Paul West wants us all to think about where we might set up our own little piece of paradise. Best known for spending a couple of seasons on the River Cottage farm in Central Tilba, West is now living in Bermagui on the NSW South Coast with his wife Alicia and two young sons Otto and Bowie (and, yes, the scene-stealing border collie Digger is still part of the family).
After River Cottage Australia wrapped up in 2016 the family moved back to Newcastle, and then to Melbourne while West dabbled in a few media jobs.
"For a long time I had that dream to live on a rural property and live that River Cottage lifestyle," says West. "Now, in hindsight, I've come to the realisation I want something in between.
"I don't want to live on a rural property, I'm not a full-time farmer. I don't want to live in the city either. For my family the happy medium was finding a small village where we can have a classic 800 square metre backyard, surrounded by bush and farmland, somewhere I can still have a close relationship with the people that produce the things I can't in a backyard.
"River Cottage is more a state of mind than a physical location."
His new book The Edible Garden is about just that, part practical guide, part cookbook, part inspiration, helping gardeners find that little piece of River Cottage life.
"After River Cottage I had a lot of time to think about why the program was so successful," says West, adding that it's popularity took him something by surprise.
"It was when I started to travel around afterwards I realised how much it resonated with people, how much it meant to people.
"So many people I met would be like, Paul, we love the show, we love the whole farm thing and raising your own livestock and veges, one day we'll go and do it on a farm like you, but one day.
"I started to realise that people had a little bit of a mental barrier around food production, that, through programs like River Cottage, they felt like they needed to be in the country, on a farm, to be able to grow food when really that's not the case.
"So I thought I'd like to write a book that embodies the principles of River Cottage that people have enjoyed so much but put it in the context of where people actually live, which is in the urban, suburban environment.
"We've got a great affinity with regional living in Australia, we still fancy ourselves as a bit of a bush nation, but the reality is we're one of the most urbanised societies on the planet."
He says you don't have to start by ripping up your lawn and going crazy, it can be something as simple as herbs in a pot.
"I'm not here to tell everyone that it's realistic to live in suburbia and grow 100 per cent of your own food, that's not what this is about. This is about growing a little bit and then hopefully growing some more, the idea of starting small is something we've lost the appreciation for in our contemporary society."
There are more than 50 of West's favourite family recipes in the book as well.
"Food is the ultimate mechanism for bringing people together, it has been that way since the dawn of our species," he says.
"We're living in a time where people are more individualistic, socially isolated, despite social media connecting us around the world, people are lonelier than ever before ... growing and cooking food is this wonderful low-entry, accessible thing that we can use to connect with other people."
If you do have more space West has four go-to plants he suggests you start with:
Zucchini: they're such an easy win, so robust and happy to grow abundantly.
Pumpkin: as long as you've got a bit of bare ground the pumpkin can be planted into, with a bit of rain and some summer warmth, pumpkins are like triffids, they will take over everything.
Cherry tomatoes: just let them go, if it's your first time growing or you're not a confident grower, don't worry about pinching out the growth tips or staking, things like that, just let it go, they'll go gangbusters, cherry tomatoes grow and ripen so quickly, it's an easy win.
Silverbeet: it's the plant that loves to be hated. It will just keep growing as long as you don't rip out the whole plant and just cut off leaves as you need them.
The Edible Garden Cookbook & Growing Guide, by Paul West. Plum. $39.99. Paul West and beer writer Matt Kirkegaard will host a dinner sponsored by The Pourhouse at Maitland Regional Art Gallery, celebrating local produce from 6.30pm to 10.30pm, on November 9.
This article was first published in the Canberra Times.
