Food News

Reader dinner: Stokehouse, St Kilda

Join us to celebrate the reopening of St Kilda’s landmark Stokehouse. We’ve saved you a seat.

By Samantha Teague
PEANUT SEMIFREDDO
Join us to celebrate the reopening of St Kilda's landmark Stokehouse. We've saved you a seat.
Stokehouse is reborn. Three years after being destroyed by a fire, it's back and busier than ever - 24 hours after reservations opened in November, the restaurant booked out for weeks on end. But, fear not, we've saved you a seat at the beachfront eatery this April.
Manager Hugh van Haandel with chef Ollie Hansford.
You'll see a likeness to the first iteration of the restaurant - designer Pascale Gomes-McNabb has used a similar palette - but there are notable differences, too: the ceilings are higher, for a start, and the ocean-facing windows larger. Chef Ollie Hansford, returned to the Van Haandel Group after briefly heading up the kitchen at Gauge, has also added his own touches to the menu. The new peanut butter parfait, for instance, rivals the group's famed Bombe dessert in popularity. "It's one of the dishes we opened the restaurant with and it just flew out," he says.
At the other end of the meal, the snacks kick off with oysters, then zesty cobia ceviche rolled in pickled daikon, and yellowfin tuna with cucumber and wasabi.
To follow comes smoked duck breast with chestnuts. "We keep the two breasts on the crown and stuff the cavity with freshly cut vine leaves," says Hansford. "Then we coat the crown with an umami-rich oyster glaze, put it in the oven and light the leaves."
Interiors.
The dinner, served with matched wines from Margaret River's Voyager Estate, will be a night to remember, he says. "I hope everyone is relaxed. Look, if people get a bit carried away and want to dance on the tables, we're happy with that, too."
Join us for dinner at 6.30pm on Tuesday 11 April at Stokehouse, 30 Jacka Blvd, St Kilda, Vic. The cost of $150 includes four courses, matched wines and a $10 onation to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. To book, call (03) 9525 5555. For more on the OCRF, call 1300 OVARIAN or visit ocrf.com.au
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  • undefined: Samantha Teague