GIPPSLAND'S NEW GROOVE
Gippsland offers its fair share of stunning attractions. Coastal trails link squeaky white-sand beaches, there’s a UNESCO biosphere and more than 40 cellar doors. These days, you can add awarded restaurants, artisan cheesemakers, top-notch cafes, distillers, cideries and more to the mix.
FARM-TO-PLATE OUT WEST
When Trevor Perkins opened his first restaurant in West Gippsland back in 2012, the biggest hurdle he faced was sourcing direct from local growers. “A lot of the produce in Gippsland gets put on a truck, taken to market and then brought back down.”
You wouldn’t know it today eyeing the – the chef’s collaboration with natural winemakers William Downie and Patrick Sullivan – which reads like a who’s who of small-scale farmers and growers in south-east Victoria. Hogget is true farm-to-plate dining, with pickling, bottling, smoking and brining done in-house. Go the whole hog and ‘let Trev cook for you’, a multi-course degustation where house-made charcuterie shines, and foraged, sustainable and seasonal dishes are as elegant as the views of gentle wine-clad slopes.
