Pipit pops up at The Brooklet for luxe fire-cooked feasts

AWARD-winning Pottsville restaurant Pipit is bringing its flame-kissed flair to the Byron Bay hinterland this winter, teaming up with luxury retreat The Brooklet for an exclusive outdoor pop-up dining series.

Set in The Brooklet’s scenic open-air, wood-fired kitchen, this intimate culinary experience will host just 10 guests per sitting on Saturdays and Sundays throughout June and July.

The collaboration was sparked at the NSW State Tourism Awards gala in Sydney last November, where Pipit’s business manager Yen Trinh met Greta and Perry Smith, the owners of The Brooklet.

Inspired by international fine dining residencies — like Noma’s seasonal move to Kyoto and Anchovy’s rural Tasmanian escape — the partnership aims to bring something truly unique to the Northern Rivers region.

“The Brooklet was already interested in food and offering private chefs, cooking classes and wine events,” she said.

“Pipit was also regularly doing pop-ups, but we also wanted to test and build concepts for longer too.

“It’s always been our longer-term dream to have a small restaurant on a rural property and this pop-up residency is a version of that and lets us try new things, refine ideas and also create something truly unique in the region.”

Guests can expect a menu that celebrates local ingredients and sustainability, with dishes such as lemon myrtle petit fours; kelp cured tuna, pipi and bunya nut, gouda and corn, and bay lobster with shiso; and roasted mud crab with macadamia tofu and paperbark.

Pipit chef Ben Devlin, acclaimed for his inventive, produce-driven cuisine, is particularly excited about the fire-powered setup.

“There is more versatility and certain flavours only afforded by cooking with fire, such as smoking, drying, grilling and scorching, and we can maximise all heat for flavour,” he said. “Even the ‘leftover’ smoke or embers can be used.”

For more information, visit thebrooklet.com.au/pipit-pop-up-residency