He’s the unknown Stefanovic brother, the one who turned his back on the flashy world of television for life on the farm.Tom is the youngest brother of TV presenters Karl and Pete, who once worked as a cameraman behind the scenes in television.Today, the 36-year-old runs Mandole Orchard almond farm in Griffith with former fashion publicist wife, Jenna.“I used to be a cameraman and now I milk almond nipples for a living,” Tom told The Daily Telegraph. “It’s funny where life takes you.” The journey into almond farming was born out of the couple exploring “healthier lifestyle” options and turning to a more plant-based diet.They are based out of Jenna’s family farm, working with her parents Annette and Denis and younger brother Dean, using an old family recipe for the almond milk.“We love that almonds are such a positive force of nature,” Jenna said. “Water conservation as well as soil rejuvenation are really important to us as they not only contribute positively to the environment but also produce the high-quality, sustainable product that Mandole Orchard has become known for.” With Karl and Pete based in Sydney with young families, the trio of brothers catch up as regularly as possible, along with sister Elisa and their mum, Jenny.Karl is married to shoe designer Jasmine while Pete has two young kids with his TV presenter wife, Sylvia JeffreyThe brothers were groomsmen for each of their respective weddings.“As we don’t all live in the one city, it’s rare for us to be in the same place at the same time but when we do get together the day is normally centred around a leg of lamb and we have a lot to catch up on so there are great conversations that take place accompanied by great music and of course a nice vino or two,” Karl said, Tom adding: “We have two journalists in the family. Needless to say, there is more talking at one end of the table than the other. On these occasions my sister Elisa and I use the opportunity to pick out the best cuts of meat and the crispiest potatoes of which we then have to guard intensely for the remainder of the meal.”Tom and Jenna were married on the farm in 2015, having met several years earlier when they both lived in Sydney.The youngest Stefanovic joked about his brothers supporting the fledgling almond business.“Karl recently made the switch to plant milk and is so obsessed, he bathes in our almond milk every Friday afternoon after a long week at work surrounded by candles and Enya playing on the stereo. Pete on the other hand has a lot more range and is a passionate cook. I believe if he weren’t a journalist, he would have his own restaurant in the north of Italy somewhere.”Growing up in Queensland, the Stefanovic’s shared a dislike of one vegetable in particular.The boys will appear on Matt Moran’s Kitchen Tales YouTube channel from Sunday night.“The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree; we all can’t stand the sight, smell and taste of brussels sprouts but who does right?” Karl recalled. “Our mother Jenny had one golden rule at dinner and that was that you couldn’t leave the table until your plate was empty. This rule became very difficult to obey on the nights mum served up brussels sprouts. For Tommy and I, well we just closed our eyes, held our breath and swallowed making sure we had a glass of juice within arms reach to chase it down with. For Pete, he just couldn’t do it. He would be left at the table for hours on his own.”
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