Margaret River region chef George Cooper and wife Kayleigh have revealed plans to develop a farm-based tourism dining experience at their new 21 hectare farm at Yallingup Siding.
Under Tiller Dining and Tiller Events, the Coopers plan to create an immersive dining experience for their guests.
“Tiller will be the culmination of fresh home grown produce, a dining experience, and the opportunity for guests to become part of our life on the farm for a few hours,” George Cooper said.
“We want to give guests a complete Margaret River food experience, so they can walk the land, pick the fruit and veg in season for their meal, see the livestock, pull a marron or freshwater mussels out of the dam and then see me prepare the food for them.
“I’ve always sourced high quality local ingredients for my cooking, but want to now take this a step further and grow as much as I can on the farm to take the process from start to finish and share this with our guests.
“The word ‘Tiller’ has meanings which resonate with us and our plans. In Greek the meaning of the name George is from ‘georgos’ meaning tiller of the soil, or farmer. A Tiller is a person or machine that turns over soil for planting crops, a handle that turns the rudder of a boat, or a shoot growing from the base of a plant.”
Diners at Coopers’ Food By The Chef events familiar with his informative introductions to each course and knowledge of the locally sourced ingredients can expect a similar personal approach at Tiller.
“The Tiller Dining experience will deliver much more than just a restaurant meal,” he said.
“I don’t want it to be a restaurant as such, I want you to be coming to a building that’s a part of Kayleigh’s and my life, to spend about four hours with us, share our life on the farm and hopefully our passion for what we do and for our beautiful part of the world, so they can connect with the land, the produce and the food.
“By doing it on the farm we won’t be limited to what we can transport and cook – we’ll have it all there.”
Construction will soon begin on a dedicated indoor and outdoor dining room, kitchen and function space, which will open to sweeping paddock views, ready for guests to take in the South West sunsets by summer 2019/20.
Find out more at www.tillerdining.com