The Gourmet Traveller Readers’ Choice Icon Award: Lake House

Lake House chef-owner Alla Wolf-Tasker

In the four decades since Alla Wolf-Tasker and husband Allan set up shop in the then-neglected Central Victorian backwater of Daylesford they’ve run the gamut from being dismissed as deluded dreamers to being lauded and awarded as visionaries who pioneered destination dining in Australia.

The trajectory of Lake House from small, self-built restaurant carved from a blackberry-infested plot in a depressed town to internationally recognised resort championing regional food, art, wine, spa culture and a unique style of relaxed luxury accommodation is well documented. It’s become one of the origin stories of the Australian hospitality industry. A trophy cabinet overflowing with awards and accolades, not least for the original restaurant’s unfailingly impeccable achievements, is recognition of that.

But for all the professional and critical acclaim, perhaps the pinnacle of Lake House’s success is best measured by the way it has so consistently resonated with the non-professionals, those who choose to come and spend their time and money here year after year and increasingly, from generation to generation.

 

The interiors at Lake House (Photo Martina Gemmola)

Winning Gourmet Traveller’s Readers’ Choice Icon Award, the only award decided by popular vote, is proof that Lake House’s pursuit of excellence has always been – and continues to be – in service of keeping the enjoyment of its customers central to everything it does. Lake House has never rested on its laurels. Every one of its 40 years of operation has seen change, even though the dreamy, other-worldly effect it exudes the moment you drive through the front gates has never wavered. Even when the changes have been major, such as the recent addition of a working farm that loads the restaurant’s menu with ingredients pulled from the ground mere hours before they appear on your plate, these changes are made with one particular purpose.

That purpose is hospitality, the most obvious of terms that’s also the hardest to get right. It’s the sense of being cared for, that you’re genuinely welcomed and appreciated. These days it is daughter Larissa and her husband Robin Wilson who lead that welcome, maintaining the warmth and commitment to quality that has been a Lake House signature since the beginning.

In a troubled world, Lake House offers an oasis of calm, a place where you can eat, drink and sleep beautifully, and be reminded that life can be good too. And that’s truly iconic.