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Local Flavours: A Culinary Celebration of Phillip Island and the Bass Coast

The sun is set to shine on Phillip Island this December 8th, as food and drink lovers flock to the inaugural Phillip Island & Bass Coast Local Flavours Food & Drink Showcase. Hosted at the Berninneit, Cowes, this one-day festival promises a feast for the senses and a journey to meet passionate local producers. With doors opening at 11 a.m., the event is free to attend, offering tastings, demonstrations, and the opportunity to taste and purchase some of the region’s finest food and drink.

The December 8 showcase will be helmed by none other than Shane Delia, a renowned chef celebrated for his Mediterranean-inspired cuisine and passion for local ingredients. From fresh cheeses and craft brews to artisanal gin and native-inspired condiments, the festival highlights the creative artisanship of Phillip Island and its surrounding Bass Coast.

This rich farming tradition lives on through many of the showcase’s exhibitors including Bassine Speciality Cheeses, who represent the continuation of the region’s dairy farming legacy, producing artisanal cheeses that reflect both European traditions and local terroir. Their presence at the event bridges the gap between the island’s pastoral history and its contemporary food culture.

The San Remo Fisherman’s Co-operative’s participation pays homage to the maritime heritage of the region. Just as Captain John Lock’s trading ketches once plied the waters around Rhyll in the 1800s, today’s local fishing fleet continues to harvest the bounty of Bass Strait, bringing fresh seafood to local tables. Visitors to the showcase will have the opportunity to sample and purchase some of the region’s finest seafood, caught and processed using a blend of traditional knowledge and modern sustainable practices.

Mates gin Phillip Island

The event also highlights the region’s emerging craft drink scene. Mates Gin, Ocean Reach Brewing and Green Gully Brewing represent the new wave of artisanal drink makers who are writing the next chapter in the region’s culinary story. These craft producers are joined by Herco and Emily from Silverwaters Vineyard, whose cool-climate wines express the unique characteristics of the Bass Coast terroir.

For those interested in the intersection of traditional and contemporary food practices, The Wild Food Farm offers an intriguing glimpse into how modern agriculture can work in harmony with native species and traditional knowledge. Their products represent a thoughtful approach to food production that honours both the land’s heritage and its future potential.

 

Wild Farm Food Phillip Island

The event’s demonstrations and panel sessions promise to be a highlight, with opportunities to learn how to incorporate local products into home cooking. These sessions will showcase the versatility of regional produce and provide inspiration for visitors to support local producers in their everyday cooking.

To truly immerse yourself in the region’s culinary offerings, consider extending your stay across the weekend and further. Phillip Island offers a range of accommodation options that cater to every taste and budget, from luxury coastal retreats to charming bed and breakfasts housed in historic buildings. Many local accommodations have partnered with regional producers to offer unique food experiences, such as locally sourced breakfast hampers and in-room selections of Bass Coast wines.

Phillip Island Accommodation

While the December showcase promises to be a highlight of the region’s event calendar, Phillip Island and the Bass Coast has many reasons for the food lover to return throughout the year. Each season brings its own specialties: summer seafood straight from the boats, autumn harvest, winter wine experiences, and spring producers’ markets.

DETAILS

What: Phillip Island & Bass Coast Local Flavours Food & Drink Showcase
Where: Berninneit, Phillip Island
When: Sunday, Dec 8 2024
More Info: https://localflavoursshowcase.com.au/

A spring time tour of Manningham

Recently the team at One Hour Out were invited to explore Manningham in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. What we found was an incredibly diverse mix of residential suburbs and verdant riverside parklands.

The region includes some of Victoria’s most engaging art experiences and the eclectic mix of cafes, restaurants and boutique shopping is second to none. The northern edge of Manningham is marked by the Yarra River that winds its way down from the Yarra Valley towards the city, with endless walking trails, picnic locations and playgrounds.

Come and join us as we explore this outstanding region.

The WinterWild program is out and it’s as weird and wild as you would expect

Words by Jay Dillon
Images supplied

Originally created to raise funds and ignite community spirit after the 2015 Colac Otway bushfires, the WinterWild festival (Aug 25-27) has grown into one of the highlights of Victoria’s events calendar. With the first round of the 2023 program just announced, we pull out a few highlights so you can start planning your trip.

The festival will be officially started with a Welcome to Country by members of the Eastern Marr Aboriginal Corporation at 6 pm Friday, August 25. After which the party mode sets in with an energetic performance from Wemba-Wemba rapper RidzyRay (free event).

Apollo Bay Festival

Over in the Mechanics Hall, Indie rock legend Jen Cloher will be headlining with local singer-songwriter Sid O’Neil, along with the body-shaking Zoë Fox and the Rocket Clocks and indie-jazz five-piece Outtatime. Jen Cloher has been a stable of the Melbourne indie rock scene since the early 2000s and has been instrumental in supporting and promoting emerging Australian artists.

On Saturday morning, early risers are invited to join performance artists The Midnight Horrors on the Apollo Bay Foreshore for a surreal and haunting guided ‘bird walk’. Or else rev up your engines by joining Mark Kluwer for a two-hour meditation and cold-water therapy session that is sure to quell the debauchery of the night before.

WinterWild

The Wild Feast commences along the foreshore from 4 pm, where the whole festival community will come together to bond and nourish. Expect to find open pans of seafood and vegetable paella, slow-cooked meats, soups and lip-smacking bao buns. There will be craft beers from Prickly Moses and Apollo Bay Gin Distillery will be mixing up the cocktails.

As dusk descends, watch for the arrival of Dogwatch, a dreamlike performance of fire and light from an eclectic collection of local artists, dancers, musicians and general misfits (free event). For those kicking on through the night, Dane Blacklock & the Preacher’s Daughter will be causing all sorts of chaos at the Mechanics Hall and the Apollo Bay Sailing club will play host to Moongarden, with electronic maestros DJ Harvey Sutherland with Milo Eastwood and Post Percy.

Ease yourself into Sunday morning by joining Qigong  practitioner Dani Cullen who will realign your body’s energy with a Qigong session beside an open fire on the foreshore. Or come along to a coffee roasting workshop with the guys from Hello Coffee. Get your caffeine fill, whilst exploring the process of coffee making from bean to cup.

Festival Great Ocean Road

The rest of Sunday is designed to ease you gently back into reality with a celestial performance by local concert pianist Estelle Shircore Barker in a location only revealed with your ticket purchase. And artist Amy Tsilemanis will give you plenty to think about on the drive home with a creative oral history of the Apollo Bay region that was created as part of her artist residency for the Apollo Bay Museum with support from the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund Fellowship program.

THE DETAILS

What: 2023 WinterWild
Where: Apollo Bay
When: August 25-27, 2023
More info: WinterWild

 

We wish to acknowledge the Eastern Maar people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.

Kilderkin Distillery Continues Ballarat’s Distilling Legacy

Words by Amanda Kennedy
Images by Jay Dillon

With gins named Larrikin, Scoundrel, and Buccaneer, you just know Kilderkin Distillery don’t take themselves too seriously. The Ballarat based distillery was first established in 2016, with the release of their first gin a year later. Since then, they’ve been steadily growing the range which now includes eight gins and three liqueurs to tempt your tastebuds.

Partners Chris Pratt and Rebecca Mathews are proud to be another chapter in the long history of Ballarat distilling which wasn’t always the strictly legal kind. The first legal distillery in Victoria was located in Ballarat and produced both gin and whisky from the 1860s through to the 1930s.

It was in late 2020 that the pair decided to relocate Kilderkin Distillery to a more central Ballarat location, with more room for distilling as well as that all-important cellar door experience. Formerly a group training facility, the spacious building underwent major renovations including sandblasting walls and grinding concrete and yet somehow has managed to maintain that rustic warehouse vibe.

After settling in the most important equipment – their two stills – the pair are almost ready to throw open their doors after a long 15 months. Chris explains –

Once we finally open, people will be able to book tours either online or call up, and that will involve a tour of the production area, where the stills are with the full explanation of the whole process of making gin. Then after that, we’ll do a formal tasting talking them through different styles of gin, how we actually balance the flavours, and how they can enhance the gins with different selection of mixers, tonic, soda and garnish.

Apart from gin, the distillery will also serve quality Victorian craft beers and a tight selection of wines, as well as produce platters to keep you fed while hydrating. And, if like us, you’re wondering what a kilderkin is, it is a measurement of volume equalling 18 Imperial Gallons or about 82 litres, the perfect size barrel for maturing spirits.

THE DETAILS

WHAT: Kilderkin Distillery
WHERE: 14A Hill St, Mount Pleasant
WHEN: Wednesday – Friday: 11:00am – 4:00pm
MORE INFO: kilderkindistillery.com.au

We wish to acknowledge the Wadawurrung people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.

New Florescence gin – bloomin’ delicious

Words by Amanda Kennedy
Images Supplied

What does Melbourne taste like and is that even a wise question to ask? Well, Anther Distillery duo Dervilla McGowan and Sebastian Reaburn teamed up with Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria to answer such a question. And the answer they came up with is the newly-released Florescence gin.

With a combined more than 45 years in hospitality and multiple distilling awards behind them, Anther Distillery were just the people for the job. Based in the historical Federal Woolen Mills in Geelong, they produce a range of gin including the popular Geelong Dry gin, a seasonal Cherry gin & even a Chocolate gin with toasted cacao nibs (hello Negroni).

By now we pretty much all know that gin is all about botanicals. They are what make it so seductive and compelling. Without them, it’s just hooch. They also allow the spirit to speak of a particular place, utilising flowers, herbs, leaves, roots etc, in other words, botanicals.

Florescence gin is the love-child of Anther and Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV), and as such all botanicals were sourced directly from the RBGV Melbourne and Cranbourne sites. With a staggering 10, 000+ plant species to choose from, the question then becomes where does one begin?

Dervilla spent time with head botanist Neville Walsh walking through the gardens and herbarium, as well as examining historical botanical catalogues.

 We enjoyed walking around with the gardens experts to explore and discuss ingredients. Working with Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria meant that we had a whole library of potential ingredients at our fingertips and access to scientists and botanists with an educated hunch about what might work.

They settled on 21 ingredients in total, including some of the usual suspects such as orange and lemon peel, coriander seeds and juniper (without which the spirit is not gin). Other more unique inclusions are the leaves and berries from Tasmania xerophilia (Alpine Pepper) to give a little heat on the back palate, Kunzea parvifola (Violet Kunzea) and Baeckea gunniana – Alpine Baeckea

Proceeds from the sales support the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria’s landscapes, scientific and horticultural research and public programs. And as if you needed any further recommendation, Tim Entwisle, Director and Chief Executive of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria says, ‘this is a real, one-of-a-kind beverage, the official taste of Melbourne, with the delicate notes and scents reminiscent of the Gardens. I have personally taste-tested and approved of this gin.’

Well, count us in.

THE DETAILS

WHAT: Florescence Gin
WHERE: Online store and other stockists
WHEN: Available now
MORE INFO: anther.com.au

We wish to acknowledge the Wadawurrung people as traditional owners of this land and to pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.