Jo Barrett (ex-Oakridge, now Little Picket in Lorne) has been appointed food director at Flinders Island’s On Island Time, which includes bar/restaurant The Flinders Wharf and luxury accommodation at Wombat Lodge, The Crayshack and Dwarf Cottage. 

Barrett has a long history with the windswept Tasmanian island. She met On Island Time founder and local Jo Youl at the Flinders Island Food & Crayfish Festival in 2018, and has been back to cook, fish and forage twice a year since.

She spent the first six months of 2022 on the ground, developing a larder-style concept for produce and finish-at-home meals like wallaby pies, fresh crayfish and assorted accoutrements.  

“The island is abundant with cattle and sheep farms, and wallabies run wild. Plus, fishers who head out every day to bring in line-caught fish,” Barrett says. But while there’s a lot of accommodation, there aren’t many places to eat. 

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“If you arrive on a Sunday, the pub is only open to 3pm and the supermarket is shut,” she says. “Now, when you visit, you’ll have access to tasting the island – in the past you just had to know someone.” 

Barrett brings Byron Bay chef and fire-pit master Pip Sumbak with her, who takes on a six-month residency as head chef at Flinders Wharf, a sleek bar and restaurant with ocean views. 

“[Pip] spent a lot of time living in Fiji, cooking in remote places for a similar combo of tourists and locals using only what’s on the island,” Barrett says. “Also, she’s probably the nicest person on the planet, so she’s going to fit in really well.” 

The spring season kicks off on September 28. Visitors can collect pre-ordered supplies for their stay upon landing in Whitemark, the island’s main town. 

The Flinders Wharf will open until 7pm weekdays and 1pm on weekends, with Sumbak lighting the firepits on Friday afternoons to cook huge joints of meat, whole fish and seasonal veg.

For more information, head to onislandtime.com.au.

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