Bucket list item - check.

I am a self confessed foodie and have been lucky enough to dine in a lot of special places around Australia and the world. There is eating to eat and then there is eating as an art form where it becomes an experience. Brae did just that. 

The setting is beautiful and remote and 1 hour from Geelong / 90 mins from Melbourne. I went with 3 of my fabulous foodie friends and we had a private driver for the evening so we could all enjoy the matching wine list. Next month some onsite B&B accommodation will be opening, a great reason for me to return :) 

You need to book quite some time in advance which certainly adds to the excitement of the event.  We were greeted by the amazing staff who really made the whole experience incredible. Nothing was too much trouble and their knowledge of the food and wine and all the accompanying descriptions was top class.

The dining room is open and airy with views out to the countryside where we witnesses a sensational sunset. My only complaint would be the sun shining directly into my eyes requiring sunglasses for most of the meal which felt odd indoors.



The man at the helm is Dan Hunter who was the former executive chef at Dunkeld's Royal Mail Hotel. Dan is all about using local and fresh ingredients that are in season.

Brae has a dégustation-only policy which means you will be having 10 courses and eating a broad range of interesting ingredients. The kitchen is however used to catering for many food requests.One of my fellow diners is a vegetarian and was very happy with her substitutes. The full menu is at the end of this post. Here a few pictures of the dishes. The iced oyster challenged my head and my taste buds and I loved it. Sweet yet savoury, cold and dense with an ice cream texture.






The food presentation was pure art and one thing I noticed was that I never had the need to season as everything was the perfect balance. I am a a self confessed salt lover but needed nothing. Big tick of approval from me.  Being invited to the kitchen to meet and chat with Dan after our meal was also a lovely touch to personalise the experience. We will all be back for a lunch sitting next time so we can see the amazing setting.