, chefs and makers from across sub-regions are able to share knowledge and steward community relationships, using this platform as the ultimate connector.
Growth & Support
The success of partner organisations like Plate Up Ballarat has emphasised to Eat Drink West what we already were aware of: there exists a consumer-driven demand for local food, locally produced ingredients, locally owned cafes and restaurants, and ways for individuals to immerse themselves in Western Victoria’s culinary movement on the rise. This desire is on the rise with the spread of information that an already thriving online community allows for, but it is also here to stay.<br /> The Western Victorian food industry is on the rise; Eat Drink West aims to deepen and broaden its reach, engaging communities within and without Western Victoria more so than ever before. The Victorian Food industry has the natural beauty, resources, and dedicated stewards necessary for a strong culinary tradition. That said, strong support needs to accompany rapid growth. That is where our platform comes in as an ally to community farmers and artisans.<br /> There is so much to discover in the region for tourists and curious locals: a rich wine- making tradition, fertile volcanic soil that produces supple fruit and flavorful nuts, well- cultivated cattle and dairy, extensive olive groves, and arrays of vibrant farmers markets. We aim to boost the profiles of these abundant resources, taking already present momentum and lending a prominent platform.
The Eat Drink West Community.
At the core of Eat Drink West is the Western Victoria community; a community that fosters an amazing and growing food industry. We strive to create accessibility to and for growers and producers in order to promote their wares by developing a range of models for spreading information.
Our community consists of anyone committed to sustainable, delicious, and healthy food from across Western Victoria. We are chefs, entrepreneurs, ranchers, and bakers. We are farmers, artisans, sommeliers, and advocates. We are a diverse and versatile community with our values rooted in the natural resources and society cultivated in Western Victoria.
We connect community members by actively engaging with individuals across platforms, both in person and from behind the comfort of a screen. Using mediums such as podcasts, interactive social media campaigns, workshops, and in-house publications, we weave together the stories of local producers that are committed to health and sustainability.
While individuals promote their wares, they exchange so much more – artisans, makers, and consumers all take on the role of storyteller.
