Icy Ling, CEO and Co-Founder of IC & Co

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Bird in Hand to revitalise hospitality venues at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

09 Oct 2024

From early 2025, Bird in Hand will provide its renowned hospitality to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, with the brand set to introduce a tasting room, curate exclusive wine and food experiences, and manage the on-site restaurant and kiosk, as well as host weddings and bespoke events. A fine dining experience akin to Bird in Hand’s LVN Restaurant in Woodside will feature among the offerings, showcasing the unique produce, art, flora and fauna of Tasmania.

With work underway to redesign the food and beverage facilities throughout the gardens, Bird in Hand’s decision to pursue the contract with the Botanical Gardens strengthens its growth strategy in Tasmania. This includes the recent acquisition of a long-term winery lease in Rowella, West Tamar Valley, and ongoing wine production at its Seymour property, located on the east coast of the island state.

The upcoming tasting room at the Botanical Gardens will showcase Bird in Hand’s new Tasmania range, set to launch later this year, along with a selection of other locally crafted beverages. “With our expansion of wine production in Tasmania, our winemaking team is focused heavily on showcasing the cool-climate qualities of the region,” said Andrew Nugent, who co-founded Bird in Hand with wife Susie. “What better place to now pour these spectacular varietals than one of Australia’s premier gardens? When paired with our culinary vision for the Botanical Gardens and the Bird in Hand service style, it’s an alignment we are excited to see evolve over the coming years.”

The 14-hectare Botanical Gardens has nurtured rare, native and intriguing plants for over 200 years. Offering a thriving kitchen garden and a place to gather, connect and learn, the gardens share with Bird in Hand an ethos of sustainability and connection to the land. This ethos is closely aligned to Bird in Hand’s Woodside estate in Adelaide Hills, South Australia.

“The Bird in Hand estate in Woodside showcases a core pillar of the brand: an enduring respect for the Indigenous cultures and traditional owners of the land upon which we are situated. This is something inherent in our operations and an approach on which we place the utmost importance,” Andrew explained. “Our Woodside property also highlights Susie’s love of garden design. While the grounds are much smaller in scale and cross-section of plants, they are tended to equally in passion for nurturing natural places of joy and contemplation – an ever-changing backdrop to memorable moments of generous hospitality.”

Woodside is also the home of Bird in Hand’s LVN Restaurant. The restaurant highlights ingredients cultivated in the property’s kitchen garden and Australian native ingredients – much of which has been foraged by Indigenous communities for generations. This culinary direction combined with Bird in Hand’s generous and welcoming approach to hospitality earned LVN Restaurant finalist status as ‘Best New Restaurant’ in the 2024 Australian Gourmet Traveller Annual Restaurant Awards.

“The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens are very excited to be partnering with Bird in Hand,” said Daniel Leesong, chair of the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens Board, upon the hospitality licence being awarded to the business. “To have a hospitality operator with such a record of success join the gardens during this time of revitalisation brings anticipation of exciting things to come. Our shared vision is guaranteed to please locals and visitors, further establishing Tasmania as a leader in eco, wine, culinary and agri-tourism.”

Located at 11 Lower Domain Road, Queens Domain, Hobart, the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens open 365 days a year. Hospitality venue opening hours are yet to be announced.

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