Copyright theage
“There are so many Mornington Peninsula people nominated tonight, and that’s a real testament to how lucky we are to live in such a produce-rich region.” Most obviously, the two-hatted Barragunda is a place for long lunching. The cooking is so exceptional that Watts and pastry chef Laura Skvor were finalists in the Guide’s chef of the year and young chef of the year categories, respectively. In her review earlier this year, The Age’s chief restaurant critic Besha Rodell praised the restaurant’s service as “that wonderful, oh-so-Australian combination of passion, warmth and personality”. A pitched-roofed, glass-walled pavilion encases the restaurant, but even more magic happens outside, on the surrounding 1000 acres of the Cape Schanck property. Most ingredients that land on your plate are sourced from the site’s regenerative farm, where Watts lives so she can monitor the harvests. Her menus rarely repeat themselves, and find wonder in what other chefs may consider waste, from sunflower stems to burnt onion skins. Anything that can be composted is, while plastic is avoided where possible.
