FROM FARM TO PROVEDORE

The Rich Glen Estate came in to being in the late 1990s, when Franc Vodusek and his son Damien planted 36,000 olive trees across the family’s two properties near Yarrawonga.

On Rich Fields and Glen Loth, the family olive grove made way for Rich Glen Olive Estate — a working farm where olive oil and by products are made, and where you can tour the farm and enjoy a lovely meal in the farmgate cafe. The family started with olive oils, and Daimein’s wife Rosalind added her five generations of farming knowledge and her magic for making premium products for the home, pantry, and bathroom. The 36,000 olive trees and 100 avocado trees thriving at Rich Glen today provide the primary ingredients for Rosalind’s creations — including allnatural, preservative-free skin care, soaps, cleaning products, candles and baby care, all naturally and carefully scented to make your home smell fantastic. There are 150 products in the range including the famed Rich Glen Estate extra virgin olive oil, salad dressings, olives, sauces, condiments and pasta, or they can treat themselves to something extra special. Dukkahs, relishes and tapenades, and olive leaf teas are just a few of their premium table products. Rich Glen started small with products originally sold from a shop in the kids’ bedrooms to relatives who visited. The shop was ‘‘bursting at the seams’’ by the time the farmgate on the Murray River Highway 7km west of Yarrawonga opened in 2012. And now the products are more readily available in the main street of Yarrawonga. At RG Provedore — at Shop 3, 137 Belmore St Yarrawonga — you can sample the salad dressings, flavoured olive oils, dukkahs, sauces, condiments, olives, pasta, cordials, olive leaf teas and the gourmet provedore offering. You can also experience the benefits and beautiful scents of that diverse range of beauty and skin care products, aromatherapy cleaning products, olive oil candles and baby care. RG Provedore is generally open 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 3pm on Saturdays, 10am to 3pm Sundays and closed on public holidays. Hours may vary due to COVID-19. For information on visiting the farmgate — where farm tours are usually available, visit www. richglenoliveoil.com, facebook @richglenoliveoil or call (03) 5743 3776.