The Mornington Peninsula has been a magnet for food lovers for a long time. Ancient shell middens around Point Nepean attest to the longstanding fondness the local First Nations people, the Boon wurrung, had for the Peninsula’s shellfish. And while it was the abundant seas that originally attracted Europeans to this stretch of land 70km south of Melbourne, it was the fertile soil and diverse microclimates that kept them there.
For a slice of land just 723km2, the Peninsula grows, produces and sells an astonishing variety of food and booze. Best known as one of Victoria’s premier wine regions, it’s also home to distilleries, cideries and breweries, and produces everything from brilliant potatoes (best sampled in the form of thrice-cooked chips at the Hawkes Farm Food Truck), cherries and truffles to olive oils, cheeses, avocados, eggs, beef and mussels. There are farm gates at every turn and the IGA supermarket in Dromana even has a salt-walled meat aging room.
It’s little wonder, then, that one of the most fertile crops on the Peninsula right now is great restaurants. All of them, from starry fine diners to casual bistros, make the most of what’s being grown and made around them – and sometimes by them. Here, we explore what the Peninsula’s best are doing with the Peninsula’s best.
Jackalope Hotel
Denne historien er fra October 2021-utgaven av Gourmet Traveller.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra October 2021-utgaven av Gourmet Traveller.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
From personal experience
Former Hope St Radio chef ELLIE BOUHADANA invites you to gather your loved ones and enjoy an evening of good food and laughter with recipes from her new cookbook, Ellie's Table.
Kimberley Moulton
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Tom Wallace
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BE OUR GUEST
Inspired by the sense of place conjured by Europe's Michelin-star restaurants, local restaurateurs are expanding their hospitality remit to include accommodation
Barcelona BUZZ
A popular drawcard for digital nomads and expats alike, the Catalonian capital offers equal parts sophistication and fun. Here, DANI VALENT discovers the latest dining hotspots.
HEATHCOTE BOUND
MICHAEL HARDEN hits the road to explore regional Victoria's Heathcote, home to this year's Best Destination Dining and a host of other delights.
The art of...relishing restaurants
Does working in hospitality make someone a better or worse diner
HEART AND SOUL
Not a vegetable but rather a flower bud that rises on a thistle, the artichoke is a complex delight. Its rewards are hard won; first you must get past the armour of petals and remove the hairy choke. Those who step up are rewarded with sweet and savoury creaminess and the elusive flavour of spring. Many of the recipes here begin with the same Provençal braise. Others call on the nuttiness of artichokes in their raw form. The results make pasta lighter and chicken brighter or can be fried to become a vessel for bold flavours all of which capture the levity of the season.
