10 places to taste Gippsland's produce, Victoria, Australia

Featuring verdant farmlands dotted with dairy pastures and orchards, and a bountiful coastline to match, Gippsland is the perfect place to feed your curiosity. Stop in for a tipple at cellar doors and farm gates to taste the region’s legendary produce at the source, or book ahead at a growing number of acclaimed restaurants that are putting Gippsland on the map.

1. Hogget Kitchen

Set on a 130-acre vineyard looking towards the Strzelecki Ranges, the hatted Hogget Kitchen is the product of three passionate foodie families coming together to celebrate everything Gippsland has to offer. Chef Trevor Perkins takes charge of the daily rotating menu, sourcing every ingredient locally and making a full nose-to-tail use of it, while sommeliers William Downie and Patrick Sullivan turn the wine list into a who’s who of Gippsland viticulture.

2. Blue Tree Honey Farm

Indulge with a sweet treat at Blue Tree Honey Farm and see what all the buzz is about. This bucolic farm in southern Gippsland is a hive of activity thanks to free honey tastings, live bee observations, and a gift store where you can pick up the perfect little something to take home. Budding beekeepers can also buy supplies to start their own hives at home.

3. Sodafish

It’s just 20 metres from the kitchen to the jetty where Sodafish’s co-owner and chef, Nick Mahlook, buys his fish straight from the fishing fleets. Mahlook, who has worked at some of Melbourne’s most celebrated restaurants, returned to his hometown in 2020 to start this special floating restaurant with his sister. This is as fresh as you can get when it comes to enjoying quality seafood.

4. Loch Brewery and Distillery

Pass the cute lawn settings and head up the stairs into a 100-year-old red brick bank building to find Loch Brewery and Distillery. While the distillery offers English-style beers and gins featuring Australian botanicals, founders Craig Johnson and Melinda Davies have poured their passion into their first love: whisky.

5. Bassine Specialty Cheeses

Parmesan, feta and gouda, oh my! Dairy devotees should hoof it to Bassine Specialty Cheeses, where you can sample dozens of fresh, marinated and spiced cheeses. Milk from the dairy farm also goes into producing cheesecakes, milkshakes and gourmet toasties, which are all available at the onsite café.

6. Tinamba Hotel

A local secret for the last 150 years, Tinamba Hotel has well and truly put Gippsland produce in the spotlight after nabbing a coveted chef’s hat in the 2023 Australian Good Food Guide. Don’t let the pub façade fool you, this is contemporary and smart country hospitality at its finest.

7. Lightfoot Wines

A cool coastal climate, limestone-enriched soils and an airy location overlooking the Gippsland lakes district all come together to help Lightfoot Wines produce its unique range of lesser-known wine styles. Gather some friends and savour the stunning views from the deck alongside your favourite tipple.

8. Maffco Brewery and Distillery

A century old milk factory has been lovingly restored to create Gippsland’s newest watering hole. Maffco Brewery and Distillery brews a range of beers, gins and vodkas using ingredients sourced from local producers. Look out for the heritage details and nods to the building’s past, like the bar made from salvaged cladding and fencing.

9. Carrajung Estate

Carrajung Estate’s Head Chef Patrick Haney celebrates Gippsland’s best produce with a regularly rotating menu that features the likes of smoked rainbow trout croquettes, beef short ribs and ricotta gnocchi. Short on time? Stop in for a tasting at the cellar door or, if you want to stay a while longer, book a night at the romantic onsite cottage overlooking the vines.

10. SARDINE Dining

This hatted restaurant overlooking Raymond Island has far more up its sleeves than just sardines. Whether it’s prawns, octopus or trevalla, Paynesville’s local fisherfolk will text Sardine Dining's head chef Mark Briggs in the morning to say what they’ve caught so he can have a recipe ready by lunchtime.

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