Regional restaurant Biota has earned more than its fair share of accolades over the years. The eatery, owned by chef James Viles, is nestled in the Southern Highlands, and has helped to prove that Bowral has much more to offer than natural beauty, and a bevy of antique stores. The popularity of Biota and its ethos (to celebrating local produce) has spurred the launch of a second eatery – the Barn – created in partnership with friends Louise and John Keats. The non-traditional space sitting on a property in nearby East Kangaloon will present two dinner services per month (starting with January 11 and 25), with a changing menu.

The Barn has everything you could need for a celebration – the restaurant sits within a fully functioning farmhouse, complete with an Electrolux kitchen and the capacity for 70 guests. Its location of course doesn’t hurt; sitting on a photogenic property that shares land with potato and garlic crops, a creek overflowing with yabbies, and a herd of cattle. The Barn will follow the same sustainable, local ethos of Biota, with the majority of ingredients produced on site.

Guests will all arrive for dinner at the same time. Upon arrival they will be given a private tour of the property, followed by yabby fishing in the dam, and pre-dinner drinks around the outdoor fire pit. Two long communal tables (decorated with local plants and flowers) will then welcome guests for a feast-style multi-course dinner prepared by Ryan Kovac, available for $190 per head including drinks. There’s space for about 60 guests to dine, with food prepared in the neighbouring open kitchen with state of the art Electrolux appliances, rustic colourbond clad walls, paved floors, and timber finishes.

“It’s going to be the the wild sibling of Biota,” Viles shared with delicious. earlier. “No rules, no bullsh*t! I just want to have fun and have some wild dinners,” says the celebrated chef of his new project. Foraging adventures will be conducted, ending with lunch by the fire pit or the custom-built Argentinian grill. There’s also plenty of fermenting, and home brew to indulge in; “We are also brewing our own beer there, called Barn Ale,” Viles explains.

The Keats own the property on which The Barn sits, which is home to a dam, a young fruit and nut orchard with 65 trees, Angus cattle, and bee hives. Viles and the Keats have developed a meat program with the property’s Angus cattle, where they will exclusively use their own beef across Biota and Barn menus from January. There will also be plenty of fellow producers from the larger Biota family, including pork and eggs from Redleaf Farm, cheese and lamb from Pecora Dairy, and produce from Quarter Acre. There will be no fish on the menu as the coast is too far from the property to be considered hyper local.

“I think of Barn as Biota’s wild little sibling,” says Viles of the new addition. “It’s definitely very much connected to what we do at Biota, but by having only two services a month we have a huge amount of freedom to get a bit ‘wild’ and a bit more loose. We get to experiment with being hyper-local. We have the freedom to serve only what is grown within a handful of kilometres of the property, and to showcase tiny quantities of the amazing stuff we are constantly given by our friends from their backyards. My recent travels around Australia have reminded me of what is so beautiful and special about the Highlands, and the experience we have created at Barn really shows that off. It’s very connected to the outdoors and to the land.”

The best part of a trip to The Barn is the chance to experience it at all hours thanks to an overnight stay. A two-night minimum is required at the sleekly styled two-bed, two-bathroom apartment which sits atop the restaurant within the barn. Prices start from $280 per night; enquiries can currently be made online and on airbnb.

Barn By Biota, Kangaloon Road, Kangaloon, New South Wales; barnbybiota.com