Charlotte Varcoe
MASTERCHEF runner-up Callum Hann will be pairing with Limestone Coast chef Kirby Shearing in a one-off weekend event.
Mr Hann will travel to Mount Gambier/Berrin in September to cook alongside Mr Shearing at the newly opened Elementary.
Mr Shearing said opening a restaurant such as Elementary had always been a dream of his, allowing him to showcase and draw inspiration from local food.
“Having Callum come down here to cook with us is fantastic because he is passionate about local foods too,” Mr Shearing said.
“I have been good friends with Callum for well over a decade and this is a great opportunity to show off local produce as well as local wine.”
He said the concept was always to show off Mount Gambier/Berrin to chefs from around the country and show those in the culinary industry how fantastic the region and its produce is.
“We have got some of the best assets here in regards to not only geographical but also in regards to wineries, produce and we really do have everything at our fingertips,” he said.
“On Saturday night Callum will be doing half the menu and I will be doing the other half and we will be overlapping it,” Mr Shearing said.
“That means he will be doing two snacks and I will be doing two snacks, Callum will be doing a couple of dishes and I have a couple of dishes too then on the Sunday we are doing a brunch together.
“The brunch will be a champagne brunch where we will show off some smaller vintage champagne and compare it to local sparkling.”
Mr Shearing said he was hoping to continue bringing more and more famous culinary experts to the region including crossovers with other restaurants, restaurant managers and more.
He said since opening earlier this year, the community response to Elementary had been fantastic.
“My wife and I designed this concept back in 2012 and we had been looking for a space where we could hold a very small, intimate amount of people,” Mr Shearing said.
“We wanted somewhere dark and moody where we could showcase really good food and wine, where people can have a good conversation and you are not distracted by lights and other stuff.”
He said with the area being an open kitchen it allowed for customers to engage with the chefs and learn about the process.
Mr Hann will be at Elementary on September 9 and 10 with bookings available.
