GOURMET GETAWAY
Mudgee
magic
When it comes to food, if ‘fresh is best’ then the New
South Wales Central West town of Mudgee must surely be
one of the healthiest places to dine on Earth.
WORDS SIMONE HENDERSON-SMART
A
s I walk along the garden path that meanders past fruit trees,
colourful garden beds brimming with vegies, and large pots heaving
with fragrant herbs on my way into the restaurant, it suddenly
dawns on me: I’m walking the path from paddock to plate.
The restaurant, recently awarded one chef hat in the 2016 Sydney
Morning Herald Good Food Guide awards, is The Zin House. It’s a charming old
farmhouse that sits high on a hill looking out over the Zinfandel vines and the
surrounding 1,000 acres that are the restaurant’s main providore. As well as the
certified organic fruit, herbs and vegetables, there are Dorper lambs, Angus beef,
fresh eggs and honey.
For owner and Chef Kim Currie, this wonderland is her brainchild, and when
you look at her resume it makes perfect sense that she would end up with a
restaurant on a farm in a regional town. Kim has long been the champion of
local farm-fresh produce, establishing vital and vibrant farmers’ markets in
Cowra, Orange, Bathurst and Mudgee while employed as Central NSW’s Food
and Wine Development Officer. She also did brilliant work promoting the
Left, top Mudgee’s
scenery is a pretty
patchwork of
vineyards, farms and
rolling green hills.
Left, bottom The
Zin House restaurant
sits on the 1,000acre organic and
biodynamic farm that
is its main providore.
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A visit to Short Sheep
micro-winery proves that Kim
is not alone in her ‘shortest
distance from produce to plate’
no-fuss philosophy.
roasted to caramel perfection and a decadent
cauliflower cheese.
a crackling fire keep things cosy. Kim’s
kitchen bench sits in the open at one end of
the main room by the large French entrance
doors and is piled high with produce. Her
food philosophy is that fresh, organic
produce shouldn’t need anything fancy done
to it. There are no smears, foams or plating
with tweezers here — just perfectly paired
bold flavours, simply cooked from scratch.
Orange food and wine scene through her
Taste Orange events, winning the ‘Maggie
Beer Award for Outstanding Contribution to
Australian Food’ in 2006, the same year she
took the reins at Brand Orange.
These days, farm-fresh and local is literally on
Kim’s doorstep and she creates set menus
each Friday, Saturday and Sunday from
whatever her gardeners gather. Lunches are
long and languid, with six incredible courses
served in large dishes for two, adding to the
family table vibe that permeates the
farmhouse. The space is light and bright, with
large windows letting in sunshine and rural
views, although the many rugs, cushions and
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On the day I’m there, Kim has prepared a
series of fresh, light, flavoursome dishes
including a charcuterie board with heirloom
beetroot, celeriac and hazelnut salad with a
horseradish and fennel aioli, which is
followed by a tart of Ash’s puff pastry with
caramelised leek and onions, stinging nettle
pesto and local legends High Valley Cheese
Company’s curd and fetta, served with freshly
picked Zin garden greens and pomegranate.
Fortunately for the foodies who flock here,
Kim’s partner David Lowe has literally been
labelled a ‘Legend of the Vine’ and his
vineyard and cellar door form part of the
property. David curates the wine flights to
match Kim’s menus and they are a wonderful
way to explore the wines of the region as he
doesn’t just stack the list with his own, but
also includes a smattering of locals too. An
absolute standout is the Eloquesta Shiraz
Petit Verdot from Mudgee, which pairs
perfectly with the rosemary and tapenade
crusted veal cutlet, accompanied by pumpkin
It truly is a lunch to remember, and although
driving the three-and-a-half hours from
Sydney purely to visit The Zin House may be
totally worth it, it would be a tad extreme.
Luckily there are many other Mudgee
treasures to discover, making the destination
perfect for a short gourmet getaway.
Home to more than thirty-five cellar doors,
Mudgee had its first grapes planted in 1858,
and although it’s perhaps one of Australia’s
less talked about wine regions — famed
mostly for its big earthy reds and beautiful
Chardonnay — there are a lot of young
players who are moving in and shaking things
up. A visit to Short Sheep micro-winery
proves that Kim is not alone in her ‘shortest
distance from produce to plate’ no-fuss
philosophy. Winemakers and spouses, Tony
and Sue, produce small batches with minimal
interference that really showcase the varietals
and the quality of their fruit.
“I call it lazy farming,” says Tony. “We like to
keep things simple and let the fruit speak for
itself. It’s a vineyard-to-glass operation;
everything is done here. We handpick the
fruit, ferment, age and bottle on site. I always
joke with visitors to the cellar door that if
they hang around long enough, I’ll give them
a job to do.”
This lazy farming idea is actually to blame for
the micro-winery’s cute moniker. When
pondering how to avoid having to mow the
rows between the vines, Sue hit on the idea of
letting sheep graze the property to keep the
grass down. Tony wasn’t convinced, saying
that the sheep would eat the vines, but to Sue
the answer was simple: just use short sheep!
A bit of research and determination later, and
the first Babydoll Southdown sheep came to
live — and work — at the vineyard.
Originally from England, the thing Tony loves
about Mudgee is that the climate suits many
European-style wines, and taking a journey
from cellar door to cellar door takes on a
whole new feel. “You can basically take a bike
ride through Europe,” he enthuses. “There are
a lot of Italian, French and German styles of
wine that do well here. The warm days bring
colour and the cool nights develop flavour.”
Other cellar doors of note include Logan,
with its glass-walled tasting room designed to
make the most of Mudgee’s postcard-pretty
views. They do an amazingly good cheese
platter, which, like most menus in Mudgee
features the beautiful handcrafted offerings
from the local High Valley Cheese Company,
as well as local honey, hazelnuts and a rich
dried fruit ‘salami’. After a tasting, ordering a
glass of your favourite with a cheese platter
and sitting for a while gazing out across the
vineyard is a fine way to while away an hour.
Also highly recommended is a visit to Robert
Stein Winery. Its adjacent restaurant,
Pipeclay Pumphouse, is another follower of
Left, top The view
from chef Kim Currie’s
kitchen bench across
the main dining space
at The Zin House.
Left, below The Zin
House dishes are
prepared fresh from
the garden.
Above, top A cheese
platter at the Logan
cellar door is the
perfect pause.
Above, bottom The
Logan sparkling is a
local favourite and
features on many
Mudgee wine lists.
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GOURMET GETAWAY
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All this indulgence doesn’t stop
with the food and wine scene
either: for a small country
town, Mudgee has some
surprisingly luxurious places
to rest your head.
treasure chest of wine-filled glass jewels that
will become fabulous souvenirs of your trip
and extend its pleasures for months to come
once back at home.
In 1838, Robert’s ancestor Johann Stein
brought in the first Rhine Riesling cuttings to
survive the journey from Germany to
Australia. In keeping with tradition, the
winery today produces a few very fine
award-winning iterations of Riesling,
including a Gewurztraminer that has more
than a touch of lychee on the palate that
makes it the perfect pairing for Asian and
Indian dishes.
At this point, you’ll be happy that you have
your car with you, as the boot becomes a
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It’s also a short stroll from Mudgee’s most
happening strip: Market Street. Peppered
with wine bars, cafés and restaurants, it’s got
a great buzz as locals mingle with out-oftowners, all enjoying the local food and wine.
One very special place is a little hard to find,
but well worth the effort. Tucked away
through a small cobblestone laneway off
Market Street are the two rustic indoor
dining spaces and a pretty vine-shaded
courtyard that make up Alby and Ester’s.
By day it’s a café serving up locally sourced
produce and incredibly good coffee.
The cakes and tarts adorning the counter
are a huge temptation, but I spy a jaffle on
the menu and am overcome with nostalgia.
Alby and Ester’s ‘famous’ version of the
toasted sandwich is crisp and packed with
locally smoked ham, Dunedoo eggs — with
yolks so vivid I actually gasp — and
Swiss cheese, with a side of homemade
tomato relish.
I hear a girl at the neighbouring table
ask the waiter what a Dunedoo egg is, and
have a little chuckle. “It just means they
come from a farm in Dunedoo,” he offers
with a smile. Yes, the local produce theme
continues here too, with many nearby
paddocks providing produce. Every dish
has a local accent and the menu proudly
lists its providores: I see that the Dunedoo
eggs come from Farmer Brown, the Nanima
Farm lamb hails from nearby Wellington,
and those artisans from the High Valley
Cheese Company make yet another
appearance. They even source their fruit
cordials and kombucha locally.
In the evening, the space transforms into a
lively tapas wine bar serving platters and share
plates piled high with more local goodies. The
wines by the glass are also mostly Mudgee, and
the cocktails are inventive and well priced.
The chefs of Mudgee are a lucky lot indeed.
It’s so easy to embrace the fresh, seasonal
and local philosophy when you are
surrounded by such bounty. The food and
wine community here are very close and
supportive of each other and they set the bar
extremely high. For anyone wanting a large
dose of gourmet indulgence, a trip to
Mudgee is a must. Just don’t forget to pack
your stretchy pants.
The writer travelled courtesy of
Destination NSW.
Get there
Mudgee is a very pretty three-to-four hour drive over the Blue Mountains from Sydney. It is also
serviced by regional airlines, including Pelican Airlines and QantasLink.
Book at flypelican.com.au, qantas.com
FACT FILE
the homegrown and locally sourced
movement that really does seem to have
taken over the food and wine scene here. I’ll
admit it’s a little disconcerting to see the
gorgeous plump free-range pigs wander past
the windows as I tuck into my breakfast of
crispy bacon and farm-fresh eggs, but this is
the country after all.
All this indulgence doesn’t stop with the
food and wine scene either: for a small
country town, Mudgee has some surprisingly
luxurious places to rest your head. Housed
in the historic Mechanics Institute building,
the Perry Street Hotel has had a modern
makeover, dividing the building into thirteen
generous suites. There’s not a hint of
country kitsch here, the décor taking its
cues from the architecture of Berlin, with
striking charcoal walls, natural linens and
timbers and more than a hint of urban
sophistication. The luxury is amped with
vintage kimonos, complimentary
Whittaker’s chocolate and other snacks,
T2 teas and a Nespresso machine.
Where to stay
Perry Street Hotel, corner of Perry and Gladstone streets, 02 6372 7650, perrystreethotel.com.au
The Horatio Motel, 15 Horatio Street, 02 6372 7727, horatiomotelmudgee.com.au
What to do
If you need a break from all the eating and drinking, Ferntree Gully Reserve offers walking tracks
through stunning scenery and unspoilt wilderness.
More information
visitmudgeeregion.com.au
Left, top to bottom
Dishes at Pipeclay
Pumphouse come fresh
from the surrounding
garden; A decadent
dessert at Pipeclay
Pumphouse; Free
range pigs provide for
Pipeclay’s smallgoods.
Above Perry Street
Hotel: heritage on the
outside, modern on
the inside.
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