DEIRDRE Baum has owned and operated the historic Laharum Grove olive grove at Laharum for more than 13 years.
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Situated at the foothills of the Grampians on 300 acres, trees at the grove were first planted in the early 1940s.
“We have 20 different varieties of olives, but we mainly pick Verdale for our oil,” Mrs Baum said.
“It makes a very nice oil and not a lot of people use it because it doesn’t have a very high yield.
“This region is perfect for growing olives because it has a similar climate to the Mediterranean.
“We’re also growing in sand which is the same condition as Europe.”
Originally there were about 11,000 trees at the grove, but a third were lost when fires swept through the valley in 2014.
“It was a really tough time, but it’s probably even more tough now,” she said.
“The trees have now recovered, but we’ve had to go back to the start in terms of building up the business.
“I’ve started afresh in a way and had to start the whole process again.”
Although the business has faced some setbacks in recent years, she said the upcoming season was looking promising.
“We picked quite a few olives last year, probably 99 tonnes more than we needed. It’s looking like we’ll have even more this year,” she said.
“It’s also looking like an earlier harvest this year than than normal and we’ll probably start in about three weeks.
”That’s probably because the season has been drier and hotter than normal.”
Mrs Baum said olives at the grove were all hand picked, which “takes a very long time”.
One of the most unique features of Laharum Grove is Deidre’s Restaurant.
The restaurant opened almost five years ago, and offers a variety of locally produced food and wine.
”It’s a tapas style, grazing restaurant and the menu changes every weekend,” she said.
“We try to make dishes that align with what’s in season in the region at the moment.
“Produce is from Haven Grown and we’re using items such as turnips, rocket and lots of beautiful basil.
“Soon we’ll be focusing on using our fresh olive oil from this upcoming season in our dishes.”
All of Laharum Grove’s olive oil is pressed at Grampians Olive Company, located next door.
“The best olive oil is from the day its pressed and the idea is to use all the oil from the previous season before starting on the next,” she said.
Originally from New Zealand, Mrs Baum has been living in Australia for 14 years.
She and her husband Richard share their time between Laharum and Ballarat throughout the week.
“It’s all about finding that balance between work and life,” she said.
Deidre’s Restaurant is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and bookings are recommended.
Functions are available anytime by appointment.
