Dreaming small

There’s a warmth to Annie Smithers, a certain comfort that comes from spending time with someone truly grounded and comfortable in their life philosophy. An accomplished and award-winning chef and restaurateur, Annie is also a passionate farmer, advocate for the land, pioneer of the paddock to plate movement and farmer amongst many other things. It’s clear within minutes of starting our interview that Annie is a true steward of the land and one of the many reasons why her restaurant, du Fermier – a small French farmhouse kitchen nestled on 23 acres of verdant farmland in Trentham Victoria – is beloved by everyone who visits. It’s also why tickets to Annie’s events with the Audi lifestyle experience are snapped up as quickly as a new event is announced, such is the draw of this extraordinary person and her passion for the land, produce and good food.

Annie began honing her culinary skills more than four decades ago and over the years, she has traversed the varying realms of food, mastering the delicate balance of flavours and textures that define exceptional cuisine. Yet, it was a pivotal moment 15 years ago that altered the course of her culinary trajectory – a decision to cultivate her own produce for her restaurant. To literally start at the beginning.

"I made a decision to actually grow some of the produce for the restaurant at the time," Annie says, her laughter punctuating the conversation. "It was a little misguided at the beginning," she chuckles, reflecting on the challenges and triumphs of her foray into farming.

What’s apparent to her now is that it is the garden tells her how to cook rather than Annie deciding what she needs to garden. Like any person who lives on the land, she keeps a firm eye on the weather, and a good grip on the growing-gardening master plan. 

“The joy of that,” she explains, “is we get to present our customers with some incredibly fresh and beautifully grown produce.”

In addition to her own produce, partnering with very small primary producers who have similar ethics around regenerative farming and integrity around soil and beast, means that what began as a humble endeavour has burgeoned into an holistic philosophy. It is very much a commitment to sustainable and regenerative farming practices that resonate with her ethos of culinary excellence. Annie's property has evolved into a thriving ecosystem teeming with vibrant crops all nurtured with meticulous care and reverence for the land. 

“It's sort of become who I am now. A little quirk of fate where I decided I might do a small thing (has) actually become the entirety of who I am. It's a very beautiful way of actually cooking and living and presenting food to people. And it seems to make [people] very happy,” Annie says. 

Forget long supply chains, the simplicity around freshly picked food harvested from the garden, brought to the kitchen, cooked and presented in a short window of time is the cornerstone of Annie’s du Fermier.

“Most vegetables and fruit are very high in water,” she explains. “So as soon as you release them from their life force they start to dehydrate. As they dehydrate their structure and their flavoured structure changes. What we have the capacity to do by growing [food] and then cooking it, is the ability to provide our diners with food that actually tastes like it should.”

The ultimate ‘slashie’, Annie considers herself a chef first and foremost, a restaurateur secondly and then a farmer. 

“My very safest and most comfortable space is always in the kitchen. And as the owner of a small restaurant, I am a little consumed by the notion of the best way we can present ourselves so that our customers have a very lovely experience. From there it’s the farming, maintenance and restoration of the property that we're on – which was settled in the 1860s. It’s about leaving it in a better shape than we found it.” 

With practical advice and wisdom gleaned from a life dedicated to seasonal food and living lightly, Annie can also add educator and writer to her working repertoire. In addition to regularly headlining Audi lifestyle events, she is a regular on radio and is the author of multiple cookbooks. Her 2021 release Recipe for a Kinder Life, demonstrates admirably Annie’s capacity to share ideas and offer a guiding hand for those who yearn to live more gently, to care for the land, and to reap its bounty in a sustainable way. 

While treading more carefully on the earth is key, Annie believes that sustainability actually starts with yourself. “I'm a firm believer that if you can't sustain yourself, you can't save the planet,” she says. 

“If you extend yourself too far, or if you expect too much of yourself, or if you just live a completely non-sustainable lifestyle, you've got no hope for saving the planet if you can't save yourself first.”

In Annie Smithers' world, where the soil is sacred and the table is abundant, every meal is a celebration of nature's bounty. She imparts her gentle and authentic way of life to all she comes across – the essence of entrepreneurship found not in her pursuit of grandeur but in the steadfast commitment to her principles and passions.

“It's very easy to think that you have to keep up with everybody else,” she reflects, “but listen very carefully to your inner voice about what it is that you really want to achieve in life. For a long time, I thought because I didn't cope with the world of big restaurants, it made me feel that I was small and that my dreams were small. But there is certainly a very big place in this big world for people who choose to do small things. Just because you dream small doesn't mean you are small.”