The Lake House

A Gourmet Heaven
by John Nielsen

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f you have ever wondered about a recipe to make the perfect
gourmet retreat – I have found the answer. Begin with a lovely little
luxury hotel in the idyllic town of Daylesford, then add the award
winning cuisine from Alla Wolf-Tasker AM, and one of Australia’s best
young sommeliers, winemaker Adam Foster. Add a spa pool for good
measure, and the meal is complete.
The luxury resort was founded by Alla and Allan Wolf-Tasker and
this year celebrates its 25th anniversary. It began life as a 40-seater
weekend-only restaurant – until they discovered diners loved it so much
they had trouble getting them to leave. So, rather than call the police,
they built a boutique hotel.
Over the years the Lake House has become the premier destination
for food and wine lovers, as well as a superb location for weddings and
conferences. The elegant restaurant overlooks the lake and epitomizes
the country town of Daylesford. The charming town is one-and-a-half
hour’s drive north from Melbourne, towards the Macedon Ranges.
Here birches and maples vie for the limelight with their splendid scarlet,
tangerine and claret hues. Quince trees are laden with furry fruit and
leaves of cadmium yellow, and signs are everywhere offering breads,
honeys, figs and organic produce. Its neighbouring town of Hepburn
Springs is an historic village located in the middle of the largest
concentration of mineral springs in Australia. The springs are full of
health-giving minerals that occur naturally in different formulations, giving
every spring a distinctive taste.
The hotel’s 33 rooms and suites are spread over the six-acre
grounds. All have enchanting lake views, something you can also enjoy
from the mineral water treetop tubs of the new Salus Spa. Whiling away
the time in one of their suites is like being a million miles away from
everything. The Guesthouse Rooms are part of the original homestead
and are all elegantly decorated. Enjoy a quiet read in the spacious
lounge or on the terraces, or be tempted by a myriad of bushwalking
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tracks that meander from the property. Nearby are boating facilities,
local wineries, excellent artists’ studios and galleries, places of historical
interest, magnificent gardens and an 18-hole golf course – complete
with kangaroos.
For many years it has been the Lake House cuisine that has led the
way, complemented by an excellent wine list. The wine list has just taken
another step up with the arrival of Winemaker Adam Foster to head up
the skilled service team. Adam, also a well respected chef, moved from
the heat of kitchens in London and Melbourne in 2002 to the front of
house and began journeying into the world of wine. Adam has worked
honing his skills as a cellar hand with a ‘who’s who’ list of winemakers
from Australia and France, including Chapoutier, Mitchelton, Domaine
Ogier, Jasper Hill and Domaine Pierre Gaillard.
Adam’s first wine (Syrahmi Shiraz Viognier 2004, from Heathcote)
had good success with specialized wine stores and was quick to find its
way in to leading restaurants in Melbourne and Sydney. The few wine
writers who tasted Syrahmi gave the thumbs up. The wine is an ideal
food friendly wine; Adam explained, “Syrahmi combines the French
words; Syrah and Amis meaning Shiraz and Friends, simply a wine to
drink with friends”. The region of Heathcote in Central Victoria is today
recognized as one of Australia’s best cool-climate Shiraz growing areas.
It has many similarities to the Rhone Valley – often referred to as the
home of Shiraz – the warm summers, cool winters and Cambrian soil
offer the perfect conditions to produce great wine. Since its first release
of 80 dozen, Adam has increased the production to 500 dozen to
keep up with local demand and a new interest from London. His 2007
vintage named ‘The Don’ pays tribute to Adam’s late Grandfather who
encouraged Adam to become a chef.
The Lake House wine cellar boasts 600 plus labels from both local
wine regions and benchmark vineyards around the world. Adam has
‘designed the list to be accessible, affordable, diverse, interesting and
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special with an emphasis on local regional wines’. The icing on the cake
is the ‘private cellar dining room’, where a hand crafted oak table seats
up to 16 diners – set to enjoy a gourmet experience like no other, all in
all heaven for lovers of good living!
Going green at the Lake House
Over the years hotels have come to terms with how they can do their
part towards being environmentally friendly. The Lake House adopted
a policy of ‘green procurement’ – taking environmental factors into
account in all purchasing aspects, sourcing regional produce where
possible – reducing ‘food miles’.
Where possible, the Lake House staff only source produce that is
organic and bio-dynamic, and never knowingly use genetically modified
ingredients. They take every opportunity to reduce waste at the source,
re-use waste components, recover and recycle where possible and
dispose of final wastes by the most environmentally suitable means.
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With South East Australia going through a five-year drought, at
the Lake House the aim is reducing the amount of water used on the
property and continuously capturing as much rain water as possible
in tanks for use on site – rather than sourcing from town supplies.
A main focus is also on adopting the practice of responsible energy
management through reduced consumption and the encouragement of
energy efficiency throughout the business.
During its 25 years the Lake House has become an important part
of the local community. The Wolf-Tasker family encourage staff to
participate in local community projects such as the Daylesford Primary
School Kitchen Garden – which aims to teach children from a young
age the benefits of growing their own food and how to maintain and
continuously rejuvenate their little plot throughout the years. With these
efforts in place there seems little doubt that we can look forward to
another 25 years of harmony and balance at this luxury boutique hotel.
For further information and rates visit www.kiwicollection.com