Tasmanian Culture and Flavors - Part 2
Tasmania is emerging as a hidden gem for gourmets worldwide. World-renowned chefs such as Rick Stein, Nigella Lawson, and Gordon Ramsay frequently visit, drawn by its pristine produce, cool-climate wines, and award-winning New World whiskies. Ramsay even lists Tasmania as "one of the world's most beloved culinary destinations!"
Seafood Adventure
Oyster Farm Experience – Great Oyster Bay, East Coast
Oyster Bay Tours invites you to the clear tidal flats of Swanport, where oysters slowly develop their sweet flavor in the cold, clean currents off Tasmania's east coast. The tour showcases the entire process from cultivation to harvest, including hands-on shucking by professionals who cultivate these waters daily. Guests can enjoy fresh, juicy oysters, their mineral flavors complementing the local wines served along the riverbank.
Pennicott Wilderness Journeys - Tasmanian Seafood Seduction – Hobart, South Tasmania
Departing from Hobart, this full-day seafood cruise delves into the waters surrounding Bruny Island, combining coastal exploration with a progressive seafood feast. Local specialties such as oysters, mussels, abalone, sea urchins, and lobster are served on board, some caught by guides during the voyage. The itinerary includes local craft beer and wine tastings, allowing guests to enjoy fine wines while watching the cruise ship glide through open waters, sea caves, and wind-eroded cliffs, witnessing dolphins leaping and splashing.
Lease 65 – St Helens, East Coast
This roadside shop near Binalong Bay accepts only cash and is popular with locals and tourists alike. The oysters are harvested from the Tasman Sea and are renowned for their exceptional freshness. Nestled in a simple wooden cabin by the sea, this shop specializes in Pacific oysters—large, exceptionally high-quality, and purely salty, renowned as Tasmanian's finest oysters, with a delicate, creamy sweetness in the finish. Opening hours are irregular, only when the sign is lit. There is no seating inside; diners can enjoy their meal in their cars or take it to the bay for a sea view.
The Lobster Shack – Bicheno, East Coast
Located on the edge of Bicheno Harbour, this unpretentious little shop offers Tasmanian rock lobster caught in the surrounding waters, cooked to order. The menu is brief and changes seasonally, focusing on simply prepared lobster to preserve its natural sweetness and flavor. In addition to lobster, they also offer oysters, chowder, fish and chips, paired with Tasmanian beer, wine, and coffee.
Melshell Oyster Shack – Great Oyster Bay, East Coast
At Dolphin Sands, a blue van marks this family-run oyster shop, sourcing oysters from the pristine waters of Great Oyster Bay. Freshly shucked, enjoy them on the shores of nearby Moulting Lagoon or take them to a quiet cove for a waterside experience. For a more immersive and enriching experience, take a Shuck and Chat guided tour, tracing the entire oyster farming process from estuary to shellfish, and finishing with oysters paired with fine Tasmanian wines.
World-Renowned Whisky and Wine
Lark Distillery Experiences – South Tasmania
Tasmania's modern whisky story began during a trout fishing trip in the Central Highlands when Bill Lark questioned: Why is no one making whisky on this island with its pristine waters, native barley, peat bogs, and cool temperate climate? Following revisions to 150-year-old distillation regulations, Lark founded his eponymous distillery in 1992, igniting the New World whisky industry in Australia. Today, Tasmania's cold winters, long days, and exceptionally clean air are hailed as a "whisky superclimate," allowing the spirit to mature slowly: hand-cut peat-smoked malt from Brown Swamp imparts a smooth smokiness and complex aromas of roasted cocoa and charcoal-roasted coffee.
Visitors can experience this heritage at three locations:
· Pontville Production Site: Tasmania's only continuously operating whisky estate, offering half-day guided tours and cask-side tastings led by distillers;
· Hobart Davy Street Tasting Room: Located on the original site of the Lark distillery;
· The Still Whisky Bar in Hobart city centre: showcasing over 250 bottled whiskies, including structured tastings and evening cocktails.
Sullivans Cove Distillery – Cambridge, South Tasmania
For whisky enthusiasts, Sullivans Cove, founded in 1994 and located on the banks of the Derwent River, is a quintessential Tasmanian distillery. 🥃 The distillery's single cask whiskies have garnered numerous international awards, including being voted the most awarded distillery in the 2026 Whisky Icon Awards - Global Competition, and consistently winning World Whisky Awards. Located in Cambridge, a suburb of Hobart, the distillery features a modern visitor center. Follow a professional guided tour along the entire whisky-making process from mashing to cask loading, exploring the influence of oak cask selection, long aging, and terroir on the spirit. Finally, a structured tasting session allows you to experience award-winning whiskies and distillery-exclusive products, while listening to a guide vividly recount the development of contemporary Tasmanian whisky.
Callington Mill Distillery – Oatlands, Southern Tasmania
Located in the historic sandstone town of Oatlands, Callington Mill Distillery blends colonial heritage with contemporary craft spirits production. The area centers around a windmill restored in 1837—one of the few remaining Lincolnshire tower windmills in the Southern Hemisphere—along with preserved barns, stables, and miller's huts. The distillery produces Tasmanian single malt whisky, gin, and other spirits, offering guided and self-guided tours covering the entire process from milling and mashing to distillation, culminating in tastings, including small batches of whisky taken directly from the barrels. On-site dining and cellar experiences focus on local produce, weaving the stories of grains, land, and craftsmanship into seasonal flavors.
Photos / ©Tourism Australia, Tourism Tasmania, Peter Aitchison, Rob Burnett, Dale Baldwin, Graham Freeman, Sam Shelley