James Pethybridge OF BLACKWOOD RIDGE

We have a certain pandemic to thank for the restaurant at Blackwood Ridge.

The seating restrictions imposed by Covid saw James Pethybridge pivot from a café to a restaurant serving a four-course menu to up to 18 people at a time. “It was originally because of the limited numbers we could seat but it really worked,” he says. “It’s so enjoyable to have a really personal element to the restaurant, and at that size there’s a lot of interaction.”

You can visit Blackwood Ridge, in the quaint town of Blackwood in the Wombat State Forest, just to wander around the five acres of spectacular gardens (entry is $12 for an adult and free for children) but it would be a shame to miss out on a seat in the appropriately named “Garden Room” restaurant overlooking the serene lake.

The menu (at $112 a head) draws a direct line to its surroundings. James, a trained chef who moved into horticulture, and his partner Dan Sullivan, a horticulturalist, grow the vast majority of the produce themselves and source the proteins locally.

Almost 360-degree views of the surrounding gardens dovetails with a set menu (with multiple choices for each course) designed to showcase interesting botanical elements and underscored by an ethos of making everything from scratch.

It’s labour-intensive work for James, who works alone in the kitchen, but the meticulous approach results in compellingly multi-elemental modern dishes. The first course is always risotto, which bends with the seasons (its spring incarnation saw fresh radish and peas team up with lemon and lemon myrtle, plus a parmesan crisp and house-baked brioche roll), followed by choices between the likes of a soft cheese and chive mousse on a brioche and pistachio “soil” with apple walnut chutney and the vibrant tang of barberry jam, or perhaps gin and Tasmanian mountain pepper-cured tuna with wattleseed buttermilk cream and snowpeas.

Main course might be lamb noisette with parsnip puree and cauliflower, while vegetarians can head in the direction of a spiced potato and buckwheat cake with miso creme, Jerusalem artichoke katsuobushi, bedded on a celeriac and hazelnut puree with charred spring onion.

As James says with significant understatement, “I like to keep it interesting.”

The all-Australian wine list keeps up its end of the bargain. Running to 80 bottles, it has a good showing from the local Macedon Ranges region, with labels including Granite Hills and Paramour (“their pinot is just gorgeous”), while affection for Tasmanian sparkling and the big reds of the Barossa also shines through.

“Most of our visitors to the restaurant are keen gardeners themselves, and they’ll take a wander outside between courses,” says James. “It’s a very immersive venue for that, and it really is our indulgence to be able to spend time with our guests and chat to them about horticulture and food. For us, that’s what it’s all about.”

STORY BY LARISSA DUBECKI, PHOTOS BY CHRIS TURNER

Blackwood Ridge Restaurant and Gardens
812 Greenhills Road, Blackwood, Victoria
blackwoodridge.co m.au