Good food starts with

Good food starts with good produce

‘Good food starts with good produce’, a slogan that Thanh lives by and strongly believes nobody can ever debate. In our hectic, convenience-driven lifestyles, this message can be forgotten, and the knowledge behind knowing your produce, how to use and cook it is sometimes left behind, especially by new starters to the fruit and vegetable industry.

Our very own Melbourne Market wholesaler and Fruiterer, cook, and contestant on Channel 7’s Plate of Origin, Thanh Truong, wants to push the message of being a fruiterer and the importance of knowing your produce when selling it to consumers. Now studying a Master of Food Systems and Gastronomy, Thanh is extremely passionate about where his produce comes from, how to use it, and how to pass on knowledge to customers. He’s urging wholesalers and market users to do their best to gain more knowledge and make it their mission to try to excite and engage their consumers about produce. “There’s a huge difference between people who say ‘you can use these potatoes as chips’ with no further context and the people who say ‘you can use these potatoes for chipping because they’re

starchy, but what I do is boil them first and then double fry them, first time at 120° and the second at 180°'. You need that personal connection and to understand your produce better to engage and excite consumers about fruit and veg,” said Thanh. After working in the industry for many years and being a part of Coles before entering the market, Thanh knows how difficult it is to compete against big companies like Woolworths and Coles. “Knowledge about our produce is where we can add better service in the market to consumers. As a fruiterer, you don’t need to cook all the time, but if you’re selling the produce for somebody to cook, you need to know how to do it. Food is such an integral part of people’s lives; we want to push this message to excite and engage consumers, ultimately making them go out, buy fresh produce from their greengrocers and cook more.” Thanh’s nickname ‘The Fruit Nerd’ was given to him by his friends because he is very passionate and excited about produce. “I’m passionate about the industry, I want it to succeed, and I want people to have the same level of excitement that I have about fruit and veg,” said Thanh. It’s not about educating, it’s about exciting. Being a fruiterer is a profession, and knowing your produce is the difference between being a fruiterer and being a salesperson. Fruiterers in the market can give consumers an engaging experience and the best advice, if we always remember the meaning behind ‘Good food starts with good produce’. And this is where we may see increased purchases that support our industry.

Knowledge about our produce is where we can add better service in the market to consumers.