It was perfect conditions for all we had planned. A sultry 25 degrees. Warm for Tasmania, but with a chill on the breeze. Santorini blue skies to the horizon and back signalled a chillier night ahead. I’ve had a dream since The Gourmet Farmer served suckling pig to a long table in the Huon. I’m feasting under fairy lights at a magical long table dinner, in an undisclosed paddock, in rural Tasmania. Today was the day. In my hand, 3 tickets to Mt Gnomon Farm’s Sunset Orchard Feast. The North West’s answer to Matthew Evans’ famed Pork and Pinot at Fat Pig Farm. And soon to be the scene of a magical birthday night and real life bucket list experience.
The Gourmet Farmer – a life we never knew we wanted
Watching the Gourmet Farmer was a religious experience in our house. We settled in each week to pay homage to Matthew Evans’ giant leap over Bass Strait, to carve out a new life for himself as a Tasmanian pig farmer. Wow. Turns out Matthew showed us a life we really wanted, we just didn’t know it at the time.
But it was when he and Sadie started creating intimate dinner experiences, set at long tables in never-ending, grassy paddocks, under whispy willows that I really sat up and paid attention.
One for the bucket list…sigh….. The real life list to sit at that table was as long as a Tasmanian winter.
Fast forward 11 years and The Gourmet Farmer, it eventuates, had sown a seed that sprouted into our own Tasmanian tree change adventure. Here we were in 2023, living our own new life in rural Tasmania. Not far, as it turns out, from North West Tasmania’s own paddock to plate specialist, Mount Gnomon Farm.
What exactly is Mt Gnomon Farm?
Mt Gnomon Farm is a free range pig farm located 10 minutes from Penguin and run by a self professed fifth generation Tasmanian farmer. The 37 hectare farm has grown and branched out of late, with a cider orchard, a purpose built barn-come-restaurant and bar, and a popular sunflower garden.
The farm also has veggie gardens bursting with produce that the resident chef transforms into succulent sides for the hero of the Mt Gnomon farm experience – their delectable pork!
Pork that comes in all manner of styles – from charcuterie, to smoked, to tender slow-cooked pulled pork delivered to your table straight from heaven.
We’d heard, post pandemic, that the crew at Mt Gnomon were starting hosting guests at the farm, for paddock to plate events featuring their own delectable free-range pork menu, of course.
Sign me up.
The day of the feast
So it was that on this particular day I ended up with 3 tickets to the Mt Gnomon Farm Sunset Orchard Feast. And a smile on my sun-kissed dial at blue skies overhead and the evening to come. An evening to tick off my own private bucket list. One I’d waited 11 years for.
No pressure Mt Gnomon. But there were Matthew Evans-sized shoes to be filled.
I’m notoriously a helmet hair sufferer. I don’t do hats. But a long table dinner under Santorini skies in a wide open apple orchard, overlooking Bass Strait? I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity for anything.
My new Akubra, acquired in Mudgee on our life-changing road trip from Brisbane to Tasmania, was certain to make it’s debut.
After all, you can’t have a swish dinner in a picturesque paddock, in rural North West Tasmania without the appropriate headwear. And boots. Boots too were essential attire for this quintessentially Tasmanian, biblically amped ‘feast in an apple orchard’ event.
It was in both Akubra and boots (and some suitable clothes) that I arrived that Saturday afternoon at my destiny: Mt Gnomon’s Sunset Orchard Feast.
Mt Gnomon Farm’s long table dinner event
And what a night the Mt Gnomon crew had in store for us.
Earlier that afternoon, we had wound our way through the hills of Wilmot, sped along the Bass Highway and turned left towards the Dial Ranges.
The farm was exactly as I’d pictured. The enormous timber-clad modern barn a centre piece to the activity around it. A bountiful, insta-worthy vegetable garden to one side. In the background, stretched seemingly to the horizon over Bass strait, was a long table. It was set meticulously with a thousand bits of crockery, cutlery, candles, flowers and a table runner Joanna Gains would have been proud of.
Tick. And tick. Those boxes on my 11 year old bucket list were being mentally checked off, one by one.
Other eager diners began to pull their cars into the parking paddock and assemble in their casual-smart finery around the long table and barn. Apples stacked the trees that framed our dining space and scattered the ground.
It was as fine a romantic, rustic farm scene as you could imagine. Then add some elegance on top.
First, there was time to meet fellow diners. We’d all be gathered intimately later that evening for our meal after all. Drinks at the bar, a wander through the barn and around the grounds. Smiles abound. There was cheer in the air.
Time next to grab another drink and head over for a picture or two in Mt Gnomon Farm’s field of sunflowers. True to the name, the rows and rows of bright yellow flowers stood to attention just for us, gleaming like the midday sun that late afternoon.
It was all a spectacle. All joyful. And all really, really fun.
And then it was dinner time.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Our 2 hour meal experience kicked off with an appearance by the owner and our host Guy Robertson, who introduced the farm and laid out our menu for the evening. Followed closely by a procession of waiters, arms laden with plates of smoked deliciousness. There was a hum of anticipation about the table as we all tucked in to the first of 3 courses that night.
To say the food met the joyous mood that evening was an understatement. I
t was varied and tasty. The entrees were inventive. The pork and lamb rich, tender and flavourful as only Tassie grown meat can be. Authentic farm-to-table catering, using fresh produce from their gardens and locally-sourced Tasmanian ingredients. Accompanied by cider made with apples from the very trees we dined beneath, or a Tasmanian wine or beer of your choice, it was a celebration for our tastebuds and for our bellies.
The only slight hiccup on the food side that night was the desert. If you’ve never had a smoked flavoured panna cotta, don’t worry. You’re not missing out.
As dusk settled over the farm and we settled into our meal, fairy lights began to twinkle among the apple trees, as if to sprinkle the entire experience with magic fairy dust and big screen romance.
What a night.
Mt Gnomon Farm – what you need to know
If you’re thinking by now, “sign me up!”, here are the deets you need to know.
Mt Gnomon Farm opening hours are only Sunday lunch during summer.
Otherwise, they hold special events open to the public four or five times a year.
Mt Gnomon weddings
For the marriage minded, who doesn’t fancy a wedding overlooking a flourishing cider orchard with ocean vistas? Lucky for all of us, Mount Gnomon Farm is bookable for weddings too. The barn seats 250 people, making it one of the largest wedding venues in north west Tasmania. It’s also an all weather venue. Perfect for around here.
Perched atop a hill, the farm has views to Bass Strait, and I can vouch for the insta-worth golden hues of sunlight hitting the nearby fields at sunset.
Imagine exchanging vows amidst the picturesque farm backdrop with a field of sunflowers in the distance, before congregating at the cider bar and barn for your reception. They’ll cater the occasion with ploughman’s platters showcasing organic cheeses or dishes prepared by the resident French chef, whose culinary mastery I can also vouch for.
Outdoor events at Mt Gnomon
The team at Mt Gnomon has hosted the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and live music events called ‘Live at the Sty”. Their outdoor events sell out fast so you’ll need to get in quick. The best way to find out when these are coming up is to subscribe to the Mt Gnomon calendar or to their newsletter.
They also hold a Christmas market every festive season. There’s food stalls, outdoor tables and live music. And if you’ve ordered one of their Christmas hams you can pick it up then.
The event dinners are more reasonably priced than those at Fat Pig Farm in the Huon. We shelled out somewhere between $70 and $80 each for our feast tix. And there was plenty of food for all. You’ll buy your drinks on top of that.
If our sunset feast is any indication, you’ll be glad you put your hand in your pocket to visit Mt Gnomon Farm. In the words of a dear friend as she pored over photos of our memorable night:
“I love all of this.”
And that is exactly the reason to add Mt Gnomon Farm to your Tasmania bucket list.
