1 CELERIAC
“This is one of those vegetables that has flown under the radar for so long. People look at it and think, ‘What the hell do I do with it?’ But celeriac is so versatile – you can chip it, mash it, puree it, roast it, salt-bake it. It’s so tasty!”
2 FENNEL
“Fennel is like a secret hero ingredient. It’s kind of like that bassline that you can’t really hear, but if you take it out, the whole thing seems wrong. I think it’s really underutilised.”
3 QUINCE
“In winter, buckets of quinces start showing up at our kitchen doorstep, and that’s when we know it’s time to change the dessert menu. This can be a bit of a challenging fruit, but the reward is brilliance.”
4 BRUSSELS SPROUTS
“Too many people hate these for no good reason. I don’t blanch and refresh sprouts first, in order to retain all the natural sugars that are going to caramelise.”
The small town of Berrima is the stuff that long weekend dreams are made of. This charmingly picturesque hamlet in NSW’s Southern Highlands is like a little piece of history, with its beautifully preserved heritage buildings set against impossibly green rolling countryside.
It’s also here that you’ll find some of NSW’s best produce and, therefore, finest dining. And taking a starring role is Berrima’s Eschalot. This award-winning restaurant is housed in an inviting heritage-listed sandstone building that was once one of 13 local drinkhouses that were built to feed and water hopeful prospectors during the Gold Rush
