Eat & Drink
REGIONAL flavour
By Andrea Louise Thomas Photos Yanni
S
imon West, head chef at Yabby Lake Winery, knows his cool climate regional cuisine. He has spent the majority of his professional career cheffing in some of the finest restaurants on the Mornington Peninsula, capitalizing on the best ingredients the region has to offer. He cooks clean, honest food with an undeniable sense of place.
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48 | PENINSULA
Growing up, Simon was fortunate to have a mother and grandmother who loved to cook. In fact, it was his grandmother’s crispy skin roast duck for Christmas lunch when he was eight years old that inspired him to become a chef. He was obsessed with food after that. It also helped that Grandma had a cake and pastry shop. Sweet or savoury, there were great flavours in his young life. June 2021
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