NEXT LEVEL GOODNESS
TIMBRE KITCHEN
Velo Wines
755 West Tamar Highway, Legana Open: Wednesday-Thursday 11am-4pm Friday-Saturday 11am-late Sunday 11am-4pm
It’s been more than a year since I first visited Launceston’s Timbre Kitchen, and I have been waiting for an opportunity to go back and eat chef Matt Adams’ fancy version of grilled cheese on toast ever since.
Adams starts with house-made soda bread and tops it with aioli, three types of cheese (Ashgrove Rubicon Red, Ashgrove Smoked Cheddar and Fiore Di Latte), then dusts with smoked paprika and serves with a side of house-made pickles.
It is next level good and a reminder that sometimes the simplest things are the best things.
Adams says that he enjoys taking dishes that are old favourites and tweaking them so that they are a little unexpected. Along with the grilled cheese, on the menu today there is also his take on the ’80s cocktail party favourite, devilled eggs, where he has subbed Keens Curry Powder for Korean chilli and sprinkled them with sesame, pickled carrots and chives.
Last time I was here I had Matt’s version of roast chicken, deconstructed and perfectly crispy, served with almond puree and fresh salsa verde. It was so good that I’m tempted to order it again, but decide to opt for the beef short rib instead.
For this dish, Adams uses Cape Grim Beef, slow cooks it for six hours in a master stock, and then finishes it in a wood-fired oven to achieve a smoky flavour and crispy outer crust. It’s served with lacto-fermented turnip that has been warmed, together with rich cream along and fermented cherries sourced from just up the road.
The result is richly flavoured meat that melts in the mouth, perfectly paired with the creamy, pleasantly acidic turnip and sweet cherries.
We also order a simple cos salad, served with mustard and a grated aged cheese that is a perfect accompaniment.
“We are lucky to be able to source a lot of backyard produce,” Adams says. “People will pop by with a small quantity of something great and we just make the menu work around that.”
The swede side dish that’s on the menu today is an example of this. Shaved paper thin, it’s served with nashi, nori and miso, a beautiful, bitey combination of sweetness and umami.
The vinegar potatoes are also seriously good — thick-sliced new potato parboiled in vinegar and then deep fried for ultimate crispiness.
The taste and texture takes me right back to my childhood on the Central Coast of NSW, where the local greasy spoon used to offer to douse your newspaper-wrapped hot chips in white vinegar.
Adams seems to have an effortless ability to evoke a sense of nostalgia through his cooking, while also ensuring that the dishes are completely his own.
It’s an approach to food and cooking that I personally find to be a joy to eat.
Timbre Kitchen is located within Velo Wines, just outside Launceston in the town of Legana.
The fit-out is relaxed and laid back, with wooden floors and tables, and rustic light shades adorned with twigs — a kind of bush chandelier!
Tables are set with bright, multi-coloured linen napkins and simple cutlery.
The wine list obviously features wines made on-site (there is also a tasting room and cellar door conveniently located next to the restaurant), along with other Tassie drops from labels like Hughes & Hughes, Dr Edge and Beautiful Isle.
There is a selection of interstate options as well, along with craft beers and ciders, and Tasmanian gin and whisky.
Adams’s signature dessert is miso semifreddo with honeycomb, peanut butter and brown butter. It’s a firm favourite among Timbre Kitchen regulars and a constant on the menu because it is just so ridiculously good.
Adams says he based the recipe around a classic, caramelised white chocolate mousse, and then added Meru Miso to create a salted caramel effect with an added hit of umami.
It’s served in frozen wedges and topped with house-made honeycomb and a brown butter crumb.
With a dazzling view across the vines to the Tamar River and an awesome menu to match, dining at Timbre Kitchen is always a pleasure.