Massimo Mele is a leading name at food and wine events nationally, his cuisine marked by a belief in keeping it fresh, using the best ingredients and letting the produce be the hero.

Born in Tasmania, Massimo spent his early years in Naples, and has never lost sight of his culinary heritage, borne of the cobbled streets and kitchens of Naples.

Back in Tasmania from the age of eight, he worked in the family’s restaurant, introducing locals to honest Italian fare made from the epicurean treasures of Tasmania.

Working in restaurants around Hobart during the dawning of Australia’s modern cuisine movement, he opened Launceston’s Mud Bar and Restaurant in 2004 and took out the People’s Choice award as Australian Young Chef of the Year in 2005.
Inevitably he left Tasmania to refine his art, training at the prestigious Donovan’s in Melbourne. Highlights overseas included cooking in New York and Los Angeles for the G’Day USA gala dinner, returning to Australia as Executive Chef for the Hugos Group, and at La Scala On Jersey in Sydney. October 2017 sees the opening of Massimo’s own restaurant in Martin Place.

Despite glory north of the Bass Strait, Massimo is still based in Hobart, where the finest produce is within easy reach.

Today Massimo specialises in bringing exquisite cuisine to the diner at tables around Australia. We are delighted to welcome him to northern Tasmania and look forward to tucking our bibs into our shirt collars and enjoying some of the best of our region, Massimo style!

SOLD OUT.

We are delighted that Timbre Kitchen and chef Matthew Adams will host Saturday night’s dinner featuring Massimo Mele, and that we are able to include Timbre in the Festival.

Timbre has quickly made a name for itself as a place to watch, one of the standout dining destinations up this end of Tasmania!

The restaurant is owned and run by Matthew Adams and partner Shannon Bushby. The couple live five minutes up the road in the Tamar Valley, where Matthew buys produce from local bee keepers and vegetable growers, keeping it all very real and connected in the restaurant. When Shannon isn’t busy with their three children, she manages a herd of forty goats, producing milk for Westhaven Dairy.

Matthew is himself locally grown, leaving Tasmania briefly for an apprenticeship on the Sunshine Coast, but sensibly returning to Tassie, where he made his way through a string of the best kitchens in the north – including Launceston’s much missed Fee and Me, and as head chef at Pierre’s. He worked under Massimo Mele at Mud Bar & Restaurant and we’re delighted to have accidentally created a reprise of this happy culinary pairing for the Festival! Last stop before Timbre was an auspicious one, as sous chef at Josef Chromy Winery and then Head Chef there for two years.

Matthew’s training, credentials and love of dining well are immediately obvious at Timbre, both in what’s on the plate and in the ambience. The approach suits the Tamar perfectly, with constantly evolving dishes and dining styles – we’re told a fire pit on the lawn outside the restaurant is imminent! Matthew describes his style as honest food driven by a love of the industry, progressive and approachable, the food that we all want to eat.

We’re delighted that Matthew and Shannon are lending us their restaurant for the night, and look forward to seeing what Massimo and Matthew create for us at Timbre for this very special, one-off dining event. We think it’s going to be one of the most memorable of the year!