By JESSE GRAHAM
WORLD-renowned foodie Jamie Oliver could be setting up shop in an iconic Dandenong Ranges location and residents are being urged to encourage him.
A group of locals are pushing for Mr Oliver to set up in Upwey’s Burrinja Cultural Centre as part of a competition announced in February.
The competition, run through Mr Oliver’s Ministry of Food program, asks entrants to find a site or a venue that could host a pop-up kitchen for a year, get support from the community and complete an application.
The group, named Dandenong Ranges Food Frontier, said should it win the competition, Burrinja had agreed to host the pop-up kitchen.
The Food Frontier is four people who are passionate about food and have created a Chang.org petition to assist with their competition entry.
As of 5pm on Friday 28 February, the petition had 710 signatures out of their 2000-signature goal, with 5 March looming as the deadline for the application – the petition had been up for a week.
Shakti McLaren is one of the four founding members of the campaign and said the group has had a groundswell of support in the past week, with more than 500 ‘likes’ on Facebook.
“We’re getting so much support from so many different people who really want this to go ahead,” she said.
Ms McLaren said the Food Frontier group wanted to improve the quality of food in the hills, regardless of whether or not they win the competition.
“We would like to support farmers’ markets, support community growing of food, community gardens and food gardens within the Dandenong Ranges,” she said.
“The sky is the limit!”
According to the petition website, Belgrave South Primary School, Kallista Primary School, the Permaculture Institute and the Obesity Policy Coalition have all written letters of support.
Ms McLaren said the group has been visiting potential venues and would be hoping to make an announcement later this week.
The Ministry of Food Pop-Up competition is being run Australia-wide.
An advisory panel will review the applications with a finalist from each state and territory to meet Jamie Oliver for the final announcement.
For more information on the campaign, or to assist with the Dandenong Ranges’ competition entry, visit www.jamiesministryoffoodpopup.com, or visit the Dandenong Ranges Jamie Oliver Pop-Up Kitchen Facebook page for more information and a link to the petition.
