The Chicken Story

Recently I was asked to promote a company that prides itself on being the best free range chicken company in Australasia, producing a huge amount of poultry each week across the whole country. At first I must admit I was hesitant, thinking it was yet just another mass produced food product.

I did some research and cooked a few dishes that were full of flavour - which really got me interested. I then delved a little deeper and went out and met the people running the business. I met everyone from the CEO down to the people responsible for growing and feeding the chickens and I must say that I was impressed - in fact blown away - with their business philosophy, attention to detail and care with the chicken farming and food production principles.

I stretched the friendship and asked to visit some of their free range chicken farms which they kindly agreed to, and this was a fantastic experience. You can take it from me there are NO cages on these farms. The chickens are free to roam outside of their barn whenever they choose to during the day and the feed contains wholesome grains and proteins. On my farm visit I learned that chickens, apparently, love nesting under trees and gathering on top of hay bales and i couldn’t get over how many trees were planted on these farms and how many bales of hay were tossed around the paddocks for the chickens' enjoyment.

See some simple chicken recipes here!

This visit was invaluable for me to understand what the company are trying to achieve, and I am confident they will achieve their goal in every sense because of their passion for producing a good chicken product under very strict guidelines. It is so reassuring to visit a business producing such a popular food product that goes to such lengths to achieve the best product and not compromise their quality standards to save costs.

I am really fed up with mass marketed unhealthy foods, fast foods and all the crap which is dumped on the market targeting kids, low income families and sporting events.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out why our kids and our nation as a whole are becoming more and more overweight, diabetic, and allergic. Take one look at all the 24-hour fast food outlets on every corner of every town, one look at the overly processed, mass produced crap sold everywhere. Supermarkets with isle upon isle of crap full of sugar, colors, artificial flavors, unhealthy fats.

Not all fast food has to be like this. On a recent trip to China, I walked into a place called Kung Fu Chicken which looked and felt like any huge multi-national fast food chain… but I was amazed to find that the menu had steaming bowls of chicken in broth with various Chinese herbs and dried fruits. You could order, alongside a steamed chicken and herb broth, some sautéed mushrooms and green vegetables and red rice. It was great.

Australia, with its great producers, farmers, creativity and cultural mix, can surely prove to the world that we can be healthy in the food stakes - instead of one of the fattest nations on earth?! What are your thoughts? Tell us below!