Stars of the TV series MasterChef Australia were the hosts of a sunset dinner on the banks of the Murray River Salt harvest site at Mourquong near Mildura in north-west Victoria last weekend.
Arum Nixon, Sam Goodwin and Samuel Whitehead appeared in the reality show last year, with Mr Nixon making it to the final five of 24 contestants.
But competition was far from everyone's minds as the sun set on the spectacular scene and the aroma of cooked lamb and fish rode on the breeze.
"If you look around us, the sun's setting, there's people having a good time and it's just absolutely stunning," Mr Nixon said.
"As far as you can see, you've got the white salt pans, a big, wide expanse of sky; it's the most beautiful setting.
Melbourne Food and Wine Festival feast
The dinner was part of the program for the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and saw 120 guests seated to be served by the MasterChef reality stars.
Mr Goodwin said the trio came up with the idea while competing on the popular TV show last year.
"We actually came up with this concept when we were living in the MasterChef house," he said.
"We shared a bedroom together and we have a similar style of food.
"We've used seasonal produce to try and tie it back to the Mildura community and local producers.
"So it was very clear for us from the word go that this is the kind of menu we wanted and we were lucky when the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival came up."
Three courses of foodie heaven
The evening's meal began with a starter of damper with dukkah and olive oil, then an entree of Murray cod served with herbs, crème fraiche and fermented cucumber.
"It took about a month or so to ferment these particular cucumbers," said Mr Whitehead, who was in charge of the entrée.
"So it was a bit of an obvious choice to include something packed with flavour that could be produced in advance."
The main course, served by Mr Nixon, was braised lamb shoulder cooked for nine hours in a coal oven, served with local vegetables and grain.
"We've got some Saltbush lamb, which for us was a really obvious choice, because if you look around you there's not really much sort of grazing grass. It makes table sense and it gives you a real connection with the environment.
"You know, it's really nice how it's all come together."
Mr Goodwin, a hit with the MasterChef audience for his desserts, was in charge of the after-dinner treats.
"I put together a goat's cheesecake and that's paired with some incredible local grapes from a supplier, atop of an almond and olive oil pastry, both local again, and then we've got a bit of fried saltbush on top.
"Tonight the wind is looking a bit better, so I'm hoping the saltbush will actually stay on the dessert."
A long way from MasterChef
The salt plains of Mourquong are a long way from the MasterChef kitchen, but Mr Nixon said the trio was satisfied that the idea they’d dreamed up on the TV set had come to fruition on the fringes of the outback.
"The most I’ve cooked for was probably about six or seven people on my balcony for a barbecue," he said.
"So the idea of cooking for 120 people, it wouldn't have crossed my mind at all.
