A new one-day event will bring together five of the Hunter Valley’s leading restaurants and five local wineries this spring, giving diners the chance to watch signature dishes made live and taste some of the region’s most decorated wines in the same afternoon.
Chefs in the Vines will run at Spicers Guesthouse in Pokolbin on Saturday, 5 September, across two sessions – 12pm to 2pm and 2.30pm to 4.30pm. Guests will move between five live cooking stations as each chef prepares and presents a signature dish, with the format designed to put punters within arm’s reach of the pans.
A line-up with serious pedigree
The chef line-up carries serious pedigree. Jake Kellie, culinary director at Orleana, Kingsford The Barossa, spent two years as head chef of Burnt Ends in Singapore while the restaurant climbed the World’s 50 Best list and picked up its first Michelin star. Anthony Fullerton, executive chef at Circa 1876 and éRemo, was named AHA National Chef of the Year in 2022, the same year a Griffith steakhouse under his leadership landed on the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants list. Thomas Heinrich of Restaurant Botanica trained through New York’s Four Seasons before senior kitchen roles in Chicago, Vancouver and Canberra, while Ed Butcher, head chef at Rick Stein at Bannisters Port Stephens, has spent close to a decade in Rick Stein’s kitchens on both sides of the world.
Each restaurant has built a dish specifically for the event: a wood-fired Barossa pork kebab from Orleana; XO Birubi Beach pipis from Rick Stein at Bannisters; slow-cooked lamb shoulder with heirloom carrots and chimichurri from Circa 1876; a hibachi-grilled Western Australian octopus dish from Restaurant Botanica; and a casarecce pasta ragu from éRemo.
Kellie said the format offers a rare vantage point for guests. “Most people never get to stand a few feet from a chef and watch a dish come together course by course, let alone ask why we’ve made a certain choice,” he said, adding that a Hunter Valley spring afternoon and strong wine list made it hard to beat as a way to spend a Saturday.
Fullerton echoed the sentiment, noting the value of chefs from different kitchens cooking side by side. “We each have our own style and perspective, but we’re all connected by a focus on quality produce and good hospitality,” he said.
Wine from five Hunter Valley producers
On the wine side, pours will come from Tyrrell’s, Brokenwood, Mount Pleasant, First Creek and Silkman Wines – a line-up that includes two recent Halliday Wine Companion standouts, with Mount Pleasant’s Adrian Sparks shortlisted for 2027 Winemaker of the Year and Brokenwood named 2026 Winery of the Year. Additional wine, beer and non-alcoholic drinks will be available for purchase on the day, or guests can add a paired wine option at booking.
Spicers Guesthouse general manager Tiarna Spiteri said the event brought together a rare concentration of talent under one roof, pointing to the combined resume of a Michelin star, a World’s 50 Best listing, an AHA National Chef of the Year title and close to a decade of experience in Rick Stein’s own kitchens.
Event details
- Date: Saturday, 5 September 2026
- Sessions: 12pm–2pm or 2.30pm–4.30pm
- Price: $149pp (food only) or $249pp (food plus paired wine)
- Location: Spicers Guesthouse, 57 Ekerts Road, Pokolbin, NSW 2320
- Tickets: events.humanitix.com/chefs-in-the-vines
