Where the milliner hangs her hat

January 2023 saw the first Flinders Fringe Festival, a weekend of more than 40 events attracting more than 2500 people to the small seaside hamlet. Creative director and milliner Melissa Jackson lives half her life in the family home in Shoreham and the other half in the city, where she runs her popular millinery business making hats for the rich and famous. “When I was growing up down here there wasn’t a great fine-dining scene,” Melissa said. “I remember the excitement when Johnny Come Lately opened in the new Red Hill South shopping centre in the early 1980s. Now we are almost stuck for choice.”

Melissa comes from a family of successful creatives, her father, older sister and brother having all made their mark in the field of architecture. Family get-togethers are held around the dining table and food was at the core of her inaugural festival, with a dinner for 100 at the Flinders Hotel hosted by author Alice Zaslavsky. Her venue of choice in Flinders is Donna Maria, set in an old store on the corner of Cook and Norman streets. “I love the interior with its leather booth and chaotic Italian coastal chic. Real retro Amalfi,” she said. “The food is down to earth, like a nonna would cook. Osso buco, cannelloni, and there are seasonal dishes like prawn with handmade spaghetti and artichoke risotto in early spring.”

During COVID lockdowns, Melissa became enamoured with the light, bright, spice notes of the Sri Lankan kitchen at Many Little at Red Hill South. “The flavours are clean and unconfused; the food has an authenticity yet remains modern. The do hoppers, those crisp rice flour bowls that you fill with your choice of curry. I also love the interior. It’s by Hecker Guthrie architects. They mix earthy brick for the floor and up the pillars, a mix of dark wood and blue tones in the bar, all flooded with natural light.” She also like its upmarket sister restaurant Polperro on Red Hill Rd with its fine-dining set menu in a vineyard restaurant hidden among the trees.

When Melissa was planning the Flinders Fringe Festival, she and her colleagues would meet at Stink and Plonk cheese and wine bar in Flinders. Owned by David and Karina Reyne, it offers cool-climate wines and perfectly matured cheeses ready for the board. “We’d arrive before they opened the doors, order a glass of whatever they were pouring and do our planning. It was our unofficial HQ.”

Melissa’s favourite place is in Balnarring. She remembers when the only dining to be done in the seaside village was a pit stop to pick up a barbecued chicken from Mrs. Pickler. Today Balnarring is home to cellar doors such as Hurley and Queally winemakers. “Then there’s Le Bouchon. This French bistro is the real deal. It’s run by a Frenchman, the chef is French, the wines are French (and some local) and the food is traditional bistro fare. The restaurant has a well-done Parisian restaurant feel without dwelling on pastiche, and the service is professional.” In winter she heads for the classics like beouf Bourguignon and a glass of Burgundy, or Peninsula pinot. When weather permits, she and her friends sit outside after a beachside stroll and enjoy a plate of scallops and a glass of Chablis. “But for me, Peninsula life is about taking in this beautiful place where we live. So most days it’s a takeaway coffee from Georgie Bass and sit on the Flinders headland with my husband and our dog.”

The 2024 Flinders Fringe Festival is on February 23-25. Go to www.flindersfringe.com.au for details.