A Heide Harvest: Q & A with Alice Crowe & Maximilian
by Laura Atcheson
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1. Heide’s Legacy in Food and Art
The Heide Museum of Modern Art has long been a hub for creativity and community. How did you approach weaving together food, art, and history in this book to capture the essence of the Heide legacy?
Max - Probably the biggest challenge was how to present recipes, art, garden notes, the chefs' voices and the Heide legacy story cohesively. The Heide backstory alone has many turns and ambiguities. The book has a narrative through-line and chefs were chosen to reflect the themes of each chapter. The designers Klarissa Pfisterer and Hamish Freeman helped unite the various elements with a clear sense of order.
Alice - Food, garden, culture and creativity were the foundations of life for John and Sunday Reed at Heide. The garden and caring for the land at Heide underpinned all their endeavours, so it was very natural to bring together in this book the things that supported their way of life.
2. The Influence of Sunday Reed
Sunday Reed’s kitchen was a gathering place for artists and thinkers. Were there any specific stories or traditions from her time that influenced the recipes or structure of the book?
Max - A Heide Harvest is packed with stories from John and Sunday Reed's life. All the chefs took inspiration from elements of their time at Heide. Annie Smithers carefully inspected Sunday's original wood stove and gave us recipes Sunday could have cooked on it. Brianna Smith and Oliver Edwards referenced recipe books from Sunday's library. But possibly my favourite example is Robyn Lea's photo of the cottage dining table decked in foliage... it's a subtle hint at the huge significance of the Reeds' dining room as a place of gathering, conversation... and as the cradle of Sidney Nolan's Ned Kelly paintings."
3. Collaborating with Chefs
The book features 90 original recipes from leading Australian chefs. How did you select these contributors, and were there any standout moments or surprises during the process?
Max - The chefs were very carefully chosen. All share a garden-to-plate philosophy and have a clear relationship to the themes of the book's individual chapters... whether it's the influence of Europe on the food we grow and eat, the significance of the native landscape, or the concept of food as a communal experience. They all truly surprised and delighted us.
Florian provided a full picnic menu as a nod to the al fresco dining culture that has always been and remains part of the Heide experience.
Dianne Kerry of STREAT definitely surprised me. STREAT's food offer is hearty and accessible, and I expected Dianne's suggestions to be along the same lines, but she offered us a nuanced series of vegetarian dishes that are truly elegant.
Brianna Smith and Oliver Edwards were so excited by the orchard that they offered a flan recipe that could accommodate whatever fruit you have... then actually baked nine variations as a glorious double-spread for the shoot!
4. Seasonality and Sustainability
The Heide kitchen garden has long been a place of experimentation and connection to the land. What are some simple ways home cooks can embrace a more seasonal, mindful approach to food—whether they have a garden or not?
Alice - I think that growing your own food, even if just herbs in a pot, can foster a connection with our food and the realisation that we are part of a far larger process. Failing that, choosing local, seasonal produce, grown by people who care for the earth, can be a way of connecting with the values that John and Sunday embraced.
Max - I think that growing your own food, even if just herbs in a pot, can foster a connection with our food and the realisation that we are part of a far larger process. Failing that, choosing local, seasonal produce, grown by people who care for the earth, can be a way of connecting with the values that John and Sunday embraced.
5. Personal Connections to Heide
How did your personal experiences with Heide shape how you approached this book?
Alice - My years in the kitchen garden gave me a deep affinity with the garden, and with my hands in the soil and face in the breeze, I could sense Sunday’s vision as a gardener, and her dedication to her values. She has been well understood as a driving force in the cultural scene of her her time, but I think less well understood as an extraordinarily skilled gardener and lover of the earth, and the garden was a primary means for her to manifest her creative vision. How else can we explain the abundance of heritage roses, wildflowers and herb collections interspersed through her cottage garden?
Being at Heide meant I also had access to John and Sunday’s library, and could pore over the resources that she had to hand, and understand the garden in the context of her readings.
Max - The idea for the book actually came about as a result of Melbourne's Covid lockdowns. During lockdown, the garden continued to provide food, but our café was closed, so we donated the excess to community groups and a smaller amount was shared amongst the staff. We started sharing photos with each other of the dishes we'd made from the produce, and I wondered what might happen if we invited chefs to be inspired by the garden produce too?
Order your copy of A Heide Harvest: Here
Photography by Robyn Lee