New Australian Cuisine
From studying human culture and cuisine around the world, it is clear to us that Australian cuisine is still in a stage of development.
Although it is built upon our lifestyle, values and beliefs, what it will be at its definitive peak is unknown; New Australian cuisine is foreign to us all.
A cuisine can only reach its peak when it has truly formed a connection with nature. This is where the best and most expressive ingredients can be found, creating something that is at the height of deliciousness but also unique to its terroir. This means we must look to the regions and free ourselves of the modern food chain that disconnects food from its origin and people from nature.
Dining at Moonah is a deep dive into this foreign cuisine. We have taken inspiration from the greatest cuisines around the world and applied them to our climate, culture and values at home. We respect what has been done in the past and apply historical techniques to our surroundings to create something that feels uniquely ours.
We serve fresh produce sourced only from within a 200km radius, 90% of which comes from within 30km. All of our vegetables are grown in the open air, naturally on our organic farm. Connewarre is 1km from the wild Southern Ocean and 20km from Port Phillip Bay; wild seafood naturally plays a large role on our menu. We also use wild harvested or ethically raised meat.
Being surrounded by an abundance of wine producing regions, Australian wine is an essential part of New Australian Cuisine. Food and wine are both a product of nature, when produced in the same region with aligning practices and values it is an amazing experience to enjoy them in harmony. The way the right glass of wine has the ability to enhance your perception of flavour in a dish is celebrated at Moonah.
We have also embarked on an exciting journey of producing a new variety of non-alcoholic beverage that we have not put a name to yet. The process is a cross between kombucha and winemaking. It does not involve tea, a culture is used to simultaneously ferment sugar to alcohol and alcohol to vinegar. These drinks retain the age-worthy characteristics and intensity of our favourite wines with zero alcohol.
