When Annie Orchard visited her family’s native Italy for the first time as an eight-year-old, she cried for days when she had to return to Australia.
It was the start of a lifetime love affair with Italy’s food and lifestyle, leading the mother-of-two to open the now famous Annie’s Provedore in the Victorian beach oasis of Barwon Heads.
Now in its 15th year, Annie’s Provedore offers a taste of Italy’s finest artisan produce sourced directly from families with amazing stories to tell.Now Annie is taking her customers to the source of her favorite Italian food to meet the passionate people who make it.
“I’m an Australian with Italian heritage and I love both of my homelands, in my heart, I’m Italian to the core,” Annie says. “Every time I head back to my family in the Veneto region to source new taste sensations for my provedore, I meet people full of passion, not just for food but life. Now I want everyone to meet these people and enjoy this extraordinary region, and that’s how Annie’s Italy was born.”
When you join Annie on one of her exclusive seven-day tours of her Veneto homeland, you come up close and personal with locals that makes you never want to leave. Villa owners Andrea Conti and Ruth Moorhouse have lovingly restored their family home over six years and now share this special place in the prosecco hills. Andrea is a renowned chef in the region and guests will enjoy a full day cooking class in his kitchen after foraging in the woods of their beautiful villa.
Artisan producers on Annie’s tour include salumi specialist Federica Morgante, a sixth-generation prosciutto producer. Morgante prosciutto hangs in Annie’s provedore, where Federica has visited personally many times. Annie’s tour guests visit San Daniele, the home of the world’s best prosciutto, where Federica personally leads a tour behind the scenes at her family’s curing facility. Federica only offers these tours for Annie’s guests.
Connections like these make Annie’s Italy stand out from the rest. Elisabetta Dalla Bona from Dalla Bona Fromagerie is a proud fifth generation grana Padano producer. Elisabetta works closely with her father to keep their traditions alive, and loves sharing their story and delicious cheese with Annie’s guests.
“I am incredibly grateful and feel privileged to share the stories and lives of people who have now become lifelong friends with others,” Annie says. Join Annie on her passionate provedore’s food journey of Veneto.
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