An ode to provenance through growing, teaching and dining, The Agrarian Kitchen is a celebration of place and community, a labour of love that husband and wife Séverine Demanet and Rodney Dunn have been cultivating since 2008.

The best way to begin The Agrarian Kitchen experience is with a tour of the garden, the heart of the enterprise. It shapes everything they do in their kiosk, restaurant and cooking classes. Abundant with berries, citrus, herbs and vegetables, the garden is a one-acre walled space contained within five-metre concrete walls, designed by head gardener Mitch Thiessen. Tours are best followed by either a light lunch at the kiosk or a long, relaxed dining experience at the restaurant.

The kiosk is a casual outdoor affair with a menu that changes weekly, highlighting the garden produce and that of favourite Tasmanian producers. The selection of pastries, cakes, sandwiches, salads and cheese are all made in house and are best enjoyed with a cocktail or with a local wine, beer or cider. The enclosed grounds of Willow Court make the outdoor space ideal for families; kids can run around and play while parents relax in the sun.

For those with time to linger, the restaurant offers a set menu sourced from the surrounding land, whether it's the kitchen garden or via a network of local gardeners, producers, farmers and fishermen. Fruit and vegetables enter the kitchen within minutes of harvest. Fishermen deliver their catch sometimes hours out of the water. Meat comes as a whole carcass to be hung and broken down as required. In the kitchen, these ingredients meet the firepower of the handcrafted wood-fired oven, grill and hot-smoker, all built from old bricks off the Willow Court site by master craftsman Dennis Benson. It is here that the kitchen team practise the ancient crafts of cheese making, whole-animal butchery, smoking, fermentation, wood-fired cooking, bread making and charcuterie. The result is a set menu expertly designed to encapsulate time and place through food, reflecting the seasons and our unique natural environment here in Tasmania.

Waste reduction is of the utmost importance, with excess produce of the season receiving special treatment, being pickled, jammed, fermented or cured. The remaining food scraps are composted and returned to the garden to produce future crops. This philosophy extends to what is served by the glass, where a responsible radius is applied to the selection of wine, beer and spirits by beverage manager Alex Keene.

Learning and teaching is a core part of the philosophy at The Agrarian Kitchen. Their newly built cooking school hosts regular hands-on cooking classes, accommodating up to 12 guests. Classes focus on making food from its base elements and enjoying a meal shared with your classmates.

11A The Avenue, New Norfolk 
theagrariankitchen.com
(03) 6262 0011
[email protected]

Restaurant
Friday, Saturday and Sunday for a set-menu lunch
Reservations are essential (website bookings preferred)

Kiosk
Saturday and Sunday 11.00am – 2.00pm (Fridays during summer)
Bookings not required. Seating is outdoors. Children welcome. Dogs must be on a leash at all times. 

Garden tours – one hour
Friday, Saturday and Sunday 10.00am and 11.30am
Bookings essential (website preferred) 

Cooking classes
Visit the website for class calendar and how to book