Saturday marked our first open lunch of the season at home, and as always, the unpredictability of the weather kept me on my toes. One thing I certainly hadn't missed about hosting home lunches is keeping an eye on the forecast!
Normally, we set up tables in the driveway and under the pink peppercorn tree, but with the number of bookings this time, I managed to position everyone around the verandah and even had one table out the back.
I had some wonderful help this weekend—my nephew Liam and Mia, who I've known since she was a baby. This was Mia’s fourth shift with me, and I could see how much she’s learning each time. We even did some role-playing on how to serve and communicate with customers, which brought back memories of my first waitering job. I remember how nervous I was to speak with customers, but confidence and practice make all the difference. Both Liam and Mia did a fantastic job!
The menu for the day featured some of my favorite native ingredients:
- Stinging Nettle Taster with Linseed Cracker
- Saltbush Arancini with Muntrie Chutney
- Bush Tomato, Goats Cheese & Bush Thyme Bruschetta
- Kangaroo Kofta with Sunrise Lime & Rosemary
- Gnocchi with Saltbush and Mountain Pepper Lamb, Brussels Sprouts & Warrigal Greens
- Blood Orange Cake with Davidson Plum Ice Cream
- Lemon Myrtle Meringue Tart
Guests enjoyed an alternate drop of desserts, and everything went smoothly—even with a few dietary requirements. We had two gluten-free guests and one vegetarian. There was a funny moment when one of the guests arrived and had asked me if I knew there was a vegan at their table. , I responded “ thank you, but I was told there was a vegetarian.” he responded ”Vegan / Vegetarian the same thing.” “I clarified that the guest was vegetarian, and we all had a good laugh about the mix-up. So much difference between a vegan and vegetarian haha.
I also surprised everyone with Taro Chips with Lemon Myrtle Salt and Fresh Lemon. I was able to pick up the taro during a visit to the Melbourne market last weekend, and it was a hit with the guests. Paddy was especially happy to see the chips, as we hadn’t had them since living up in Tully. It brought back fond memories of our Cook Islander families, who used to bring boxes of taro for me to use with the students at the high school.
The day started early for me. I woke at 3 a.m. after a light sleep, as I was expecting Paddy home, but he ended up staying at a friend’s place. After tossing and turning for a while, I decided to get up at 4:30 a.m. and start on the bread and Italian meringue. As the sun rose, I ventured out to the garden for some fresh pickings—warrigal greens, parsley, chives, silverbeet, Brussels sprouts, and some bush herbs. My beautiful mum arrived around 8:30 a.m. to help prep the tables, and later, Kylie came at 10:30 a.m., followed by the kids at 11:30 a.m.
Guests arrived at noon, full of excitement, and the lunch went off without a hitch. We wrapped up around 4 p.m., and while cleaning up, I noticed Liam had mysteriously disappeared during the washing up. But he’s learning and improving with every shift, so I’ll give him a pass this time!
A big thank you to everyone who attended on Saturday. Our next luncheon is scheduled for the second weekend of November, and bookings are now open. Keep an eye out for updates, as we’re also exploring the possibility of moving to a new venue that will allow us to host events more frequently. Nothing is set in stone yet, but if it’s meant to be, it will happen. And if not, I’ll just have to be patient—though, if you know me, patience isn’t exactly my strong suit!
