Faces Behind Food – Falani & Olivier – Living Earth Farm
Long before they were farmers, Falani and Olivier were chefs. They spent years in busy kitchens on opposite sides of the world, learning what it takes to turn good ingredients into something memorable. They came to understand what “fresh” truly means and how to recognise real quality in produce: its vibrancy, its colour, its crispness, its aroma and above all, its flavour. Somewhere along the way, the source of those ingredients began to call to them and they were slowly lured out of the kitchen and into the field.
Falani grew up in Toronto, Canada, in a household filled with creativity. Her parents worked in theatre and film and she spent her childhood immersed in those worlds, dancing from the age of three. Her love of food led her to study cooking and then to an apprenticeship with the celebrated Canadian-German chef Michael Stadtlander at Eigensinn Farm in Singhampton, Ontario. It was at Eigensinn that something shifted. Surrounded by the land that fed the kitchen, Falani found a new connection with the natural world and it was farming, more than cooking, that captured her heart. Over the following twelve years, that passion deepened into a commitment to medicinal plants. She went on to study Medicinal Herbalism and dreams of one day growing medicinal herbs alongside the farm’s fruit and vegetables.
Olivier was born in Melbourne to Italian migrant parents and food was at the centre of his family life from the very beginning. His grandfather was an orchardist, and Olivier inherited his deep love of fruit trees. He spent fifteen years as a chef, cooking at respected Australian restaurants PIER and ISIS, and working in France and London for Alain Ducasse at Plaza Athénée, Coeur Jardin and SPOON. When he eventually stepped away from the kitchen for a sabbatical in Europe, he began to explore agriculture. It was while working with the late, great biodynamic farmer Stefano Belotti at Cascina degli Ulivi in Italy that Olivier realised his future lay in the soil. Farming satisfied both his fascination with plants and his love of hard physical work and he has since shared that knowledge through consulting and teaching.
Together, Falani and Olivier spent several years working alongside Michael Ableman at Foxglove Farm in Canada. Michael is widely regarded as one of the great figures of the North American organic farming movement and is the founder of Sole Food Street Farms and Fairview Gardens. The time they spent learning from him helped shape the kind of farmers they would become.
The first Living Earth Farm took root on leased land in High Range, New South Wales. The site brought enormous challenges and after a difficult chapter, the couple returned to Canada for two years to keep learning and refining their craft. But Australia was not finished with them.
In the winter of 2023, they began again. Living Earth Farm was reborn on Wiradjuri Country in Young, New South Wales, a town known as the cherry capital of Australia, with its own special microclimate tucked into the hills before the land flattens out towards the Riverina. The property had once been a cherry and plum orchard and later a market garden, before its owners retired. With rich granite soils, more room to grow and a reliable water supply, Falani and Olivier saw what the land could become. They sowed the paddocks with cover crops, planted native and fruiting trees and opened up new ground for the seasons ahead, slowly bringing fresh life back to the land.
The way they farm is shaped by everything they learnt in the kitchen. They believe that if you want true flavour, you must grow in living soil. They grow from seed, constantly sourcing and trialling new varieties in search of beautiful, field-ripened produce with character and a story to tell. They describe themselves as biological farmers and for them, organic farming is not simply about following rules. It is about seeing the farm as one connected system, from the rhythms of the sun and moon to the birds that pass overhead and the insects that hum among the crops.
Diversity guides everything they do, from the mix of cover crops and harvest crops to the life in the soil beneath them. Their rows are straight and their plants are generously spaced, so that each one has room to thrive. Most of all, they rely on close observation, walking their paddocks every day, watching, listening and learning. They often say that you farm for two reasons: for good food and to have stories to tell.
Their dedication has not gone unnoticed. Living Earth Farm was named a state winner in the delicious Produce Awards and in 2025 took out the national “From the Earth” category at the delicious Harvey Norman Produce Awards, recognised for growing vibrant, flavourful vegetables through sustainable, seasonal and regenerative practices.
For Falani and Olivier, every day on the farm is a reminder of how lucky they are to work in a profession they love and of how they are part of something far greater than themselves.
