David and Julie Blackmore live on 2000 hectares on the banks of the Goulburn River in Victoria's high country with their herd of 3000 wagyu cattle. Pioneers of Australia's wagyu beef trade, the couple played a big hand in educating local palates about the highly marbled, richly flavoured Japanese breed. Their beef is sent to top restaurants around Australia, and exported to 14 countries (their largest export market is now the United Arab Emirates). David says he is ''the big-picture'' person, while Julie is ''in charge of all the details''.
Clean and bright with lots of delicious cooking smells. Our kitchen looks out over Julie's orchids and garden. It's a galley kitchen, which is very practical.
While ideal for two, there is not enough bench space when all the family gather.
David: As a young stock agent in the 1970s I worked for Barry Baldwin in Mount Gambier and Adelaide. I organised an embryo-transplant program in cattle; we were among the first to take the technology out of the lab and on to commercial farms. The first two programs ran at a loss; but Barry backed me all the way. Now it's common practice on farms globally.
Fruit and veg Those that Julie doesn't grow we source locally, mostly grown in the surrounding countryside. Meat Our own wagyu (of course) and we have our own lamb, which we share with family and staff. Pork, chicken and fish we source from the good Alexandra butcher. Bread When we were first married, Julie made our own bread and butter, with cream from our own hand-churned separator. Now it's just two of us, we buy from the local bakeries in Alexandra.
In our pantry Mount Zero Pink Lake Salt and cracked pepper, quality Australian olive oil, Tasmanian Lean-To Kitchen Worcestershire Sauce, Julie's home-made tomato sauce and Dobson's Alexandra potatoes.
Our fridge Julie's yo-yo's (eaten by everyone), wagyu, lamb, milk, butter and cashew nuts.
To drink Little Creatures and White Rabbit beer. Good South Australian wines from our birth state. David can't drink due to haemochromatosis (inherited iron overload disorder) and Julie likes a good Baileys!
We eat wagyu at least four times a week. Simplicity is the key. The richness and flavours do not need sauces or spices. Just cook with salt then add pepper.
Julie: My favourite cookbook is a battered old Cook With Confidence from 1965. This was my school cookbook and tells you how to make white sauce or fairy cakes or lemon butter - all the things you can now buy at the supermarket ready-made!
David relies on good knives, and a paint scraper (as a spatula) to turn the beef on the barbecue. We have a 15-year-old Rinnai barbecue, which has an extra-thick grilling plate perfect for cooking wagyu steaks, and a tabletop Japanese-style grill for yakiniku.
Sentimental favourite Julie can't do without the Kenwood mixer given to her by her great-aunt, her grandma's old tablespoons and her bone-handled knives.
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