“If I had my way, I would devote half the shop for fruit and veg – and Nick and Marco know it,” says our produce manager George Krambousanos. Well, produce does not take up half the space, but it is the most happening part of the shop, and a great deal of stock moves through it.

This is the way George likes it. “If people do not take risks in life, it can get very boring,” he says. “And I hate being bored – I like to take 30 boxes of avocados and say, ‘let’s sell these,’ rather than safely move one box.” The secret of making the most of limited space is to keep the stock turning over. “I’d rather sell 100 bananas at $1 than 10 at $2,” he says. George oversees a staff of seven, four of whom are always on duty, keeping the shelves topped up and tidy.

George knows his onions, and much else besides, with 30 years’ experience in the merchandising of fresh produce behind him – including 20 years in Melbourne, two in Darwin and one in Sydney, with a spread of experience from the biggest to the smallest, most up-market retailers. His interest began when he was 14. His dad had the fish shop at Claremont, and George would add fruit in the window display. He could have trained in the fish business, but the colour and excitement of fresh fruit and vegetables won out.

George joined us when Hill Street Grocer was enlarged in 2001. He planned the new section so that salad lines were on one side, other vegetables along the wall and fruit “straight down the middle”.

He enjoys creating spectacular displays, but they, like him, are approachable. “I like my displays to look beautiful, but they are made to be sold,” he says. “If a customer says they look so good it’s a pity to touch them, I get in there and take fruit from all over for them.” He is quick too, to “get my knife out” and cut up an apple or a peach and give customers a taste.

On the other hand, he likes some produce just for the drama of it. “In the Melbourne markets they have beans a metre long, like snakes, and there is big fruit like hedgehogs – durian. If a lot of people look at it, it creates excitement and interest, and that’s good, even if we don’t sell it. If anything is exotic and new in season, you’re likely to find it here first.”

Local produce is the big deal though. In the height of summer about 85% of produce in the shop has been grown locally. George would even like to see legislation laying down that a certain proportion of whatever is grown in Tasmania has to be offered to local retailers.

“We have to have top stuff, no mucking about,” he says. If produce is not up to scratch it is far more likely to be sent back to the supplier, rather than bargain-binned. “That’s not our style.”

George has perfected the art of a fruit “package”, not a salad but different fruits in a pack – not as easy as it might look as different fruits react differently to each other. “It has taken me years to work out this item,” he says. He also excels at making fruit baskets. “When I get an order for these, I make them in shop,” says George. I have a stack of a couple of milk crates and a basket, then I just build them up from there, in front of the customers. If one is ordered for 4pm, I will usually make it at 2pm, and just leave it sitting there . . .”

George’s working day begins between 3 and 4am. Each night, everything except the “hard lines” – potatoes, onions, apples, pears (and tomatoes that do not like refrigeration) is taken from the displays and refrigerated for the night and all the bins and shelves are cleaned.

“I have to start early to have the produce displayed ready for the first customer at 7.30am,” he says. “The shop should be looking as good for the first customer as for the last customer.” Doesn’t it bother him to start his day so early? “No, I love early mornings,” he says. “It allows me to do anything I like in the afternoons, mostly that’s coaching soccer.” He goes to bed early “unless there’s soccer on TV or a show on food”. “I love any show on food – cooking it, where it comes from, how it’s grown. I love my job.”

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