Trevor Perkins
Trevor Perkins is the owner and head chef of Hogget Kitchen, the first to be awarded a chef’s hat in the region of West Gippsland. It has been hatted since 2020 and was Readers’ Choice 2023 for Modern Australian in the Good Food Guide. He is a trailblazing trend setter in high cuisine with the use of regional products and a focus on seasonal produce.
Together with kindred spirits William Downie and Patrick Sullivan, he has been preparing and sharing long lunches together for the past few years - planning the future of food and wine for the Baw Baw region. A region rich with good soil and a cool climate that supports the growth of high quality produce and a diverse variety of grapes.
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Trevor has a simple philosophy about food - he believes that ingredients should be allowed to 'speak' for themselves and creates all his dishes with that in mind. For that philosophy to work, you have to use the freshest ingredients when they are at the peak of their season. This approach allows us to support many local growers and develop relationships with food producers throughout the region.
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Local and seasonal food is absolutely central to our menu and to the experience. We use a nose to tail approach when it comes to all the meat we prepare and do all the carving and butchering ourselves in-house - ensuring the best possible cuts of meat and the least wastage.
All the pickling, bottling, charcuterie, smoking, brining and more is also done by hand in-house - skills we are passing on to our staff as we work preserving the techniques for future generations of chefs.