Have you had a meal so special the memory stays with you long after it ends?
It could be anything, from street food in Thailand to fine dining in Paris – the common factor being something that lingers in the deepest regions of fondly remembered senses.
I’d not dined at The Lakehouse before, so when the invitation came my way it was a most definite ‘yes please!’. I scoped out its history, learned it has two Chefs Hats and is on The Australian Hot 50 and Australia’s Wine List of the Year, and, with mounting anticipation, awaited my visit.
Produce is often hand picked for a morning delivery. Local lamb, rare breed pork, grass fed beef, fresh water fish, sheep and goat’s milk cheese, heirloom fruit from old orchards and windfalls from local gardens regularly arrive at the kitchen.
Wild damsons, Winter Nealis pears, quinces and yellow crab apples feature in fabulous desserts and, in time honoured country fashion, are also made into delicious preserves. Each seasonal menu takes you on a trip down country lanes, through the orchards and across the farm paddocks of the region.
We selected a sublime, creamy 1996 Chenin Blanc to accompany our meal of perfectly prepared and presented roast mulloway, pasture fed beef cheek – but a special mention should go to ‘The Apple’ for dessert, a perfect sphere of white chocolate sitting on apple granita. Once you’ve plucked up the nerve to smash it open, you’ll discover a sort of apple-y Nirvana. I didn’t think I could eat another thing until I had my first mouthful, and then it was onwards towards pure gluttony.
Be prepared for an extremely well selected but pricey wine list, and the need to book well ahead, specially if you’d like a particular table. That said, the general ambiance of the place was relaxed and chic with most of the waiters speaking fluent French, which added a particular flair I didn’t think I’d find in country Victoria Daylesford.
Lake House
King Street Daylesford 3460 Victoria, Australia
info@lakehouse.com.au
+61 (03) 5348 3329
