Lake House

“It’s always been about a sense of place for us, in terms of supporting a strong local food community of regenerative farmers. At the heart is my desire to spread the word about good food and why it matters.”

Dry-aged and roasted Macedon Ranges duck breast with confit leg, hearts, and liver in roasted radicchio with roasted fig and vincotto; autumn harvest (chestnut pasta with confit duck yolk and forest mushroom ragoût); and roasted quinces with honey parfait and almond tuile.

Lake House is a pioneer in so many ways. It introduced Australia to destination dining thirty years ago, launched a vegetarian tasting menu twenty years ago, and has evolved the town of Daylesford into a thriving epicentre for small organic farmers and artisan producers.

Chef dynamo Alla Wolf-Tasker has turned Lake House into an idyll where food, wine, and relaxation come together in one heaven-on-earth package.

The ethos is felt throughout – a platter of sweet, explosive cherry tomatoes might await guests on the reception counter – but nowhere more than in the plush, airy dining room.

The menu is bedded in the region’s seasonal best, from an autumnal chestnut pasta with confit duck yolk and wild mushrooms to a berry-strewn, multi-textured “summer ramble” that needs no further explanation.

“Although the heart of Lake House remains Alla’s celebrated kitchen ... their family business is now a full sensory ecosystem.” –Chip Le Grand, The Australian