Dunkeld's Royal Mail Hotel drops bistro, 10-course degustation menu

Almost a year after taking over the stoves at Dunkeld's Royal Mail Hotel, Robin Wickens has made the job his own. With big shoes to fill after the departure of Dan Hunter, now of Brae, the British-born chef jokes he's the David Moyes of cooking, referencing the man unlucky enough to follow Manchester United's powerful former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

The biggest changes are in the dining room. Wickens plans to drop the 10-course degustation menu and nix the bistro, instead offering all diners the choice between a la carte and a five- or eight-course tasting menu daily.

"Ultimately, we want to take it to a pretty high level even for the a la carte, adding in canapes, amuse and pre-desserts for everyone, so if you're just having entree and main, you're getting a few little extra things as well," Wickens says.

Breakfast will get more attention, too. It's out with the buffet and in with cooked-to-order dishes using house-made sausages, black pudding, eggs from the hotel's free-ranging chooks and produce from the expanded kitchen gardens.

Wickens's goal is to encourage visitors to linger. "We want it to make people a little more relaxed - the hotel needs to be an escape from Melbourne so people come and stay a little bit longer to enjoy the area."

Owners Allan and Maria Myers will invite hotel guests on guided tours of their picturesque 10-hectare private garden, usually hidden behind sandstone walls (Wednesday and Friday at 10am).