Mega-rich businessman Allan Myers asked UK-expat chef Robin Wickens to oversee all things food at his upscale hotel in Dunkeld’s food bowl in southwest Victoria just shy of a decade ago – including namesake restaurant, Wickens.

Soaring windows at the latter let you drink in Mount Sturgeon views, even before taking your first sip of something from the 27,500 bottle cellar, boasting the world’s largest private collection of Burgundy and Bordeaux.

The majority of what features on Wickens’ set menu is farmed, foraged or fermented on-site, with the choice of add-ons and wine pairings. House-baked bread includes a dark rye ripe for spreading with a dangerously good whipped brewer’s yeast butter. Eel is pulled from the farm’s ponds, thrown on the barbie and coated in a green stinging nettle sauce wild with umami funk. Perhaps you’ll try the star of the show – dry-aged beef in a red wine jus with smoky cauliflower and potato hash brown.

A few things may have come out in the Covid wash – Leonardo Lupattelli has replaced Matthew Lance as sommelier – but that doesn’t change how proudly Wickens waves the flag for western Victoria.

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