Bella Vedere

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
Bella Vedere is tucked away behind the Badgers Brook cellar door, its entry through a big heavy door. You’ll need to walk past shelves laden with local preserves, cakes and breads before stepping into the restaurant with its soft green walls. Bella Vedere’s dining room is divided into two areas, one of which is a touch more formal with an unmistakable air of elegance. The other side is quite casual with bare tables and a good view of the activity in the kitchen.

The menu is decided upon daily depending on what’s in season or ready to be harvested from the kitchen garden. Owner-chef Gary Cooper draws upon his classic French training to create rustic country-style food with a contemporary city edge. Consider dishes such as beer-battered prawns served with an apple and mustard fruit salad with lemon butter, or perhaps a simple potato and onion soup dressed up with pancetta. Mains might include rabbit braised in apple cider, crisp-skinned salmon with mussels in a tarragon white wine butter or wild boar cooked with chocolate. The wine list is extensive, starting with Yarra Valley and working its way around Australia and the rest of the world. There are always a couple of wines available by the glass. You can take a piece of Bella Vedere home with you in the form of a loaf of bread or book yourself into one of Gary’s hands-on cooking classes.

Rita Erlich