focusinterview.
Business Minds with Ingrid Rothe of VIVID Thinking
TARA TOOMEY This month Business Minds interviews Urallabased producer and community advocate Tara Toomey, a New England local who wears many hats. Tara is the driving force behind Aurelia’s BnB, The Humble Cook, Seasons of New England Producers, Makers & Creators Expo, and, most recently, the New Englander train experience.
T
ell us about yourself. I grew up in Uralla, am married to Andrew and we have two children. I studied classics and ancient history at UNE and went to Greece on an archaeological survey project. I came back aware that there were lots of things I wanted to do, and promptly fell in to work in the insurance industry in a dispute resolution unit. I always wanted to come back to Uralla, and Dad, who is a builder, was planning to retire. I knew that I had one last shot to work with Dad, so I came home, married Andrew and Dad offered to build one more house. It was a great journey building our home, our cottage and, more recently, our commercial kitchen where I make my food as The Humble Cook. Tell us about your first business. We were still building; I was effectively site manager and we worked on the property after hours and on the weekend. It was perfect timing: starting a family, starting building and starting a business! I started at the Farmers Markets with a stall featuring baking and confectionery - a lot of hard work for not much return, but it allowed me to stay at home with the children. I wanted to work in a way that was family friendly and flexible. Aurelia’s Farm, a two-bedroom BnB cottage, was officially launched in 2009.
And The Humble Cook? New England developed. Diversifying is key. I really wanted my What’s the secret of Seasons’ success? own food to be a big part of our BnB We started in 2014 with a goal of 25 story. I spent two years creating a good makers and 500 patrons. We had to close banana bread and toasted muesli recipes. registration at 52 stalls and 3,200 people Everything we served at the B&B was local came through on the day. We’ve collected and I was also selling my products under postcard data from day one and the the Aurelia’s Farm brand. We decided to numbers have grown. Locals are steady, start The Humble Cook, where our product but out-of-towners and international visitor range includes nougat, brittles, hot numbers have significantly increased. chocolate, and rocky There were many road. talented, creative What were your people who wanted biggest challenges to help as much as For me, it’s all about starting out? they could but didn’t celebrating community. The Farmers want to run it, so Small communities are Market platform we decided to set it the natural home for was challenging. No up as a company makers and producers, as matter how good supporters would help they are directly connected the product, it was when they could, but to the communities they hard to be found I had to take on the call home. between markets. majority of the work. We didn’t have a As both a producer value proposition and an organiser, I’m to differentiate part of that network ourselves from mass produced products. and it’s really important to the strategy. I road-tested markets, expos and events, We’ve recently introduced The New and many did not work either. It was a England Hamper range, with all products problem that would roll around in my sourced from New England Makers, head. I asked myself where the right event Creators and Producers. would be and what it would look like. It Tell us about The New Englander. needed to be affordable, have access to I’d tried to get a heritage train here for transport, and provide a platform that seven years, but couldn’t get anyone to achieved a level playing field for makers engage with me. Finally, Lachlan Valley and producers. The idea behind Seasons of Railway, a not-for-profit train and rail
restoration organisation, responded. We had a clear vision: a bar and a good kitchen for a great chef. Everything served on the train is from the New England. Our patrons will travel from Newcastle to Uralla and Armidale on the Friday, experiencing Seasons, the Uralla Arts Lantern Parade, the Uralla Rotary Art Show and Uralla’s shopping and café strip. There will be four shuttles between Armidale and Uralla on the Saturday and then back to Newcastle on the Sunday. What inspires you? For me, it’s all about celebrating community. Small communities are the natural home for makers and producers, as they are directly connected to the communities they call home. From the really tiny ones that often get lost to the really big ones, I’m determined to create opportunities to showcase their work. Our local makers and producers are the heart and soul of rural Australia. I live this 24/7, because it’s not just a job. What’s next? There are two things this year. Firstly, I am working on developing the New Englander Hampers, with good sales and strong interest already for 2020. Secondly, this year we will be introducing the Copper Oakleaf Awards to recognise producers and makers who have achieved something extraordinary, in terms of product and business. Thank you, Tara.
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