2003 – Jazz band at the Cellar Door

2004 – Martin Spedding & Andrew McCutcheon outside the cellar door
 

A new home and opening of our restaurant… In 2004, we started searching for a new permanent home for the Ten Minutes by Tractor (we only leased the old McCutcheon vineyard shed at the time). During the Winter Wine Weekend in June 2004, a good friend, Patrick Crooks, who had been helping out in our cellar door noticed that a local bar and café on the neighbouring Mornington Flinders Road, was for sale. It had been the original cottage and apple cool sheds for the Manton Vale Apple Orchard. It still had most of its original character but needed a lot of work! It was in a perfect fit for what we had been looking for.

Over the next 2 years after navigating an arduous local planning process to move our cellar door and complete our renovations, we opened our doors on Boxing Day, 2006. Our ideas on the restaurant, including the format and style of the menu, quickly evolved and we searched widely to build a strong restaurant team that shared the vision of our owner, Martin Spedding and our General Manager, Chris Hamilton, to create something special.

In late 2007, Stuart Bell and Clayton Hiskins joined the restaurant team. Stuart Bell’s journey had taken him through several of Australia’s leading restaurants – Paul Bocuse, Jacques Reymond, Langtons and worked under the direction of some of Australia’s best chefs – Jacques Reymond, Philippe Mouchel and Alain Fabrègues. 

In the early days, Martin was responsible for the wine list and his large leather bound tome was awarded Australia’s Best Wine List in 2008 by Gourmet Traveller Magazine. In 2011, under the leadership of Stuart, Clayton and Chris Hamilton, our GM, we were awarded our first hat by The Age Good Food Guide. In 2013, we were awarded two hats which resulted in Martin & Karen having to honour a bet they made and take Stuart, Clayton and Chris for lunch at The Fat Duck in the UK!

In 2017 Adam Sanderson took over as Head Chef. Adam had extensive experience, including working at The Fat Duck and Dinner by Heston. Shortly after, in February 2018 we had a fire that forced the closure of the restaurant for almost two years. After rebuilding the restaurant and cellar door, we reopened the restaurant in November 2019 with Adam at the helm and Xavier Viger as Head Sommelier.

In 2021 Hayden Ellis took over from Adam as Head Chef. Hayden had previously worked at the Ledbury in the UK and Dinner by Heston in London and Melbourne. The restaurant was closed and reopened 6 times during the pandemic between 2020 and 2021 and in 2023, the new wine program (and new cellar, after all the restaurant cellar wines were lost in the fire) was awarded; Australia’s Best Wine List by the Australian Wine List Awards.

The combination of skills, experience and the shared vision of our restaurant team has continued to build and strengthen over the years. Our team’s determination to provide a memorable winery restaurant experience, where food and wine share equal billing and guests are offered extended opportunities to learn and experience more about the wines and varieties we produce, how they work with wonderful food and the extraordinary produce of our region, is still what drives us today.

We are proud of the accolades and recognition of our efforts that quickly followed our opening in 2007. This includes Gourmet Travellers Australian Wine List of the Year (2008), 1 Star Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide (2009), Gourmet Traveller Top 10 Regional Restaurants (2010), Good Food Guide Best Short Wine List (2010), 1 Hat Good Food Guide (2011), 2 Stars Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide (2013), 2 Hats Good Food Guide (2013), Gourmet Traveller Wine List of the Year 3 Glasses (very Highly Recommended) 2008-2017 and World of Fine Wine – Best Designed Wine List Australasia and Jury Prize (2017) Australian Wine List of the Year (2021); Star Wine List 'Best Wine list of the Year' 2021, delicious Magazine Top 10 Restaurants in Victoria 2022.

Today… The evolution of our restaurant continues under the leadership of Head Chef Craig Lunn, whose experience across respected Michelin-starred kitchens in the UK and Europe brings a new dimension to our approach. In the dining room, service is led by Kobi Watson, and our wine program is guided by Head Sommelier Noah Rozenfeld, together shaping a dining experience that reflects our enduring commitment to the connection between food, wine and place.

Our restaurant journey started in 2006 years ago, from very humble beginnings. We have been very fortunate to bring together a group of talented people from across the world, who share our passion and love of what we do, to bring great wine and food together in a way that provides a memorable experience for our guests and the greatest satisfaction to ourselves, to know, that we have done it well. We look forward to you joining us and being part of our continuing journey.