EAT LOCAL – Regional Restaurants in Season: FINO Seppeltsfield
October 20, 2015
What we really love about eating local across the regions of South Australia is the huge variety on offer. We have just about every imaginable and indulgent ingredient available somewhere across the state, from the fresh-caught seafood of the coast to the hidden fruit bowls of the outback. There’s a lot of local foodie love to share.
As we take our first dazzled steps into daylight savings time in South Australia, relaxed evenings and balmy sun-filled lunches are the order of the day. Time to get out of town for a spring fling at your pick of dozens of regional restaurants where local produce has star billing.
We can take a stroll through history if we head north to Fino Seppeltsfield restaurant and food bar in the bottling hall at the renowned and rejuvenated Seppeltsfield winery. There’s a lot to take in – not just the dishes on offer but also the tables at which we sit, and the plates and knives we use. These have been created especially for the restaurant by the artists of South Australia’s famous Jam Factory, which now also has a store and studio space in the Seppeltsfield village.
What to do with those knives and plates though? Let us count the ways. SchuAm Berkshire pork terrine with caperberries and pistachios perhaps, or Gawler River quail served with Domenico Torzi’s Kalamata olives, toasted buckwheat and chilli. And that’s before we even get to the main course choices, which include crumbed Barossa Valley Cheese Company feta adorning grilled artichoke from the Barossa Farmers’ Market and served with green wheat and walnuts, or the Hutton Vale lamb shoulder, slow cooked to an unctuous standstill and accompanied by sweet carrots from Farmer Hayden, pickled chilli and yoghurt.
The Barossa Farmers’ Market is also Fino’s favourite source for precious early season broad beans, teamed with Barossa Birds chicken and topped with almond bistilla. But right now, it’s all about wild asparagus at Fino, because nothing says spring quite like asparagus. Fino source theirs from Ellen and Kane in nearby Lyndoch and serve it as an entrée with salted ricotta made in house with Jersey Fresh Milk.
