Join us at Audrey’s for our in-demand fish filleting masterclass on the last Friday of each month.

Join our Chef in an intimate class limited to 10 guests at Audrey’s kitchen bar. Learn the art of preparing seafood using fresh ingredients and enjoy a satisfying meal as you taste everything.

For an elevated experience, opt for caviar service and matched wine options.

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Ten years on, Brad and Roong are now much loved locals who have made their home in the beautiful environment that is the Peninsula, where fresh produce inspires their seasonal fare.  Bringing together their five star cooking experience, their knowledge of global cuisines and their understanding of local produce, they created Finesse Catering Group.  They officially launched the business on May 13th last year with a function at Commonfolk (where Chef Roong continues to cook during the week), and their first summer has been extremely busy.

“We love all aspects of catering,” explains Brad. “We love the freedom of going to different places to cook, from amazing function spaces to peoples’ homes.  We cater for private parties, milestone birthdays, corporate events & weddings, and everything we do is all about finesse.  We love to bring our knowledge of food from around the world to our guests and present it with a delicate skill and artfulness that brings out the best in the food and is breathtaking to the eye. Our food really is built on our love of the culinary arts.”

Finesse Catering Group is just that.  A group of like minded chefs who come together with finesse to offer the most wonderful food in the most beautiful way.  Creative and seasonal, Finesse has developed an impressive and mouth-watering selection of menu packages that showcase their knowledge and skill with food styles from all over the world.  From a Shared Table Feast to a Gourmet BBQ Selection, and from Fine Dining Seated Degustation Menus to Canapes and Finger Food, and a “Celebration of Life’ menu filled with delightful sandwiches, baguettes and wraps, Finesse do indeed cater for all tastes.  You can even enjoy master cooking classes with Chef Roong in the comfort of your own home – perfect for an adult slumber party, hen’s night or corporate event.

Brad has travelled the world and is experienced with all cuisines, and Roong’s talent for Thai food is beyond compare.  The resulting menus offer worldly flavours with a taste of the Peninsula, using local seasonal ingredients wherever possible.  Roong’s talented sister Lucy is the pastry chef, and her dessert offering is equally impressive.  A member of the Mornington Peninsula Wedding Group, Finesse offers a complete catering service from food for all occasions (which can be specifically catered to any taste), to drinks and staff (front of house, wait staff and bar staff).

Some of the delights you can expect from Finesse include canapés like lemongrass and pork dumplings, spiced duck spring rolls, char-grilled lamb koftas and their signature gin and beetroot cured salmon.  A favourite is Roong’s special sausage rolls with her homemade ‘kick arse’ tomato chutney (who doesn’t love a sausage roll?).  A Shared Table Feast could feature Charcuterie, Antipasto, Mid East Mezze or Asian Inspired platters, and their Seated Dinner Menu is inspired with selections like Crispy Skin Pork Belly, Spice Marinated Quail, Slow Braised Duck Leg and Baked Saltwater Barramundi.  The dessert and cake offering is simply spectacular, with sweet taste sensations like Textures of White and Dark Chocolate, 7 Layer Salted Caramel Opera Cake and Spanish Churros with Raspberry Sauce and Malted Chocolate.

Fine food and first class hospitality are the signatures of Finesse Catering Group.  Says Roong, “We love hosting people, serving them the most beautiful food and taking care of them.  We love making people feel special.  Want to make sure they are happy.  We love working, we love food and we love people.”

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The fungus grows on the root of tree, and the tree likes the fungus because the fungus kills the grass around the tree that competes with it for the sugar, water and elements it needs to thrive.  The truffles grow fairly close to the surface to around 30cm down and you simply slice them off the root which doesn’t disturb the tree at all.  By the end of April the truffle has grown to full size and it ripens during May.”

Red Hill Truffles is set on 45 acres of picturesque land in the centre of Red Hill.  The property has been in the family since 1886, across seven generations of Jenny’s family.  She inherited this piece of history from her uncle in 2003, at which time it was an apple orchard.  She really wanted make the most of the land with something that would offer an income and ensure that the land would stay in the family for generations to come.

During a holiday in Tuscany in 2004 Jenny discovered truffles, and upon researching the magical fungus she realised that the Red Hill climate was an ideal growing environment.  She established Red Hill Truffles and planted her first truffiere (truffle orchard) of 260 trees in 2005.  Jenny has become passionate about truffles and has studied everything there is to know about growing them.  Truffles grow under oak and hazelnut trees that have been inoculated with a truffle virus, and she  was able to purchase two year old trees locally (the oak varieties are Robur, Cork and Holly – which is an evergreen).  She has experimented with different growing methods that suit the land and there are now 2600 truffle trees on the property of varying ages.

“We discovered our first truffle in 2010 under a hazelnut tree, and it was a very exciting day!  I proved I could grow truffle.  I can now assess the quality of the truffle by the aroma and the shape, and the texture on the outside.  Black truffles have a dark, rough, rhinoceros-like outer layer, and when sliced through they have a marbled effect similar to wagyu beef,” says Jenny.

Red Hill Truffles has expanded since she discovered her first truffle in 2010.  Being a social worker by trade, Jenny knows how to network, and she has collaborated with local businesses to develop truffle products.  Bass & Flinders makes truffle gin and vodka, Red Hill Brewery produces truffle beer and several cheese producers have created truffle cheese. Jenny also works with Danielle Field from MP Experience, partnering in the ‘Hunt & Gather’ truffle hunts where the public has an opportunity to discover how truffles are grown and cultivated.  The truffle hunts take around 90 minutes, and Jenny loves explaining all about the process of growing truffle.  During the walk Jenny’s dog Thomas (an adorable English springer spaniel)  hunts for the truffles.  He has a great nose and follows Jenny’s commands with an amazing understanding, dropping to the ground when he locates a truffle.

Jenny and Danielle also organise special events for Red Hill Truffles, including a combined mushroom and truffle hunt with guests foraging for mushrooms and truffles followed by a luncheon served on site by well known local chefs. Jenny has converted an old farm shed for this purpose, using recycled timber from the local area including cypress, blackwood and messmate. While she lives permanently in Melbourne, there is a cottage on the property where she and husband Mike stay during the truffle season (the cottage was built from timber from the land in 1919 for Jenny’s mother as a wedding present, and is steeped in family history).

Truffles only have a 12 day shelf life, so Jenny only digs them up when she has a buyer. Local restaurants will call Jenny and asked what she has available, and she will dig up the fresh truffle to order and personally deliver them.  She currently harvests 50 – 70kg a year which supplies the local market as well as Singapore and Hong Kong.  Over the next few years when more truffles are produced, the export market will expand.  And with a proportion of the truffiere being planted with hazelnut trees, Jenny harvests the nuts as well as the truffles, maximising what the land can yield.

The majority of the land is planted with winter truffle (black or melanosporum) which grows during the winter season, and Jenny has now also planted double inoculated trees which she hopes will produce both the winter truffle (black), and the summer truffle (a variety of white truffle called aestivum).  If successful, she will be able to run truffle hunts for six months instead of three.  Then there’s  the Rolls Royce of truffles which is a white truffle call magnatum which looks more like a potato and grows under an elm, white birch or stone pine trees.  Its aroma is five times as strong as a black truffle, and no one has successfully grown it in Australia.  Where black truffle is $2500 per kg, the white truffle is $5000 per kg but you only need a very small amount.  Jenny has planted 100 stone pine trees to experiment with white truffles and she’s looking forward to seeing what these will produce.

“However you can’t cook with white truffle, you can only grate it,” explains Jenny. “So it’s used in a very different way to the black truffle.  You can cook with black truffle and create truffle products, including infusing eggs with truffles as the aroma penetrates the porous egg shells. Truffles marry perfectly with potatoes, rice, eggs, scallops and pasta.  And a chicken slow baked in the oven for five hours with sliced truffles under the skin is glorious.  Increasingly people are using truffles in desserts, with truffle ice-cream or pannacotta.  We work with a number of local restaurants.  I have a close relationship with Max Paganoni of Max’s Restaurant who produces a range of products for me in his kitchen.  I have also supplied Montalto, Polperro, 10 Minutes by Tractor and Paringa Estate.”

Walking the truffiere with Jenny is a very special experience.  Lined with rows upon rows of oak and hazelnut trees, and surrounded by mature Eucalypts and European trees, you can sense the history of the earth upon which you walk and breathe in the beauty.  It makes you feel a part of something bigger than yourself.  Jenny is passionate, informative and so generous with her knowledge and time, and her love of the land is palpable. She has even discovered a pair of wild eagles who have made the property their home and they have recently had a baby that they are teaching to fly.  What a legacy Jenny and Mike have created for generations to come.

For more information on the dates and times for Red Hill Truffles ‘Hunt & Gather’ events, contact Danielle on 0410 596 637,  or via email – tour@mpexperience.com.au.  www.mpexperience.com.au

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Peonies have been used as medicinal plants for at least two thousand years. The peony flower was referred to in ancient Greece as “the Queen of all herbs” and the ancient Chinese considered the “tree peony” to be the “King of flowers”. Herbaceous peonies only grow in cool climates with cold winters such as the Mornington Peninsula as they need the cold to help trigger the development of the flower bud. Flaunting voluptuous blooms, they come in an array of colours from white through pink to red and mauve and in ruffled single and double forms and are very fragrant. The peony season is very short. If you are a garden lover or an outdoor enthusiast that appreciates wonderful garden architecture and a light stroll in the countryside, make sure you book your tickets in advance for this once in a year spectacular. 

Unofficially….. Open Days for 2018 are anticipated to commence in mid-November on: Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th, Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd December

Bookings will commence in mid-October. Please book in advance to avoid missing out. Hours on “Open Days” will be 10am – 4pm (last entry 3pm). Parking this year will be next to the Peony Paddock. Please enter through the gates from
237 Arthurs Seat Rd, Red Hill (parking is available on the grounds)

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Do you have a friend who could really use a relaxing soak in the springs?

Mental health is a cause close to our hearts at the springs, which is why we partner with Mentis Assist and Mental Health Australia – two organisations that provide specialised mental health support for people living with a mental illness.

Our Share the Warmth campaign starts on Monday, July 22 and invites you to bring a friend experiencing stress or mental health challenges with you to the Bath House during off peak periods, free of charge.

All you need to do is create a booking online for two people during off peak periods (Monday – Friday, outside of school and public holidays) and use the promo code sharethewarmth19 at checkout, following your visit you will be requested to complete a short survey to tell us about your experience.

Limited spaces available.
To book – click on “visit website” below and don’t forget to enter the promo code.

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Be guided through the bushland surrounding Peninsula Hot Springs to discover local bush tucker and bush medicine. Pause at viewing points to hear about the cultural significance and Dreamtime stories of local landmarks. The journey concludes in our Cultural Meeting Space, designed in collaboration with Aboriginal Elders, where you will experience an unforgettable didgeridoo meditation.

Inclusions:

2 hour guided walk and didgeridoo meditation
Bath house bathing

This experience is recommended for guests 12 years and over.

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On the busiest of days, you’ll order coffee and something scrumptious to eat then while you’re waiting, you’ll go inside to forage for pantry items to take home then you’ll stop everything to find a seat on the iconic deck to enjoy your foodie moment. Forty steps across Point Leo Road is the newly developed Red Hill South Memorial Parkland with its swish playground, picnic stations and clean country air. The gourmet food offering at the Cellar and Pantry is sophisticated as it is well priced and the store itself is a local institution. People come here to cure a hangover, catch up with friends for an informal experience as well as shop for all of your favourite take home needs – it’s a genuinely classic hinterland gourmet experience. Drop into their daily ‘happy hour’ 5-6pm. Wind down with a glass of local wine or beer ($5 a glass).

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