Strawberries, pinot gris and an ocean's kiss in spring. His favourite foodie trail is really made of all these things, writes Bakshish Dean, executive chef at a 5-star hotel in Delhi.
Only an hour's drive from Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula is one of my favourite foodie trails anywhere in the world. The seaside wineries are what make it exceptional, because it is not often one can enjoy vineyards with a beach view or where a scenic country walk can be made from one cellar door to the next.
Strawberry farm
The drive through the winding roads of the hinterland under spotted trees, past beautiful wineries, was almost as enjoyable as our destination. A couple of turns off the main road and we were pulling into the dusty driveway of Australia's largest strawberry farm, alongside a couple of tour buses ferrying international visitors.
The Sunny Ridge farm is known for its larger-than-average strawberries, and we eagerly strolled out to fill up our punnets with the lush, red berries that lay quietly beneath their leaves. We wisely examined each fruit carefully before rejecting or accepting it. Only the brightest, plumpest choices would be going back with us.
Eagerly we dusted a few specks of soil from the ripe crimson strawberries and took a bite. Yummy… in comparison to those in the supermarket, these berries were about ten notches ahead on the flavour scale. Sweet and juicy, freshly picked with our own hands.
The farm, run by a third-generation Italian family, has been around since 1964 and also grows raspberries, blueberries, cherries and avocados on its 140 hectares. We moved on to the café, with the farm's own range of jams, syrups, chutneys and wine, as well as trinkets in almost every strawberry form imaginable. We chose to sit in the sunshine, watching the steady flow of visitors, while savoring a strawberry ice-cream.
Garden fresh
As we drove, the undulating hills dotted with vineyards and orchards revealed a wide, unfettered ocean view. We stopped by at Heronswood, a fabulous garden with rare and unusual plants. It's a living catalogue of evergreen fruits and vegetables. Over 50 sub-tropical fruits are grown within flower borders. Lunch was delicious food grown in the garden at its slow food café. Later that evening, our last stop was the Peninsula hot springs, where we had a quick dip in one of its private, open air thermal pools, before heading to a villa to enjoy a short but relaxing massage based on Australian aboriginal styles and techniques.
Say cheese
After breakfast the next day, we drove back to Melbourne, stopping enroute to choose from over 20 of the creamiest goat and dairy cheeses manufactured on the property at Red Hill. We took a tasting platter, which sure made our decision-making easier. Interestingly, unlike most cheese found in supermarket fridges, these ones are made from vegetable rather than the animal rennet. Foodies that we are, we resolved to come back again to participate in a workshop so that we could learn to make our own cheese.
Later, we made our way to Ashcombe Maze and Lavender Gardens. Spread over 10 hectares, it has the country's oldest and largest hedge maze (constructed with cypress plants). We also witnessed how lavender oil is produced.
Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove's little bistro was an excellent spot for lunch. This area is famous for its pinot gris wines. Perhaps it's the fresh ocean breezes that give the grapes here their unique flavour.
Stomach happy, we moved on, thinking that this was indeed a foodie's dream tour.
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