When I was asked whether I would like to try Gamze Smokehouse’s Gold Bacon and chat to Brendan Gamze about the process behind it as well as the philosophy behind the family owned and operated Smokehouse, I was thrilled. Gamze Smokehouse was started by Felix Gamze, Brendan’s father, who migrated to Australia with his parents as a boy, went to school before starting an apprenticeship in butchery. Felix was ahead of his time, enjoying experimenting with different ways of preserving and curing and smoking to avoid using chemicals, as well as seeking out ethically produced local meat for his products. The Gamze Gold Bacon came out of a round table discussion about how to make the best bacon possible. They started with the pig, using free-range, black rare breed pork from a regenerative farm on the Limestone Coast. The pigs are finished on a mixture of acorns and macadamias for an ultra-rich taste then brined in Three Bays mineral water, Murray River pink salt and manuka honey before being double cold smoked over retired wine barrels. This produces a highly aromatic bacon with a complex caramelised flavour profile that is totally unique. It is finished with edible gold leaf. Gamze are producing a very limited amount of this bacon and releasing it on 30 August in time for Father’s Day and World Bacon Day, so if I were you I would be getting onto this right away!