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Changes ahead on the Mornington Peninsula

Roslyn Grundy
Roslyn Grundy

Ten Minutes by Tractor's restaurant was undamaged by the fire.
Ten Minutes by Tractor's restaurant was undamaged by the fire.Supplied

It's all change on the Mornington Peninsula.

A fire in a storage shed at Ten Minutes by Tractor in Main Ridge has forced the team to decamp to their second restaurant, Petit Tracteur, where it's business as usual.

The restaurant was undamaged and no one was hurt when the restaurant was evacuated on February 25, says head chef Adam Sanderson, although the fire destroyed irreplaceable vintage tractors, the owners' 11,000-strong wine collection and kitchen equipment.

Laura restaurant at Point Leo Estate.
Laura restaurant at Point Leo Estate.Jason Loucas
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The restaurant, which underwent a renovation last year, is expected to reopen within three months. While work is under way, Petit Tracteur will extend its hours and the cellar door will also operate from the site, at 1208 Mornington-Flinders Road, Main Ridge.

Meanwhile, at Red Hill South, Welsh-born chef Adam Beckett has taken over the pans at one-hat Paringa Estate. His CV lists Michelin-starred UK restaurants Lords of the Manor Hotel and Atlantic Hotel Jersey, and Melbourne's Vue de Monde and Bacash. Expect plenty of classic Euro technique applied to ingredients grown and gathered nearby.

The estate has come a long way since owner Lindsay McCall took over a derelict orchard in 1984. "Twenty-five years ago we only had a trestle table in an old shed where we tasted wine in the vineyard," he says. "Today we can have a full restaurant on a Wednesday lunch during winter."

King George whiting, kipfler potatoes, grenobloise and broccolini at Paringa Estate.
King George whiting, kipfler potatoes, grenobloise and broccolini at Paringa Estate.Supplied

Regional hotel Lindenderry in Red Hill has recently undergone a multi-million dollar Hecker Guthrie makeover. Chef Paul Witherington (ex Port Phillip Estate) is in charge of the dining room.

And at Merricks winery, restaurant and sculpture park Point Leo Estate, 45-seat set-menu restaurant Laura opens on Thursday. Named after the estate's Jaume Plensa sculpture, visible from the dining room, the restaurant will throw the spotlight on Mornington Peninsula produce.

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Roslyn GrundyRoslyn Grundy is Good Food's deputy editor and the former editor of The Age Good Food Guide.

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