Chef Jake Kellie’s menu at The Lakeside Mill in Pakenham is finding fans from far and wide
HE’S the young gun chef who swapped the bright lights of the city for the night stars of the far south east. So how is Pakenham warming to Jake Kellie’s food? Dan Stock finds out.
Melbourne
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OH LORD, I thought, as I hit bumper-to-gridlock at the edge of the Burnley tunnel. It’s 6.45pm, so that means me, crawling traffic, and all of my inner-city prejudices for the next 90 minutes all the way out to Pakenham.
This new gaff for young gun chef Jake Kellie who’s swapped the city for the far south east, might be good, I thought, but with the addendum: for Pakenham.
I’ll probably be in an empty mid-week dining room, I thought, served by the sweet but clueless an interminable procession of handed-down trickery that might well impress the locals but that’s only because they’re raised on a diet of drive through.
Oh how the city does sneer.
But.
From the unbridled beam of sunshine that was the smile from the hostess upon greeting us, through the palpably warm and genuinely humble ‘thanks for visiting’ on leaving, there’s real hospitality on show throughout the night.
And we had one of the last tables in the house this Wednesday, filled with the curious, date-night diners and grey haired groups alike, some tucking into 1.5 kilos of tomahawk steak along with keenly priced (sub $30) mains from the bistro menu, but most tables jumping in for the full five-course tasting menu that is, it turns out, unbeatable value.
There’s a real buzz, the air filled with expectation, promise and more that a touch of pinch-me-this-is-all-ours? from the locals.
As well they should.
Sure Jake can cook, but it’s one thing to win a competition - albeit one as prestigious as Young Chef of the Year, which he was crowned last year in the national Appetite for Excellence industry awards – and quite another to run a restaurant.
He seems to have risen to the occasion.
Little bites hit the table quickly, filled with lovely colours, textures and ideas.
A light prawn mousse that fills a delicate zucchini flower; a Jerusalem artichoke nugget battered crisp under a dusting of Main Ridge caprinella; or the show-stopping yellow beetroot that arrives entombed in a wattleseed salt crust ready to be discovered and swiped through a butter emulsion with a caramel sweetness, these are eye-opening openers that have already paid for the petrol.
The first course – along with excellent warmed Cannibal Creek dark rye served with ash-sprinkled butter – is quick to follow and prove a carbtastic double act.
A namechecked potato – from Warrigal’s Mr Jones – cooked in jus gras until spoon-soft sits next to a mustard emulsion and covered by a cabbage sheath seasoned with salted egg yolk.
Completely delicious.
Mount Martha mussels, swimming in roasted roo broth that remains balanced even though it’s the result of a three-day simmer, are impressively plump, a sheet of lardo adding sticky depth countered by a garlic flower’s pungent bite.
To drink with, a Yarra Valley rose (Crudo) proves a good partner, and is part of the $50, predominantly Victorian, wine match.
There’s a well-pitched $50 beer match, too, or a $30 non-alcoholic version for drivers, which, while featuring undoubtedly clever concoctions, were too sweet for me bar a brilliantly bracing lemon spritz served with the potato.
The fit out is fun, interesting; gold cutlery adds a touch of Pakenham bling, little terrariums hanging from the roof bring the outside in.
And while there are all the tropes of a modern designer’s eye – the hanging cords, the blond wood and dark chairs, the greenery and black grouted white tiles – it still very much has its own personality.
Likewise Jake’s treatment of a piece of delightful fish – rock flathead – that hides under a charred lettuce blanket and succulents from the sea.
Bursts of finger lime cut through a garlic butter, making for a rich, without being overwhelming, dish.
The championing of producers from this neck of Victoria would be admirable even if it weren’t so well executed.
O’Connor’s beef from down the road – a rump cut full of iron and heft – teamed with a sour onion sauce and salted kohlrabi for crunch is a meat course restrained yet satisfying.
It is food while clever remains approachable; the real smarts being that Jake hasn’t thrown every single trick in his book at the offering. The tasting menu is well-paced and manageable in both time and stomach commitments, and is noticeably free from ego.
Such things as water – always iced – continually topped up shows a steady hand guiding the ship; Casey Brent is the man who’s in charge and he’s done a great job in creating a team that’s well-oiled without being city slick, and that’s very much a compliment.
Then, with the offer of coffee and before the bill, petit fours including a warm licorice-centred doughnut that have us singing into the night.
It’s generous to a fault, and at $80 a head, excellent value. The Lakeside Mill is very good, often great. And no addendum needed.
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SCORE: 15/20
The Lakeside Mill
38 Lakeside Blvd, Pakenham
Ph: 5940 8700
Open: Daily, 7am-11pm (midnight Sat)
Go-to dish: All the snacks
Originally published as Chef Jake Kellie’s menu at The Lakeside Mill in Pakenham is finding fans from far and wide
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