Trevor Pepys reviews The Black Ant Gourmet, Kin Kin
Although he has spent much of his life travelling far and wide, these days – particularly this year – it is fair to say that Trevor Pepys wouldn’t go as far as Kin Kin for his holidays.
At least, that is, until he discovered the Black Ant Gourmet. Certainly, it’s a long and winding road that leads to its door, and I’ve seen that road before … singalong now! And Trevor will definitely have Let It Be on Spotify as he drives out there next time, and there will definitely be a next time, because this is a real discovery. Now read on.
When the old bush bugger suggested lunch down in the village, I naturally assumed we would be in for a pie floater at the Country Life pub – and nothing wrong with that, stay tuned – but after the traditional “drink of tea” at the homestead, as we jumped in cars to head down the hill, I enquired if he’d thought to book a table at the pub. “No, no, no. We’re going to the Ant. Just follow me.”
To be honest, in the recesses of Trev’s busy but confused brain, there was a short paragraph about some tree-changers who had taken over the old general store and post office and created a little caf¨¦. Something like that. Loosely connected to this was the warning, sounds like Montville tea and scones. It was possible, thought Trev, that the owners had performed a chalet makeover and would have a local amateur yodeling group for entertainment.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. As it turns out Jodie Williams and Brett Cowley had been free-range farming in the region for yonks, established Mayan Farm at Kin Kin in 2009, breeding chickens and ducks among other things, and a few years later took over the general store and performed a sensitive and faithful restoration.
The moment we walked in and were shown to a table on the terrace, Trev felt at home. Well, maybe not at his home, but at a nice home with an airy veranda from the early part of the previous century, a bit like his grandparents’ bungalow at Penshurst, but without the steam trains belching fumes along the Illawarra Line at the bottom of the garden.
For once in his life being in the company of tea-totallers over lunch, Trev went as close to the dark side as he ever gets and stuck to the Japanese Lager ($6) but asked the waitress to be at the ready with refills. He sipped and surveyed the extensive menu before suggesting a four-way sharing. Now, if you’ve ever lived in or known the country, you’ll understand that this is somewhat akin to suggesting we throw the motel keys in the bowl and take a blind pick. It is just not done, old mate. You eat what you order.
So Trev ordered the spiced pulled lamb leg ($26), his missus the Caesar with smoked lemon myrtle salmon ($22), the bushie had the iron bark smoked beef brisket burger ($20) and his missus the roast Mediterranean veggie salad ($21). It looked so good on the table that Trevor was sorely tempted to plant a bottle of the house riesling in an ice bucket at the centre to complete the styling, but in the interests of propriety he made do with a glass ($8).
The Caesar with house smoked salmon was beautifully balanced and Trev couldn’t resist grabbing a few forks full while the girls were engaged in girl talk. The Ant boasts a smokehouse and barbeque out the back where they host Sunday lunches, so obviously home-smoking is part of the farm to plate experience.
Old bushie mate is a regular at the Ant, so his choice of the smoked beef brisket burger was clearly well informed, but the closest Trev got to it was watching the beetroot relish and Harissa mayo dribble down his chin, but he declared it much better than saddle bag brisket, in fact close to perfect. Likewise, Mrs Bushie’s roast Med veggie salad, which looked wonderful and disappeared before there was any argument about perhaps leaving a taste for the semi-professional food reviewer, but she said it was excellent.
Which brings us to the Indian spiced pulled lamb leg, which folded up neatly in a roti with steamed spinach, coconut sauce and sprinkle of diced chilli. Succulent meat, crisp roti, fresh flavours and just enough heat to need another Japanese Lager, which arrived before you could say I love Kin Kin.
The verdict: Just about the perfect country lunch – great food, great service, great company in a relaxed rural setting. And, having shown admirable restraint in the bevvie area, Trev could negotiate the long and winding road back home.
The Black Ant Gourmet, Kin Kin, bookings 54854177.
