VENUE FEATURE: VAN BONE
“We compost all our food scraps which eventually goes back into the garden, which eventually grows the next crop. “We have this really wonderful, small scale, sustainable, closed loop thing going on with our restaurant. We make about a household wheelie bin of rubbish per week. “For any restaurant to say that is an amazing achievement when waste is such a big thing.”
Photo Credit: Adam Gibson
Photo Credit: Adam Gibson
OPENING in the middle of pandemic was far from what the owners behind Van Bone had in mind – but their decision has been justified after being named as a finalist for best new restaurant in the Gourmet Traveller 2022 Restaurant Awards Seven years of planning and four years of building from scratch with every cent they owned had Tim Hardy, partner Laura Stucken and Joe Naldering ready to unleash their masterpiece to southern Tasmania earlier this year. Set among the Marion Bay landscape at Bream Creek, the vision for Van Bone was complete but the continuing coronavirus pandemic had cast doubts about how successful the venture would be. However having come so far, Hardy admits there was no turning back even if there were lingering fears in the back of his mind and Van Bone opened for trade in February. “The idea happened about seven years ago, it was a very different climate then,” Hardy says. “We poured everything into building it, everything into the landscape with planting native gardens which is obviously great for biodiversity and drawing bees and birds in, which evidently helps the soil which then helps us growing vegetables. “Covid hit and it was like ‘what are we doing here, how do we do this?’ “It just got to the point where we had been working on it for so long and the building was finished, we basically just had to open. “We opened with nothing to our name, we didn’t have a cent in the bank, we weren’t even sure if we were going to be able to pay ourselves but we just stuck true to the vision. “I strongly believed in this style of dining being profitable and having that in Tassie with a premium destination, an amazing building, set menus. We just believed. “It was terrifying, I’m not going to lie. We got told by many people how and why would anyone come, but we just believed in ourselves.” That belief has landed recognition from one of the country’s premier magazines, with Van Bone listed as a finalist for best new restaurant in the Gourmet Traveller 2022 restaurant awards.
Tamar River based Stillwater has been nominated in the best destination dining category, Sonny is a finalist in the wine bar of the year while Fico husband and wife duo Federica Andrisani and Oskar Rossi are vying for the restaurant personality of the year title. “It was a bit of a spin out, we weren’t really sure if it was serious or spam or anything like that,” Hardy said when he was contacted about the awards. “We are absolutely thrilled, to be nominated for such a prestigious award with all of Australia’s greats, and they certainly are some of the greats, it is really amazing. “We couldn’t be happier starting from pretty humble beginnings. Regardless of what happens now, we think it is a win already.” An avid surfer, Hardy combined his love of the water with his passion for hospitality to travel the world. After finishing his apprenticeship in Tasmania he headed to West Australia chasing the swell, landing a job at Vasse Felix winery.
Photo Credit: Adam Gibson
Hospitality Review: October 2021 9
Hospitality Review: October 2021 8
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog