A TASTE OF THE TWEED AT MAVIS’S KITCHEN
Serving a true taste of the Tweed, Mavis’s offers more than just lip service to organic local produce
IT’S been almost eight years since well-regarded local restaurateurs Peter Clarke and Charlie Ebell packed up Labrador’s Harley St Brasserie, heading south of the border with their iconic Queenslander in tow to begin a new chapter as Mavis’s Kitchen. And my, how they’ve grown. A tangible reflection of the pair’s journey to sustainability, the garden is thriving, a sprawling riot of flavoursome foliage. It’s a giant salad bowl studded with peppery nasturtium to pretty up plates and fruit tree branches bowing with citrus destined for zingy dressings and preserves.
Peter and Charlie have a kindred spirit on board in head chef Thomas Pirker, whose background in five-star hotels belies a drive to produce dishes that nurture the local community as readily as they nourish diners.
While the thought of fat, flour-dusted scones with lashings of jam and cream is a sweetener for those contemplating the Mt Warning pilgrimage, foodies will be forgiven for forgoing the climb for an adventure that begins and ends at Mavis’s Kitchen.
It feels easier to breathe just sitting on the home’s generous verandas, overlooking green grounds that slope to a cardboard pop-up of a mountain silhouette. Kids and pets romp on the lawns and there’s an open invitation to explore. Tasting plates ($16.90 per person) encourage you to graze while you gaze, loaded with celeriac and gruyere cheese fritters, pork and sage empanada, dolmades, prawns and more. Keep it light and lovely with duck liver pate and rosella jelly to spread on sourdough ($14.50), or venture into heartier territory with a wintry plate of slow-cooked lamb shanks ($28.50) with pork and fennel sausages, beans and pearl couscous. The specials board is always a good bet in produce-driven restaurants and Tasmanian salmon and snapper patties with a leafy salad don’t disappoint. Dessert of richly spiced housemade apple strudel ($14.50) also suits the season.
Dining in the shadow of Mt Warning, it’d be a crime not to go straight to the source with the locally bottled water. Also check out the smattering of organic options among the well-priced wines.