A new card with more camp oven and a better pavlova
The menu has changed at Gidgee House, and most of the change is in the oven. Trevor has gone back to the cast-iron pot and, quietly, rebuilt the pavlova.
What changed on the card
Trevor Gardner has been itching to cook more in the camp oven since the day he arrived. The pot is older than most of the staff, blackened by decades of use and heavy enough to make you think twice before lifting it. This season it finally earned a permanent place on the menu, with beef stew that simmers from lunch until the first order comes in.
The other change is the pavlova, which a guest described, kindly, as a little too enthusiastic. Trevor took the point. The meringue now bakes longer at a lower heat, comes out crisp on the outside and marshmallow soft within, and carries a lighter topping of cream and passionfruit that doesn't overpower the base.
None of this was planned as a big announcement. The new card simply arrived one afternoon in Trevor's handwriting, taped to the pass, and the regulars noticed within the hour. Todd says the best feedback came from a farmer who ate the stew in silence and then asked, quietly, whether there was more.
A closer look
The camp-oven stew
Chuck steak, carrot, potato and a handful of herbs go into the pot at midday. Nothing else is added: no packets, no shortcuts. By six o'clock the lid rattles quietly and the whole kitchen smells of dinner. It's served over mash with a slice of damper for mopping, and it is what Trevor would eat himself at the end of a long day.
Damper with the soup
Every bowl of pumpkin soup now arrives with its own small damper, baked in the oven and torn at the table. It sounds like a minor thing, but guests who once ordered soup as a starter now order it as a main, and Trevor has had to bake more damper than he planned.
What stays the same
The lamb shoulder, the barramundi and the lamingtons are untouched. Some dishes earn their place by never changing, and we'd get letters if we dared. If you want to try a new dish, ask your server which one the kitchen is proudest of, and be prepared for an honest answer.