If your ideal Hunter Valley itinerary involves a little less rushing between cellar doors and a little more eating, drinking and generally making the most of a very good regional afternoon, there is a new date to put in the diary.
On Saturday, 5 September, Chefs in the Vines will bring five chefs, five restaurants and five of the Hunter Valley’s leading wineries together for one afternoon at Spicers Guesthouse in Pokolbin. The format is simple: five live cooking stations, five signature dishes and plenty of wine – with guests moving between them as the chefs cook, serve and explain what’s on the plate.
A Long Lunch Worth Leaving Sydney For
It’s the kind of event that makes a compelling case for getting out of Sydney for the weekend. Particularly when the alternative is spending another Saturday paying $11 an hour street parking in The Rocks.
This isn’t your standard long lunch, either. The chefs will be cooking their dishes live, giving guests a front-row seat to the techniques, ideas and regional produce behind each plate. Think less formal dining room, more wandering around with a glass of wine in hand while some seriously accomplished chefs do their thing a few metres away.
Meet the Chefs Behind the Menu
And the line-up is impressive.
Jake Kellie, culinary director at Orleana, Kingsford The Barossa, will bring the fire-driven cooking that has become his signature, with a wood-fired Barossa pork kebab served with house-made flatbread and seasonal condiments. Kellie spent two years as head chef at Burnt Ends in Singapore, during which time the restaurant climbed to number 53 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and earned its first Michelin star. He’s also worked alongside some of the biggest names in the business, including Heston Blumenthal, Brett Graham, Scott Pickett and Matt Moran.
At Circa 1876 and eRemo Restaurant, executive chef Anthony Fullerton will serve up slow-cooked lamb shoulder with heirloom carrots, kipfler potato and chimichurri. With more than 35 years in professional kitchens, Fullerton has collected an AHA National Chef of the Year title, a NSW Regional Chef of the Year award and a resume spanning some of Australia’s most respected hospitality venues.
Restaurant Botanica’s Thomas Heinrich will take a more coastal-meets-garden approach, pairing hibachi-grilled Western Australian Fremantle octopus with roasted sunflower romesco, produce from Botanica’s market garden and lemon myrtle-pickled Tasmanian scallop.
Then there’s Ed Butcher, head chef at Rick Stein at Bannisters Port Stephens, who will serve XO Birubi Beach pipis. Butcher began his career at Rick Stein’s restaurant in Dorset before moving to Port Stephens in 2018, where he’s been part of the Bannisters team since its opening. Nearly a decade later, he is reportedly something of a walking Rick Stein recipe encyclopaedia – which feels like a useful person to have stationed next to a plate of pipis.
Rounding out the five is eRemo Restaurant, serving casarecce pasta ragu with pork and fennel sausage, salumi, nduja, San Marzano tomato, basil, focaccia and Pecorino Romano. In other words, come hungry.
A Wine Line-Up That’s Just as Impressive
The wine side of the equation is equally strong, with pours from Tyrrell’s, Brokenwood, Mount Pleasant, First Creek and Silkman Wines available throughout the afternoon. The line-up includes two recent Halliday Wine Companion standouts, with Mount Pleasant’s Adrian Sparks shortlisted for 2027 Winemaker of the Year and Brokenwood taking out 2026 Winery of the Year.
Guests can opt for a food-only ticket and purchase additional drinks on the day, or upgrade to the paired experience, which matches a wine with each of the five dishes. Because if you’re already making the drive to wine country, you may as well commit.
Hosted at Spicers Guesthouse in Pokolbin
The event’s location at Spicers Guesthouse also puts you in the heart of Pokolbin, surrounded by the Hunter Valley’s rolling vineyards and cellar doors. It’s a particularly good time of year to visit, too, with spring bringing longer afternoons and the sort of crisp-but-sunny weather that makes sitting outside with a glass of something cold feel like a perfectly reasonable life choice.
Why You Should Book
For Jake Kellie, that’s part of the appeal. “Most people never get to stand a few feet from a chef and watch a dish come together course by course, let alone ask why we’ve made a certain choice,” he says. “Add in a Hunter Valley spring afternoon, some of the region’s best wine, and three other chefs whose food I genuinely want to try myself, and it’s hard to think of a better way to spend a Saturday.”
It’s also a rare chance to see chefs from different restaurants cooking side by side, rather than experiencing their work one restaurant reservation at a time. As Fullerton puts it, the chefs might each have their own style and perspective, but they’re united by a focus on good produce and good hospitality – with a little friendly competition thrown in.
Chefs in the Vines takes place on Saturday, 5 September, with two sessions running from 12pm-2pm and 2.30pm-4.30pm. Tickets cost $149 per person for the food experience, or $249 per person for the food experience with paired wines at each station.
Our advice? Book the ticket, commit to the weekend away and make a proper trip of it. The Hunter Valley has always been good at giving us reasons to visit. This one just happens to involve five chefs, five wineries and a lot of lunch.
