If you’ve ever wondered how Minifarms selects the freshest and tastiest fruit and veg, the answer lies in the expertise of Joe & Dom from J&D Providore.
Dom’s father, Joseph (the ‘J’ in J&D Providore), owned fruit shops all his life. When he sold his last in 1999, Dom was completing his accounting degree.
“I needed pocket money, so I kept five of the deliveries from the fruit shop and started supplying five restaurants from my parents’ garage. We built a little 2x2 metre cool room in there,” Dom said.
Since then, J&D Providore has expanded, supplying Sydney restaurants, cafés, and Minifarms with high-quality, local produce.
Dom’s morning begins at 12am with a trip to the market. After opening his warehouse, he then spends a few hours browsing the local growers for the best quality produce.
He starts in Shed D, which is NSW grown produce, before looking at produce from the rest of Australia.
“After 25 years, it’s obvious to me what is the best quality,” Dom said.
“For instance, up until now, we were supplying Minifarms with NSW eggplant because they were plentiful, and they were cheap. But now they’ve finished their season and we’re purchasing Victorian produce instead,” Dom said.
While NSW eggplant can still be purchased, Dom knows it’s not at its best and therefore avoids it at all costs.
“It’s the last crop, it’s the oldest crop, and it’s very tough. This knowledge is brought about through experience,” he said.
Similarly, when Dom said he’d purchase imperial mandarins for Minifarms last week, he quickly revoked this promise after taste testing them at the markets.
“Because they’d just started, they haven’t got any flavour yet, so I decided to give Minifarms a sweeter, substitute variety, instead of the imperial, because I wasn’t happy with the quality,” Dom said.
Dom is a familiar face at the markets each morning and, because of this, has fostered good relations with many of the growers.
“Because I’ve known the farmers for so long, they give me advice about whether to purchase or not. At the end of the day, their job is to sell their produce, but because of the relationship I’ve got, they’ll turn around and say ‘Dom, these aren’t good enough for you’,” he said.
For example, when it comes to zucchinis, Dom’s suppliers know he wants a specific size for Minifarms and they’ll let him know if they can’t provide what he’s after.
“When vegetables, for example zucchinis, are large, they’ve got a lot more seeds in them, and there’s a lot more water content, so the flavour is not there. A medium sized zucchini is perfect for flavour!”
Dom’s expert knowledge, combined with his experience and passion for providing the best, guarantees Minifarms is in safe hands when it comes to securing high-quality produce each week!