The doors are open at The Summertown Aristologist
THE doors are open at The Summertown Aristologist - set to be a summer sensation.
THE four Hills dwellers who’ve opened The Summertown Aristologist believe there is nothing quite like anywhere else in Australia.
“It’s absolutely unique,” says Aaron Fenwick, who’s thrown in the managerial towel at top restaurant Orana and the downstairs Blackwood to get his hands dirty in the Hills project.
“It’s not a winery restaurant, but we are attached to wineries.
“At the same time, it’s a bar, and there’s food. Then we have this whole thing that everything we’re eating and drinking is healthy and delicious; it’s being grown consciously in an organic or biodynamic fashion, from grains to dairy.”
Rewind four years. Natural winemaker Anton von Klopperbought kitchen equipment from Aaron, during renovations at Magill Estate in 2012. They didn’t know then their paths would realign in bringing Anton’s vision to life.
That vision was inspired by the small, unassuming bars in Europe which boast the simplest, most delicious food and wine. Fellow natural winemaker Jasper Button (Commune of Buttons) and chef Tom Edwards(Magill Estate)are also in on the project.
“I’m staying with Jasper at the moment, and I’m feeding chickens and pigs every morning,” says Aaron, who moved from the CBD’s hustle and bustle to Basket Range.
“Now it seems normal. I enjoy it.”
There’s warmth in the detail at the Aristologist. Natural materials, old demijohns as light shades, and a big wooden table in the middle for people to pull up a stool. Then there’s the downstairs cellar and ageing room, where they’re making their own smallgoods and, eventually, their own cheese.
Dishes will be small and casual (“It’s just things to eat,” Aaron says), mostly using produce from their own kitchen gardens, with elements of foraging and “plenty of pickling”.
“It’s very much a community thing for us, that we’re being a part of,” Aaron says.
1097 Greenhill Rd, Summertown, 0477 410 105, on Facebook