Chef stripped naked by bushfire devastation

By Kath Gannaway
ENGLISH celebrity chef Jamie Oliver flew into Marysville last Friday to share a very long meal, in a paddock, in brilliant autumn weather.
Oliver was a huge drawcard for the return of the World’s Longest Lunch event to the town which is recovering from the 2009 bushfires.
The event, part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, has been held at Marylands in the heart of the town since 2002 and last year was the first year it has not been held.
This year it was held in the very neatly mown and picturesque front paddock of Maryton Park Cottages.
Owners Tony and Penny Thompson were hosts at the event which showcased the very best and the region’s food and wine to 200 guests – including Mr Oliver and Victorian premier John Brumby.
Mr Oliver was met by a media frenzy after flying over Marysville and touring the town before lunch.
He spoke of the shock and sadness of watching in England as the Black Saturday fires unfolded.
“Ultimately it was a human catastrophe … we could not believe the ferocity and speed of the fire and as the number of lives lost kept going up, it became bigger and bigger news,” he said.
He said his visit felt like the right thing to do.
“This is a very prestigious lunch that has been going on for many years … with a good social heart.
“Food is community,” he said.
Mr Oliver and Mr Brumby were presented with a framed copy of the menu which included local trout pate and chargrilled vegetables, chicken filled with spiced lamb, Berkshire pork belly and lemon and lime panacotta.
It was a menu planned to showcase not only the outstanding produce, but the talent of the local hospitality industry.
“It was a big thing for Marysville,” Mr Thompson said. “We are the only one to have a celebrity chef as a guest in all the years we have done it,” he said.
A charity auction raised $6000 for a local community project and there are a lot of locals, and visitors, including one of the world’s most influential chefs, who can attest to the fact that the Marysville region is a great place for lunch.