Page 18 - Food&Drink magazine July 2022

COMPANY PROFILE
RIGHT: Cygnet Bay pearl farm and the milky turquoise waters of the Kimberley. BELOW: The collaboration between Pearls of Australia and Moontide Distillery means every part of the oyster is used.
“ There are also not many places where a distillery and pearl farm exist together.”
considering adding something salty and unusual to the mix. “We started with the meat
but that didn’t have sufficient flavour, and neither did the shell, but the mantle had enough to create something of interest,” Davidson recalls.
Hornblow says, “It adds a salty marine flavour to the gin, which makes it stand out as well as providing the dryness Andrew was looking for.
“There are only a handful of pearl producers left in Australia, let alone worldwide, so it’s a unique – and very Broome – flavour.
“There are also not many places where a distillery and pearl farm exist together. The gin reflects the uniqueness of where and who we are, we are really proud of the collaboration.”
BUSH BOTANICALS
With water from the Kimberley and oyster mantle from local pearl farms, the final component of The
Pearler’s Gin is botanicals harvested by local Indigenous company Mayi Harvests.
“We introduced ourselves to Pat from Mayi Harvests three years ago and she gave us more than 20 Indigenous products to try in our gin recipes.
“Back in 2020, I played around with a lot of her botanicals and those in The Pearler’s Gin came from that process. Now we purchase as much as we can from Pat,” says Davidson.
Mayi Harvests was established in 2006 by Pat Torres, a descendant of Djugun, Yawuru, Ngumbarl, Jabirr-Jabirr, Nyul-Nyul, Bard, and Karajarri peoples of Western Australia’s West Kimberley region.
Torres set up the business to supply wild-harvested Kakadu Plum and other native fruits and seeds. In 2019, ownership of the Mayi Harvests brand was transferred to Mamanyjun Tree Enterprises.
From 2011 to 2019, Mayi Harvests employed more than 50 First Nation people as harvesters every year. They would collect and process more than 20 native plant foods during the seasons, learning about food safety, quality control, safe storage of foods and bulk handling of products.
The main plant food was Kakadu Plum, which saw three to five tonnes of fruit harvested per season.
Torres applies a made to order process, only collecting to customer demand while prioritising sustainable harvesting.
“When I’m out harvesting, sustainability is about protecting the forest. It’s about ensuring the animals, insects, and other things that live off that particular plant have got food or resources there too when I leave; I don’t over collect.
“I generally pick according to a customer’s need, and a little bit more that I dry, grind, and package into small quantities,” Torres says.
Mayi Harvests also provides native ingredients to businesses in the tourism, food manufacturing, and hospitality sectors.
Hornblow recounts that the mantle and the pearl oyster have been eaten for tens of thousands of years by the local Bardi Jawi and Yawuru people, as well as other Aboriginal people in the Broome region.
Mayi Harvests’ methods ensure a sustainable future for the community and local businesses; an ethos shared by both Moontide Distillery and Cygnet Bay.
“The three of us are running our businesses and producing things in the middle of nowhere, with extreme conditions, and the added costs that come with being so remote. Moontide has created something that incorporates local ingredients, suppliers, and businesses. It’s a wonderful synergy,” Hornblow says.
She says there is a sense of pride for everyone involved in creating the gin. ✷
18 | Food&Drink business | July 2022 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au