Rodney Dunn / The Agrarian Kitchen, no dig gardening, favourite books, last meal requests

Avant Gardeners

Rodney Dunn's excitement when talking about gardening is like a kid in a candy store. Fuelled by a 'quest for flavour' and inspired by The River Cottage UK, Rodney and his wife Severine moved to Tasmania in 2007, opening The Agrarian Kitchen, a cooking school and garden that has grown to become an institution itself. In 2017 they added a restaurant to their offering and have recently opened up their phenomenal one-acre walled garden adjacent to the Restaurant and brand-new cooking school, making it the trifecta of all things agrarian dreams.

We chat to Rodney about what he learned from the 'old garden', the new no-dig method they've used, we go deep into mycorrhizal fungi, tips to take on-board when starting a new garden, and what his last meal would be.

Before we get into that, we're drinking a Negroni (equal parts gin, campari and vermouth, shaken and served over a big fat icecube with an orange garnish) and it's delicious.

We're chatting dibblers, garlic, golden beetroot, Lactic Acid Bacteria and so much more.

Emily's recommendation is The Practical Australian Gardener by Peter Cundall, Maddie's recommendation is this salad dressing - honey, grated garlic, salt, sherry or white wine vinegar, oil. Put it on everything.

Explore classes and garden tours or book a lunch at The Agrarian Kitchen here, and follow them on Instagram here. Find Rodney on Instagram here.