After a successful stint as head chef at the lauded Movida Sydney, local-boy-made-good James Campbell has returned to his home town of Cavendish to open his own place. Setting up inside the old Bunyip pub (c 1842), with its appealing art-deco facade, he pays tribute to home-style Aussie cooking with tasty versions of egg and chips, saltbush lamb shoulder and golden-syrup dumplings.
Skipton-eel fritters are a nod to the Djab Wurrung, and there are classic pub steaks and seafood pie. Cavendish (population 334) is a 20-minute drive northwest of Dunkeld.
