Hogget Kitchen is a ‘farm to desk’ restaurant that’s positioned within the Wild Canine vineyard, simply exterior of Warragul in Victoria, Australia. The restaurant has an amazing view of the vineyards.
The blackboard within the restaurant doesn’t record the menu, however as a substitute all of the suppliers of components for the restaurant, that are all positioned within the Gippsland area.
The restaurant doesn’t have à la carte however two chef’s menus “Let Trev cook dinner for you”: 4 programs for AU$ 110 or 6 programs for AU$ 140. We opted for the latter, with wine pairing (AU$ 80 for six half glasses). Many of the wines have been additionally from Victoria, some from very shut by.
We began with an Australian Prosecco, Puncheon Darts 2023. It’s constructed from the identical grape selection (Glera/Prosecco) and the identical technique (Charmat/Martinotti) as Prosecco from Italy, however with grapes from Kings Valley, NSW, Australia quite than from the Prosecco area in Italy, and produced by an organization in Victoria. It was a pleasant prosecco: fruity however dry.
The Prosecco was a very good pairing for the snacks:
- Zucchini flower filled with ricotta and drizzled with a lemon and medlar syryp (medlar are a sort of berries)
- Pie tee pastry filled with a cauliflower gratin and pickled onion
- Venison blackberry and beetroot croquette with a plum sauce
The second wine was a Patrick Sullivan 2023 Chardonnay from Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, unoaked and in a crisp fashion.
It was a very good pairing for the heirloom beetroot tart with goat’s cheese and macadamia crumb. It was a quite mellow goat’s cheese and a really elegant dish.
The third wine was a Pinot Gris made as a rosé from the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia (and luckily not as an orange wine), very elegant.
It was a very good pairing for the steamed Nook Inlet Garfish with steamed inexperienced asaparagus, pea tendrils, and a white wine sauce. The fish had a pleasant texture. We thought the dish might do with a bit extra seasoning.
The wine with the following dish was a 2022 mix of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon by Entropy, a vineyard very near the restaurant in Gippsland, Victoria. Produced like a white Bordeaux (in oak with getting older on the lees) the wine had excellent stability between the creamy texture and the fruit.
It was a very good pairing for the hand-cut recent tagliolini pasta with zucchini, pine nuts, deep fried basil, and a creamy sauce. A really elegant dish, which might do with a bit extra seasoning (or a bit extra parmigiano cheese).
The purple wine was a William Downie 2024 Pinot Noir, once more from a vineyard shut by in Gippsland, Victoria. We favored this Pinot Noir a lot that we purchased a few bottles to drink within the camper. Very good physique and velvety tannins.
It was a wonderful pairing for the Seaview Park Smoked Hogget with thinly sliced kohlrabi, broccolini, jus, Halcyon Farm gem lettuce salad with a tarragon and walnut dressing, and radishes from the restaurant’s personal farm. The BBQ’ed meat was from the shoulder and leg and really flavorful. It was introduced as 12-24 month previous lamb, which is mutton in my guide. Some items have been too chewy, however the taste of the meat was nice.
The dessert wine was a 2019 Narkoojee late harvest Viognier from Gippsland, Victoria that should have had very excessive potential alcohol to have 14.5% alcohol and nonetheless be candy. The sweetness was balanced properly with acidity.
This was a very good pairing for the Mille feuille raspberry and strawberry tart with chantilly cream.
Hogget kitchen is a superb instance of the ‘farm to desk’ idea. I like the thought behind it, however ultimately the standard of the components is extra vital than the space to the restaurant. Nonetheless, on this case the limitation of utilizing solely native components just isn’t detrimental to the tip end result in any respect. In fact it helps to be positioned in a bountiful area comparable to Gippsland. Meals, wine, and repair are have been excellent. Don’t miss this restaurant if you’re within the space; it’s solely barely over an hour from Melbourne.
