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Road trips

Who’s up and who’s down in 2025?

‘Back with a bang’: The restaurants with new hats (and lost hats) in The Age Good Food Guide 2025

An iconic fine diner reclaims its three-hat status. High-profile operators take hits. And omakase restaurants rise and fall.

  • Tomas Telegramma
Grilled king prawns with side of piaya (flatbread with miso onions) at Askal.

The finalists for the three biggest awards at The Age Good Food Guide Awards, revealed

Ahead of The Age Good Food Guide awards on Monday night, these are the finalists for the biggest awards. You can be guaranteed they will be great.

  • Emma Breheny and Good Food Guide reviewers
Stefano de Pieri is the don of Mildura hospitality.

Legendary Mildura chef Stefano de Pieri planned to quit – instead, he’s teaching locals to cook

Italian-born chef and restaurateur Stefano de Pieri intended to sell his Mildura restaurant and retire. Instead, he’s staying on and opening a cooking school.

  • Dani Valent
Chef Annie Smithers growing vegetables for her Trentham restaurant, Du Fermier.

Archaic law prevents beloved chef from watering her vegetables

Trucking water in by tanker despite having her own lake may be the only option for Annie Smithers and her Trentham restaurant garden.

  • Dani Valent
Hey Rosey

Good Food’s great regional wine bar road-trip (plus great places to stay)

Small towns across NSW are increasingly becoming better places to eat and drink thanks to a proliferation of new wine bars run by young, ambitious teams.

  • Callan Boys and Good Food Guide Reviewers
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Southern Ranges beef, cooked over charcoal and red gum, forms the menu core at Eileen’s Charcoal Grill.

Six openings to gee you up for a Geelong trip (and a hatted bistro to visit before it closes)

Including a charcoal-powered steakhouse and a basement bar with house-party vibes.

  • Tomas Telegramma
Italian-ish restaurant Slim’s Upstairs has opened above the more casual Slim’s Hot Pizza.

For a slice of Mount Eliza’s hottest opening of the year, head upstairs

A hospo group making waves on the Mornington Peninsula is dishing up saucy venison meatballs and choc-loaded tiramisu at Slim’s Upstairs.

  • Tomas Telegramma
Peter Dunn and his 20 month old daughter Eleanora on the Dunn’s North Blackwood spud farming family farm in Central Victoria. They’ll be part of the Trentham Spudfest, a festival celebrating all things potato.

Goodbye music festivals, hello food festivals? Where to plan your next regional road trip

From community-led harvests, to cheese and bread workshops with Australia’s best, regional food festivals have a lot to offer – and they’re booming. Here’s our pick of five to visit this autumn.

  • Bianca Hrovat
Jo Barrett, co-owner and chef at Little Picket in Lorne.

Award-winning chef Jo Barrett to close hatted Lorne restaurant Little Picket

Riding high with a Good Food Guide hat, Victoria’s Chef of the Year is quitting the bowls club to tackle new projects.

  • Dani Valent
Effie’s kiosk at Manly Boatshed in Fairlight.

From Manly to Merimbula: Where to find waterfront feeds for less than $30

Stunning views and great (sea)food, without the budget-busting bill at the end.

  • Bianca Hrovat

Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/topic/road-trips-l5w