Most chefs would count themselves lucky to have access to a kitchen garden or nearby allotment for sourcing fresh produce. This makes Colin Barker, executive chef at new restaurant Megalong at Lot 101 in NSW’s scenic Blue Mountains, particularly blessed. He has a 600-hectare working farm at his disposal.
The terms ‘farm-to-table’ and ‘paddock-to-plate’ are bandied about a lot in the fine-dining world these days, but Megalong embraces this philosopy in the truest sense. The restaurant sits at the epicentre of Lot 101 Farm, which sprawls amidst native bushland in the cliffs beneath Megalong Valley. Having opened in May this year, the restaurant sources almost 100 percent of its produce directly from the farm. Vegetables, herbs, fruits and olives are grown organically, while beef, sheep, chickens and ducks are all pasture raised with a strong focus on regenerative agriculture. An apiary of bees provides honey and pollination services for the farm’s crops, and the farm even does its own butchering onsite. All of this bounty is available to Barker and his team, who plan an ever-changing menu based on what produce is at its best and most abundant right now.
“BEING HERE IS A DREAM COME TRUE, REALLY. THE SETTING IS AMAZING.”
— Colin Barker
“Being here is a dream come true, really,” admits Barker, who was previously head chef at Blackwattle Bay restaurant The Boathouse before it closed
