Engaged both with the region and with Australia’s native ingredients, Wills makes a powerful case as an essential culinary destination.
Change is afoot at Wills, with former Wildflower and Hearth chef Jed Gerrard stepping in to run a kitchen in which young gun Albee Lee has taken strides. Across seven courses it’s clear their collaboration is fruitful, clear ideas pulled off with finesse.
A dish of chilled scallops plays with temperature as well as texture, the flesh topped with crisp kohlrabi and served alongside wasabi snow.
The presentation, too, is striking. Cultured butter is moulded into the shape of a beehive and drizzled with estate honey to go with house rolls. Carrot macarons are piped with chicken-liver parfait and served on an upturned nasturtium leaf. A dish of chilled scallops plays with temperature as well as texture, the flesh topped with crisp kohlrabi and served alongside wasabi snow, while pressed potato with Gruyère is served with intense preserved truffle.
This is cooking outside the box, pulled off with exactitude – smoked duck breast is crisp-skinned next to a sheet of beetroot; ginger custard and desert lime sorbet is given acid and crunch from native fruits and ribbons of youlk. Wine sticks to the Wills roster, but service is worldly to match world-class views over vines and a near-unrivalled experience on the plate.
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