TasWeekend: Popular chef Gail Sellin re-emerges with new pub gig

Chef Gail Sellin has emerged from “hiding” and is delighting customers at Fern Tree Tavern with a mix of old favourites from her Raspberry Fool days and facny comfort food.

Chef Gail Sellin is making tasty comfort food at Fern Tree Tavern. Picture: FIONA HARDING

I WAS excited to hear that former Raspberry Fool chef Gail Sellin was making a comeback. I loved her Bathurst St cafe — now home to Bury Me Standing — and was devastated when it closed.

After 14 months “hiding” as she puts it, as a second chef at Lindisfarne cafe Spencer’s, Sellin has taken over the kitchen at the Fern Tree Tavern.

ON THE MENU Roast cauliflower, almond and kale salad, $16; Roasted pork with crispy potatoes, gravy and braised red cabbage, $28; Pear, apple and blackberry crumble, $12.

Raspberry Fool fans will be pleased to hear Sellin’s sourdough toasties are back, including her meat loaf toastie and the vegan banh mi toastie, which was one of my favourites at the cafe. She is also still making tasty soups.

My husband and I drop in to the Fern Tree Tavern for lunch one rainy Saturday. A group of cyclists arrive about the same time we do.

The cyclists make a beeline for the cake cabinet, which includes an orange and almond cake, friands and vegan lamingtons. The cakes are sliced and served and gradually disappear.

The roast cauliflower salad. Picture: FIONA HARDING

Back at our table, my husband chooses the roast of the day — roasted pork belly with crispy potatoes, gravy and braised red cabbage — and I opt for a roast cauliflower salad.

The salad, of cauliflower, almonds, spinach and kale, is served with a spiced pumpkin puree and crispy seeds. The flavours are Middle East-inspired with a hint of lemon juice.

I defer to the meat eater for the verdict on the roasted pork belly. He’s happy with the meal, although no baked potato is ever crispy enough for him. He crunches through the pork crackling and tells me the meat is perfect — he often avoids roast pork in fear it will be too fatty — and the braised cabbage cuts through the richness of the rest of the meal.

The roast pork belly. Picture: FIONA HARDING

Sellin later tells me the roast is not always a traditional roast. She has previously done a Greek style roast lamb and has plans for vegetarian and vegan roasts.

The menu generally has a good selection of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. And for those looking for a sandwich — toasted of course — a bowl of soup, or a snack in between lunch and dinner time, the Fern Tree Tavern has you covered with some menu items available all afternoon.

Sellin describes her food as “dressed up comfort food”. Her desserts fit well into that category. She is known for her traditional puddings, some of which have pleased diners at previous Dark Mofo Winter Feasts. The pudding special the day we visit is a pear, apple and blackberry crumble. It doesn’t take much convincing to order it — after eating a salad for lunch, it’s easy to justify.

Pear, apple and blackberry crumble. Picture: FIONA HARDING

The dessert arrives looking like it could have come from my grandmother’s kitchen; it’s a generous serve, presented simply and with custard, and tastes as good as it looks.

FERN TREE TAVERN 680 Huon Rd, Fern Tree Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday. 6239 1171

Sellin spent six years running Raspberry Fool which, she tells me, left her feeling mentally exhausted. Being second chef at Spencer’s, where she wasn’t working “ridiculous hours” gave her a chance to recuperate. She didn’t have huge responsibilities but did have some input into the menu.

“I’ve been hiding away for a year, I guess,” she says. “I wanted to work somewhere where it was literally put your head down and cook.” But, after 14 months, she decided it was time to make a comeback and started at the Fern Tree Tavern just before Easter.

Customers have missed Raspberry Fool. Sellin tells me a group of regulars from the cafe came to the tavern for lunch in her first week, pleased that they had tracked her down.