The Dawn of Winter You can Count on Max Max Griffin has learnt the tricks of the trade both at the famed Boston institution 'Locke Ober' and also at 'Clark Cookhouse' on Rhode Island.
On return to Melbourne in 2005 he conceived and created 'Bar Humbug' a west end city institution which he still owns and successfully operates.
On moving to the Peninsula with his young family he has now realized his dream of creating and owning a restaurant by the sea, on the stunning foreshore of Mornington.
Counting House restaurant opened at the start of spring 2010.
Co-owner Chef Gavin Ong also learnt his trade away from these shores across the Atlantic at Marco Pierre White s Quo Vadis in London under Curtis Stone.
On his return to Melbourne he worked for Phillip Mouchel at his eponymous restaurant by the Yarra.
Gavin is driven by a sense of achievement in making people happy, finding immense satisfaction in creating beautiful food, genuinely imparting love and care to achieve this.
With Max and Gavin at the helm the Counting House is cruising along very nicely.
These guys certainly know what they are doing as they endeavour to give the customer a sense of comfort in all aspects of the dining experience.
Their credo statement here is to strive for a level of sophistication in an unassuming sort of way, to ensure that from the time the guests enter the restaurant until they depart, the experience is memorable.
At the moment the Counting House is offering a Table D H te menu, a 2 course lunch special available from Tuesday to Sunday, including a glass of wine or coffee for 35.
3 course 45 A perfect example of this lunch offer could be to kick- off with a savoury blue cheese and leek tart, followed by a seared salmon fillet with cocktail potatoes and an olive velout , finishing with a chocolate marquise and brandy snaps...simply delicious The accompanying wine is a choice of 2011Sauvignon Blanc or 2010 Shiraz from Garry Crittenden s very drinkable local Geppetto range.
With this great lunch offer in place, now is a perfect opportunity to sample the inspired fare of this friendly dining house.
While you are there take time to have a chat with Max or Gavin as it is just the kind of place where you will be most warmly welcomed.
Columns of smoke drift amidst the stark ghost grey gums, across a pale blue sky amidst the stillness the warbling cry of the magpie and the exclamation of the kooka, brazenly declaring the dawn of Winter.
The olive tree remains sprawled across the hillside landscape,no longer bejewelled, swaying gently in grey green harmony.
- Louise Lechte Winter s delicate feast of flowers flourish, emplified by the purity of the fragrant white flower of the daphne, the winter rose clustered under the lemon trees or the breathtaking beauty of the green goddess lily.
Nestled within this glorious Peninsula landscape you will encountertime after time just so many pleasures of the table.
A great kick-off point is Yabby Lake Vineyard in Tuerong with a newly created imbibing space, cleverly combining cellar door and caf within a smart casual modern design.
Settle in by the fire to sample their award-winning single vineyard Chardonnay or Pinot Noir and select from a splendid range of local artisan cheese.
The Yabby Lake caf also offers a great choice of Asian-inspired dishes to tempt and enliven your palate.
Winding your way up the hill towards Balnarring you will find a most strikingly stylish cellar door at Willow Creek Vineyard just recently revamped with a total makeover.
There is an abundance of skilful culinary options here from the menu at either the Salix Restaurant or Salix Bistro, such as the navarin of lamb, with potato, carrots and turnips warmly served in the bistro.
Next door behind a dramatic bluestone tasting bench, flanked by soothingly sleek American oak wood- panelled walls, you will find an appealing range of wines created entirely from estate-grown fruit.
With more than 15 Mornington Peninsula vintages under her belt, winemaker Geraldine McFaul has crafted some of the region s finest pinot noirs and the latest 2010 Willow Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir could be her finest.
The recently released 2011 Pinot Gris is pale straw in colour with aromas of ripe pear and honey, seemingly a perfect example of this delightful French style.
There is also an opportunity to book a tutored tasting with Geraldine to look at the current releases, back vintages and barrel samples.
Further a field you will find a finalist of best country restaurant of the year 2010, 2011 at La P tanque in Main Ridge.
A tempting dish for you to kick-start with might be the warm salad of seasonal vegetables, rhubarb tarragon vinaigrette, garden herbs, pomegranate molasses and goat s curd, paired with a glass of C tes de Provence ros , mourv dre, cinsault, grenache, syrah, closely followed by King George whiting fillets, fennel mousseline, baby carrots, Mt Martha mussels, tomato and celery barigoule.
For a sweet finish a fine caramelised Red Hill apple cr pe would be perfection.
In Dromana overlooking a private secluded lake you will be so pleased to discover Stillwater at Crittenden.
Here there is a family partnership with your hosts Zac and Jacqui Poulier ready to welcome you.
It was in the UK that Zac and Jacqui met and travelled together, with the idea of one day having their own restaurant.
They both enthusiastically share a passion for good food and everything pertaining to it.
Fresh, seasonal and local all feature strongly in everything they produce.
From the menu the truffled potato gnocchi with grilled artichokes, pumpkin and wild mushrooms in a burnt butter and sage sauce with toasted almonds is a dish to try, and with a glass of Crittenden Estate 2010 pinot gris it is a most likeable marriage.
The results speak for themselves on the plate, with both very proud to be supplying the restaurant with 25 of their own organic home grown vegetables, herbs and fruit.
Today Zac and Jacqui are still very much hands on in the running of Stillwater, with Zac heading up the kitchen team and Jacqui involved both with front of house and marketing.
This has certainly proven to be an extremely successful partnership in every way.
Whilst in Dromana a visit to Heronswood is an absolute joyous must do.
Just to observe wander and be amongst these sensational edible and decorative gardens is pure delight The signature dish here is the Heronswood plate where after exploring the menu, you may whimsically decide on inevitably what could be a match made in heaven.
To have the fairly rare experience of sampling and sharing just harvested ingredients is a food memory to treasure.
However the heirloom beetroot, walnuts, mizuna, poached duck breast, honey and rose reduction might just be your thing, possibly a festival for the palate.
This is a most conscientious caf housed uniquely within rammed earth walls with thatch roofing, working so well in harmony with nature in every way literally from garden fork to kitchen fork .
This culinary collection is just a dip in the ocean of just some of the incredible gastronomic experiences to be found amidst our remarkable Peninsula region.
Once tasted and tried you will find yourself yearning to return and be wonderfully tempted time after time.
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
J.
R.
R.
Tolkien 1892 - 1973 Salix Bistro 70 GoodLife, june - july - august 2012