Spanish inquisition

By CHRIS EARL

A YOUNG Anne-Marie Davis grew up convinced she had Spanish blood.

Afterall, that’s the story Alma McKindley constantly told an inquisitive child spending time with her grandmother.

The family story ignited a dream that one day, Anne-Marie would open a Spanish restaurant.

And for eight years Anne-Marie and husband Gary made that dream a reality with their tapas bar in Bendigo.

Turns out, though, grandma Alma was stretching the truth just a little. The Campbells Forest couple researched the family tree and discovered “that maybe, just, I had two per cent of northern Spanish or French ancestry”.

“It’s very unlikely I had a Spanish nanna after all but I did have a one great-great-great-grandma Brown - doesn’t everyone? - who was born and raised at Hill View in Woodstock West,” said AnneMarie.

The genetic dismissal of nanna Alma’s story - the Spanish gene story was linked to Anne-Marie’s brown eyes and curly hair - far from diminished Anne-Marie and Gary’s love of cooking up Spanish cuisine.

From waving goodbye to the Bendigo hairdressing salon they converted into a restaurant, Anne-Marie and Gary are now literally on the road whipping up treats inspired by the country famous for bullfights, the flamenco and siestas.

They’ve converted a food caravan into a mobile Spanish kitchen serving tapas, paella and the sweet treat churros, a bit like thin donuts, sometimes knotted or long and thick and known as porras or jeringos in some parts of their native land. Churros, deep-fried, are normally eaten for breakfast after being dipped (or smothered) in creamy, rich chocolate sauces.

“Since opening up our caravan, a lot of the old restaurant customers have followed us around as we pop up at functions,” said Anne-Marie.

“They love our unique Spanish cuisine and we’re seeing more people in our diverse communities across Loddon and central

Victoria embrace that diversity through food.”

The couples share cooking duties when hitting the road, taking a break from their Campbells Forest farm where pigs, lambs and sheep roam and chickens kept up a good daily supply of eggs before a visit from less than friendly foxes.

“At one stage we were virtually living from paddock to plate ... there’s a good orchard on the property and we do like to live sustainably,” she said.

Establishing a new business has seen Anne-Marie draw on skills gained in earlier career moves.

Study for a master’s in business administration has been useful in managing supply and logistics, marketing and communications.

And the early enjoyment of chur ros and paella around the district has Anne-Marie what she says are receptive discussions on the little Spanish food van popping up in Loddon towns this summer.

Earlier this month it was back to another career setting for the former nurse- a hospital - pop ping up with thank you churros for International Nurses’ Day at Inglewood and District Health Services.

The love of cooking, though goes back to the days of Nanna Alma “stretching the ancestral truth”.

“I have always loved cooking and to open a restaurant or now a pop-up van is making dreams happen ... even if I don’t have any Spanish blood” she said