If your idea of a picnic is a quiet Sunday afternoon under a tree in a park, eating homemade frittata and take-away chicken, the Peninsula Picnic may shake you up a little. The inaugural picnic at the Mornington Racecourse on Sunday proved so popular that even organisers conceded it was a touch crowded and would need more space next year.
Picnic rugs and fold-up chairs were spread out wherever anyone could find a space. People kept arriving, so by mid-afternoon family and friendships groups melded into one big casual crowd sipping the best of Peninsula pinots and sampling the region’s finest food. It was a sell-out – 4,500 people turned up for this sophisticated, if still relaxed, community picnic; a celebration of the good life under the autumn sunshine.
The menu was far from your average picnic fare. On offer for reasonable prices (from $5-16) were delicious, light meals created by the head chefs of some of the Mornington Peninsula’s best restaurants and cafes.
The peninsula, especially the communities of Red Hill, Merricks, Main Ridge, Flinders and Mornington itself – is now known as much for its farm-gates with goat’s cheese and extra-virgin olive oil as for its established wineries and restaurants.
For this picnic you could choose from rillette of duck, kitchen garden vegetable pickle and crusty bread from the well-known Montalto restaurant. Or an antipasto picnic box with a selection of the region’s finest produce (olives, grapes, mozzarella) from the restaurant DOC in Mornington. Or the chicken bastilla with a fennel, radish and mint salad from the highly regarded Terminus at Flinders Hotel.
We finished with chocolate and Red Hill cherry ripe trifle from Terre restaurant and drank T’Gallant pinot grigio and pinot noir (with workshops on pinots if you were interested). A selection of the region’s wines were for sale by the glass or bottle.
At $74 for adults and $12 for five-to-seven-year-olds (under fives were free), this wasn’t a budget picnic, but it wasn’t unreasonable either. Food and alcohol were extra, although people were welcome to bring their own (nothing alcoholic).
The price included an all-afternoon lineup of music that featured the Waifs, Paul Dempsey, Pierce Brothers and Tinpan Orange. The kids had their own corner, with old-fashion entertainment like bocce and face painting, and there were stalls selling everything from local jewellery to organic sourdough bread.
The Mornington Peninsula, about an hour from Melbourne, is beautiful with its boutique wineries, rolling hills and long beach walks. Increasingly it’s known for its gourmet food too. Put it all together and it’s a stylish place, indeed. With its new venture, it may just redefine the very idea of a simple Sunday picnic.
