A remote paddock-to-plate Wagyu cattle farm, a nondescript industrial building in a regional city, and a seafood eatery attached to a fish processing plant.
These are a handful of the 77 dining establishments recognised in the inaugural Michelin Guide as it made its Australian debut in Adelaide this week.
Beyond the city’s food scene, regional icons including Mayura Station near Millicent, Elementary Dining in Mount Gambier and The Fresh Fish Place in Port Lincoln received the honour of being selected in the guide.
Kirby Shearing hangs his Michelin selection plaque outside his restaurant. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)
For Kirby Shearing, head chef and owner of Elementary, which is set in an industrial back street in Mount Gambier with blacked-out interior designed to heighten the senses, said the feeling was “surreal”.
“It’s something a lot of us dreamed of as young apprentices,” he said.
Regional tourism hopes
Mr Shearing, who has worked in Michelin-star restaurants internationally, said being included in the selected category put restaurants like his on the map and would have flow-on benefits to Mount Gambier, other hospitality businesses and the tourism sector more broadly.
“When people come and dine with us, they want to know where to go next, so we send people off to other restaurants, cafes, pubs and tourism sites.
“Really, the accolade is for the whole town and regional tourism.”
Mayura Station head chef and restaurant manager Mark Wright. (ABC South East SA: Liz Rymill)
About 40 minutes’ drive away, down a long, dirt road winding its way through a coastal national park, renowned Wagyu farm restaurant Mayura Station is also celebrating being selected into the guide.
The unique beef cellar door with its 9+ grade marbling meats is a household name for locals and gourmands alike, selling its award-winning produce in acclaimed restaurants throughout the nation as well as Asia, the United States and the Middle East.
Speaking at a press conference after the ceremony, Premier Peter Malinauskas said South Australia had officially taken its place on the world stage, with the Michelin Guide giving the state’s hospitality industry “an unprecedented platform to tell its story to the world”.
“Whether it be the magnificent seafood down in the South East, our viticulture sectors through the Barossa and Clare, or the protein we produce on our land, we have got it all right here,” Mr Malinauskas said.
Mayura Station’s renowned Wagyu beef is the focal point of its restaurant near Millicent. (ABC South East SA: Liz Rymill)
The premier confirmed the state had an exclusive one-year agreement with the Michelin Guide for five years of coverage, and declined to name the deal’s exact figure.
Regions rebound with innovation
For Craig and Sandy McCathie, who run The Fresh Fish Place alongside their seafood processing plant in Port Lincoln, this latest accolade has come at just the right time.
“It’s just amazing after 15 years … it’s exactly what my wife and I set out to do,” Mr McCathie said.
Craig McCathie says they’ve always kept things simple. (ABC North and West: Jenae Madden)
The story began on the deck of a tuna boat in the 1980s, evolved to the pair cooking at farmers markets and a groundswell following for their “simple, delicious” produce, and eventually led to the eatery being established alongside their processing factory.
“We’ve always kept it really simple. It is all about the fish,” Mr McCathie said.
“When we started, there was no-one just doing seafood. We felt we had to do it, given Port Lincoln being the largest fishing fleet in the country.”
Today, the couple’s daughter is one of the cooks, who, he said, had “no idea” she had catered to a Michelin reviewer.
“We’ve known all the time how good it is, but it’s just great to have this recognition. It’s been a tough couple of years with the algal bloom, but stocks are recovering and the tourists are coming back.”
The Fresh Fish Place is based in Port Lincoln. (Supplied: The Fresh Fish Place)
Both Mr Shearing and Mr McCathie agreed that regional hospitality would be “in the spotlight” with the iconic red Michelin plaques featuring at a number of dining establishments across the state.
“It lifts the whole scene, and hospitality is now being viewed as a valuable profession. We’re going to keep our heads down focusing on what we do well, supporting our producers and just doing our thing,” Mr Shearing said.
