The Mussel Boys Cafe Gallery

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
An hour out of Hobart down the stunningly beautiful Tasman Peninsula towards historic Port Arthur, this nondescript cafe-restaurant is one of the best and most exciting country eateries in the state. Chef Eloise Baker’s food is what great seasonal and regional cooking is all about - taking the best and freshest of what’s available locally and seasonally and turning it into wonderful and unpretentious, flavour-driven creations.

Baker holds her oysters in a cage across the road in the waters of Norfolk Bay and gathers and splits them to order. Fishermen bring their catch to her door. Quail comes from just down the road, to be grilled and served on a pear and parmesan salad dressed with apple balsamic. Local mussels arrive at the table just cooked to plumpness on silky, peppery rocket fettuccine. Fallow deer are farmed a few kilometres away and her venison is aged to be served with house-made candied walnuts and shiraz fig jam. And her a la carte or multi-course degustation menus are accompanied by an small but excellent list of wines from the vineyards of the Peninsula region.

Graeme Phillips