Multi award-winning Lake House is a delightful haven for lovers of food, wine and indulgence
By RAMA GAIND
It was the most unexpected, yet delightful, experience when I dined at the Lake House, a small luxury hotel which sits on the shores of Lake Daylesford, in Victoria.
An easy 80-minute drive from Melbourne, it is recognised as one of Australia’s premier gourmet retreats, nestled on 2.5ha of manicured gardens, waterfalls and streams.
The continuing success is due largely to executive chef and proprietor Alla Wolf-Tasker, ably assisted by husband, Allan, and daughter Larissa.
It’s a winning combination of location: by the lake’s edge with beautiful walking, jogging and bike tracks that lead into the Wombat State Forest; accommodation that is spacious, spa cuisine that will never leave you feeling unfulfilled from a restaurant that sources nutritious ingredients regionally, organic where possible. What’s more it utilises sustainable agricultural practises to create a series of dishes that will complement your desired goals whilst nourishing your body.
The award-winning Lake House is much in demand as a getaway. The food and wine has much to do with that. Dining at the acclaimed restaurant, with an internationally awarded cellar, is what fine dining is all about. The dining, lounge and bar areas – with wide-sweeping views – display the striking works by acclaimed artist Allan Wolf-Tasker.
All of the hotel’s 33 rooms and suites have enchanting lake views, something you can also enjoy from the mineral water treetop tubs of the new Salus Spa.
Alla is known for her rigorous approach to staff training, making sure everyone who comes through her kitchen learns how to cook from the basics. She admits to being pedantic about doing things from scratch. "We do our own bread, sausages, relishes, sauces, jams, marmalades,” she said. “We do all our patisserie from scratch. Everyone in the kitchen gets to see everything and move around the stations."
They produce cutting edge, modern Australian cuisine with an emphasis on seasonal and regional ingredients. In fact, it’s due to customer demand the Lake House now offers a range of produce to take home.
A network, developed over the years, of local growers and suppliers, provides the best and choicest regional produce to this country kitchen. This includes chestnuts, wild mushrooms, morello cherries, wild berries, rabbits, venison, duck, free range chickens and eggs, trout, yabbies, lamb, beef and an increasing amount of organically grown and produced goods.
For all the foodies out there, you have to get hold of a copy of Alla’s versatile cookbook, described as a culinary journey to country Australia. Titled simply Lake House, the 310 page hardback volume is beautifully presented, painstakingly compiled and comprises recollections and 100 recipes for all seasons.
It’s the story of a culinary journey of more than three decades. She shares her experiences, philosophies and love of quality food. I was fascinated by meandering through her childhood as a daughter of Russian immigrants in Melbourne in the 1950s to years of single-minded pursuit of all things culinary through travel, training and sheer hard work in Australia and Europe.
It is also chronicles the restaurant she built from the humblest of beginnings on a patchy hillside to the much-loved award-winning luxury food lover’s destination it is today.
When the Lake House opened in 1984, she pioneered a seasonal, regional cuisine then common in Europe but rare in country Australia. The recipes not only reflect her love of the style and elegance of Europe, but her Russian heritage and her own interpretation of today’s culinary trends. For Alla, food is an art form which is meant to be savoured with one’s eyes and tastebuds.
While the Lake House has developed into an all-encompassing resort, with a beautiful, consistent award-winning restaurant at its heart, the property is also proving a popular place for those in need of a little rest, relaxation, detoxification or stress relief.
After you have savoured a delectable night out, you should also try the brand new treatments at the Lake House and let the healing waters at Salus Spa work their magic!
