Restaurant review: Bec Hardy’s culinary experience in McLaren Vale

A new restaurant at a McLaren Vale winery with a famous family name is achieving remarkable results with a one-man band chef in the kitchen, our food reviewer finds.

Tommy ruff at Bec Hardy Kitchen. Picture: Supplied

The drive along McLaren Vale’s McMurtrie Rd passes some of the region’s greatest hits, past and present.

There’s the Salopian Inn on the corner. Wirra Wirra and Mitolo to one side, Hugh Hamilton to the other, and then the communal home for cult producers Sherrah, Bondar and Lino Ramble.

Take a right turn towards the end, however, and you will soon come across a name that is arguably the biggest of them all. Hardy.

Going way, way back to the first Thomas Hardy more than 150 years ago, this family has been a big part of the state’s wine achievements.

And while the original Hardy label (and its Main St headquarters) is now part of a far larger conglomerate, the story continues to evolve through sixth-generation winemaker Bec Hardy.

Her self-titled winery in the shadow of the Willunga range takes full advantage of its bucolic surrounds.

Outside the cosy tasting room, a large deck and terrace are set with tables for more casual grazing, while the adjacent shed has been converted into a laid-back dining room.

Inside, the galvanised roof and walls are softened with lengths of linen.

Dining space at The Kitchen at Bec Hardy.

Old wine barrels have been repurposed, the staves turned into tabletops and the rings making a rustic chandelier.

While the regular platters and boards are a constant, for three lunches a week this space converts to a more elaborate restaurant-style service featuring the food of local chef Connor Bishop.

Before going further, it should be noted that Bishop deserves a swag of medals for what he is achieving here given that he is the only chef in the kitchen.

Every dish we tried, in isolation, was thoughtfully constructed, attractively plated and flawless in cooking. The pacing was spot on.

For someone to manage all this, on their own, even with limited numbers, is extraordinary really. Most chefs would run a mile. This young bloke is even making bread.

Beetroot mille feuille at The Kitchen at Bec Hardy.

A slice of his brioche loaf and a dish of excellent salt-sprinkled butter kicks off a five-course set menu at $95 with an optional addition for a further $15.

The first plate is a real head-turner. Raw beetroot has been shaved into the thinnest of ribbons by a spiralizer-type machine and then painstakingly rolled up like a streamer.

After braising in a sauce of beetroot juice and vinegar, it looks like an old English rose, particularly when set against a vivid green parsley chimichurri, and the texture of those “petals” is amazing.

However, the progression of the following courses has a poultry problem, with duck, quail and another duck following one after the other (unfortunately, the day’s optional extra, Asian-style lamb ribs, is unavailable).

And some, no doubt, will take issue with the portions in what is really a series of entrees without building to the usual crescendo of something more substantial.

Roasted duck breast and other food at The Kitchen at Bec Hardy, McLaren Vale. Picture: Ben McMahon

Still, a bowl of confit duck leg chunks blanketed in a frothed cloud of thyme-infused potato espuma is perfect mid-season comfort food when you aren’t quite ready for the heavier winter woollies.

Partially deboned quail (a leg and a breast for each person) is roasted with a honey/wattle seed glaze and accompanied by poached cumquats that hit the bullseye with their balance of sweetness and sour citrus tang.

The duck sequel is presented in two parts: slices of the roasted breast are arranged on a river bed of warmed pebbles to share between individual bowls of a silken pumpkin puree encircled by a moat of shiraz jus. Presenting this on a larger plate with a few sides for company would feel more generous.

The white chocolate panna cotta.

Bishop has a passion for sweets and patisserie and is constantly playing with different desserts.

Today, it is a white chocolate and lemon myrtle panna cotta that has been set in a spectacular honeycomb-inspired mould of hexagonal cells, some of which have been filled with a squirt of blue gum honey.

It’s delicious and clever, but all this work is gone in a few spoonfuls.

Here is a young chef trying his darnedest to pull off the impossible – and getting very close. Hopefully he receives the support that he deserves. Then this likeable cellar door can take its place among the heavy-hitters.