Lake House began operating in 1984. Hand built by artist and builder, the late Allan Wolf-Tasker and his chef and dreamer wife, Alla Wolf-Tasker AM, it was simple in its original mission. A 40-seat weekend only restaurant that might emulate Alla’s experiences of top end French regional hospitality in the 70’s.

Fine cooking, local produce, seasonality, great service.
A restaurant worthy of a journey in itself, not just a detour.

The block of land had been purchased in 1979. An otherwise bare, blackberry infested paddock on the swampy end of lake Daylesford. It took 4 years of building and landscaping on weekends to create the first incarnation of our house on the lake.

Once open, reality hit hard. It was the early 80’s in Australia and people didn’t journey to the countryside for any sort of special culinary experiences. Daylesford was certainly not on any gourmet traveller’s radar.

Quality regional produce was pretty much non-existent. No local fromagiers, bakers, specialty growers or general small-scale farmers. Large scale industrial agriculture was the norm right across regional Australia.

40 years on, whilst Lake House certainly looks much different to what it was in those early years, our guests continue to remark on the connection and inspiration they feel here. Despite those early and very humble beginnings Alla and Allan’s hopes continued to be fulfilled and the legacy lives on.

At a time when good hospitality matters more than ever, we at Lake House are united with a sense that through good food and travel, we can build and encourage community and hold space for history whilst looking forward to our future. We’d like to think you agree with us, that good food matters and that good hospitality is worth investing in.