In a sunlit kitchen with sweeping views of the Western Tiers, Jessie Francis cooks oat cakes, carrying on the business her mother began during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The business was started by Sally during the quiet months of pandemic lockdown. “She dusted off an old recipe for oat cakes, started making them and was just giving them to friends in care packages,” Francis recalls. “Everyone loved them.”
Letter to the Editor
Those oat cakes, savoury and sturdy, were built for cheese boards and chutney. Her mother’s acceptance into Seedlab Tasmania, a free business development program, brought professional packaging, marketing advice and the confidence to approach more shops. “It changed the trajectory,” Francis says. Seedlab Tasmania has since ceased.
The oat cake recipe comes from Scotland, where Jessie and her two sisters were born and where Sally lived before meeting Jessie’s father, Rob. In its original form, oat cakes were made with animal lard. At Shelduck Farm, the lard is replaced with Tasmanian olive oil, and the flavourings are local: fennel from friends in Railton, pepperberry and rosemary from the garden. To extend the product line, sweet biscuits have also joined the line-up, appearing on winery platters, in coffee vans and in small shops.
Most customers first discover Shelduck Farm through hamper companies, which place large orders for Christmas, Father’s Day and Mother’s Day. “It’s probably a higher-end product simply because it’s all handmade,” Francis says. Every biscuit is mixed, baked, cut and stamped by hand.
The name itself invites questions. “A lot of people think we are either selling ducks or that we’ve used duck milk to create the product,” Francis says with a smile. The truth is simpler. The farm is home to shelducks, native birds known for mating for life.
The North Coast Post: BSB 633 000 · Account number: 2366 8 9535
Sourcing ingredients is one of the hardest parts. Tasmania does not have the equipment to mill oats in the manner required by the recipe, so the oat meal is shipped from South Australia. Freight costs limit expansion to the mainland. “In Scotland, oat cakes are part of the staple diet,” Francis says. “But here, the oat meal is very difficult to source.”
The markets have brought their own small dramas, from explaining that “cake” does not always mean sweet to assuring customers that no ducks are involved. For Francis, these conversations are part of the charm.
Looking ahead, she hopes to grow without losing what makes Shelduck Farm distinct. Scaling up would mean importing an expensive oat cake machine from Europe, but for now she prefers the intimacy of the current process. “It’s part of our story that it’s in our kitchen to your kitchen,” she says.
Handing over a family business is never without its challenges, and working with relatives can test even the closest relationships, yet Shelduck Farm has managed the transition with care and success. After working with Sally for several years, Jessie took over the reins in July. Sally still works beside Jessie and the oat cakes they make together now travel across the state. “It’s good,” Jessie says of working with family. “It’s just a small kitchen space, but she’s [Sally’s] been excellent, very supportive and has obviously shown me everything.”
Jessie’s days are carefully balanced. She bakes two or three days a week, works part time as a nurse, and organises the school run. Deloraine, she says, offers everything she needs. “It’s a beautiful town. I love getting out in nature, and seeing the changes of the seasons. We’re lucky.”
Shelduck Farm is just one of many Meander Valley businesses that turn local skill and dedication into high quality products. From kitchens, farms and workshops across the region, producers are sending cheeses, baked goods, preserves and other delicacies to tables throughout Tasmania and across the country. Buying from these local businesses boosts the Meander Valley, helping to sustain jobs, strengthen communities and ensure that the benefits of each purchase are shared close to home.
