Chauncy

Chauncy is set in a stately sandstone building just off Heathcote’s quaint main drag that’s lived a number of lives since it was built in 1854 (surveyor’s office, doctor’s studio and private residence, to name a few). But once you’ve pulled into the car park, taken in the garden that borders it and been warmly welcomed through the side entrance, it all starts to make sense.

Gazing past the whisky-bottle-topped marble mantelpiece out the window in the main dining room, there’s an air of the French countryside. And if you squint as fellow diners spill outside to play petanque and sip pastis, that daydream feels even less far-fetched.

Behind this bucolic experience are Louis Naepels and Tess Murray. Chef Naepels is a French native who grew up in Paris and worked at Michelin-starred restaurants before moving to Melbourne and becoming head chef at Florentino. It was there he met sommelier Murray, who later became head somm at Andrew McConnell’s Supernormal. They opened Chauncy in 2021, and it quickly staked its claim as one of the state’s best regional dining experiences.

While the four-course set menu isn’t reinvented daily, it does ebb and flow with what Naepels finds at the Castlemaine Farmers Market and what Murray’s garden yields. The menu is broadly European but mostly French, and often vibrantly coloured, featuring ingredients like house-grown purple violetta cauliflower. And downright delicious, courtesy of amuse-bouches liuke Comte gougeres, or perfectly pillowy cheese puffs.

But despite the set menu, there are some choices to make. Supplements could include generous shavings of Oakhill truffles, a lobster-swimming-in-bisque course, or more wine pairings from Murray’s “forever-improving” list. Dessert is optional and always features something creamy, something chocolatey and something fruity.