The Olive Tree

You can read in the pages of Elizabeth David's cookbooks about country food that is simple, generous, homely and comforting, or you can sally forth to the Hunter Valley's very first vineyard, Wyndham Estate, and experience it first-hand. Tables and chairs under the shelter of the glorious sandstone winery veranda overlook the sweeping lawn amphitheatre where the annual Opera in the Vineyards is staged. The country cooking is remarkably deft, served on pretty, old-fashioned china gleaned from op shops and markets. The acid of smoked tomatoes lifts good, dense salt cod fritters, while a lightly pickled cauliflower salad cuts right through the richness of a goat's cheese souffle. Generosity reigns in a whole roast chook, glistening with caper butter and sitting on cotechino rounds, with crunchy, chunky chips, lemon halves and a jug of gravy served alongside. Though olive oil and sauternes cake was a little dry, the accompanying honey-drenched roasted local figs and vanilla ice-cream work a treat.