Saskia Beer

Saskia was an extraordinary individual. Incredibly intelligent, creative instinctive cook, a natural and driven entrepreneur.  In her far too short life she achieved so much.

From her early years growing up with Elli on the Pheasant Farm, Sassie would spend time helping in the kitchen or collecting eggs from the birds as Elli would spend time out front with the customers , all just to be with us given that Colin and I worked such long hours, particularly with weekends being the busiest of all.    Being part of the rhythm of the seasons on our farm they both lived the understanding of paddock to plate way before the term had become part of our lexicon.       

Our family ethos of making the most of our seasons;  our own produce and that on our doorstep of the Barossa and value adding without any preservatives so driven by flavor and quality and ‘natural’ were the cornerstones of everything we did and totally embraced by both our girls, yet it was Saskia that took her Dad’s interest in poultry in another direction that began her journey.

Sassie started her own venture, Barossa Chooks, later to be called ‘Saskia’s Chooks’ on the Pheasant Farm property until running out of space. As an entrepreneur, Saskia would always be looking at how she could continue to develop and grow her business, whilst staying true to our family roots of great quality food with flavour. A gifted cook driven by a belief in the food that a bird would eat needed to be the most nourishing yet natural ingredients as that would impact flavor and texture.  Saskia with the assistance of Condor Laucke of Laucke’s Feeds devised a very particular diet for the chooks, so full of goodness and totally vegetarian with no antibiotics.      This very specialized diet and the way they were bred allowed to free range and grow slowly and naturally was so important and Saskia was way ahead of her time with this thinking, so much so that it became her point of difference for quality of the bird that she was responsible for farming. The phrase would often be heard around dinner tables ‘it tastes like a chook used to’

Whilst Saskia started out with chooks, her passion for farming produce with flavour continued with Colin and Joy Liernerts friendship which started with the first year that the International Organisation of Slow Food held their symposium in the Barossa in 2004.

Colin and Joy had bred their beloved Berkshire pigs free ranged on the Sheoak Log property from the 1960’s never bowing to the pressure of intensive pig farming that rejected the black pig (as the Berkshire is) because of black hairs, and the hysteria that mistakenly reigned for so many years with the fear of fat so rejecting that of heritage breeds. Whilst the tide has turned now, and probably began to turn only in the last 10 years, I know that Saskia who became the champion of Colin and Joy’s Berkshire - recognising the flavor and texture and sweet fat of the pig that makes it such a delicacy led that charge Australia wide. Sassie developed her ‘Black Pig’ range using the Berkshire and made the most delicious bacon and ham I have ever eaten - as well as a range of smallgoods. All so exceptional.

Saskia was always innovating, always adding to her ideas - big and small, taking on huge arenas at times always for the excitement of what was possible. Saskia’s passion for food, for cooking for feeding people was at the very heart of her.

Saskia and Elli started out together with their catering business from the Pheasant Fam; ‘the Beer Girls’. Together, they would cater for the smallest to the largest events imagineable over the years each with their own part in it. Sassie for the cooking and Elli for making it happen.

With all of that, Saskia was also a beautiful writer, an educator and a speaker on value adding and artisanal farming practises Australia wide. Her legacy will continue with beautiful produce in the homes of everyday Australians.

Enjoying one of Saskia’s chooks with family and friends always has, and will continue to been a favourite part of our time together.

We are so proud of the mark she made on the food life of Australia with this in her very own identity.      As a family we have established a Saskia Beer Churchill Fellowship Trust which given COVID restrictions will not be available till 2022 yet the hope is to support another entrepreneur in this field of Saskia’s wide interests so that her name will forever be connected with new ideas deserving to be fostered that will continue to bring value to the food life of Australians.

How missed she is, how loved she will always be.