Now Open: Ondeen, a Hills Homestead With a Kane Pollard Menu and Flights of Full Circle Spirits

A sense of place might be in Kane Pollard’s DNA. His childhood was split between the family market garden in the Adelaide Hills and time spent fishing and crabbing on the Limestone Coast.

As food curator at Tasting Australia and acclaimed chef-owner at Topiary, his tranquil, under-the-radar restaurant in a nursery in the Tea Tree Gully foothills, Pollard continues to be defined by his dedication to produce and provenance. His transient dining series Place has upped the ante with hyperlocal meals informed by outdoor settings – so far, the towering pine trees of Mount Crawford Forest and Jurlique’s Adelaide Hills flower farm. And now he’s bringing his locavore philosophies to a new project, Ondeen, which opens in the former Maximilian’s site in the Adelaide Hills today.

The tasting experience will embrace the bounty of the surrounding landscape, giving visitors a deeper appreciation of the journey from farm to table. As culinary director, Pollard will present a menu of seasonal small plates – using produce from local growers, plus things foraged nearby, like wild fennel pollen, river mint and needles from the heritage pines – designed to match flights of Full Circle Spirits by head distiller and Ondeen co-owner Rose Kentish (previously at Sparkke).

“I always say use everything and use what’s around you,” says Pollard. “We’re also repurposing the waste from the spent grain used to distill the Full Circle Spirits whisky by drying it down, grounding it into a flour and then using it in our daily fresh-baked sourdough. We’re really creating that ‘full circle’ vibe.”

Other dishes on the opening menu include brined tomato and smoked mussels on fried toast; pickled sardines served with cauliflower cream and sweet corn; ‘nduja-stuffed gourds with black garlic and green onion; and a honey malt crème caramel with fresh honeycomb. In harmony with Pollard’s closed-loop cooking, the small-batch, sustainably focused distillery is sourcing botanicals from the SA landscape, from backyard oranges and garden thyme to Riverland lemons and organic figs from Kangaroo Island.

Initially, four spirit tastings will be offered (alongside the complementary plates) including a vodka and gin tasting, a liqueur tasting, a whisky tasting and a non-alcoholic tasting. Kentish says it’ll be an “immersive learning experience for guests”. “In tastings and workshops, visitors will be guided to use their senses to recognise flavours and aromas, and in some, they will be able to create their own cocktails.”

This initial stage is the beginning of a long-term plan to turn the heritage site into a “world-class” experiential tourism destination that’ll act as a “lighthouse for local producers and artisans”, says Pollard. “This will be sustainable, personalised tourism that sits in harmony for and within the local landscape and community.”

Pollard and Kentish are slowly transforming the 1850s property – with its sweeping views and surrounding vineyards and gardens – alongside another partner, managing director Deborah Kingsbury. The initial offering of flights and tasting plates will be in a newly renovated part of the homestead.

Ondeen
Onkaparinga Valley Road, Verdun
0413 209 197

Hours:
Daily 10am–5pm

@fullcirclespirits
@chefkanepollard

This article was updated on May 3, 2024 with new opening hours.

Update: an older version of this article incorrectly stated Kane Pollard was a co-owner of Ondeen.