POPULAR Ballarat hospitality venues are combining their cooking skills to serve up three-course lockdown dinners to bring a special taste into people's homes.
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Co-Lab Kitchen, in partnership with Plate-Up Ballarat, launches in Ballarat on Thursday evening, with six venues to provide different courses across two nights.
Mr Jones Dining, The Shared Table, Roy Hammond, Lola, Peter Ford Catering and Mitchell Harris have been preparing the first Co-Lab series.
Roy Hammond owner Brian Taylor said while this was a fun way for businesses to pull together, it was also a rare chance to challenge chefs' skills and offer a unique experience in Ballarat.
We can all do takeaway to some degree but this gets out thought patterns really working.
- Brian Taylor
"We can all do takeaway to some degree but this gets out thought patterns really working," Mr Taylor said. "In normal circumstances everyone is so busy working our own business that its rarely we'd do something like this.
"It's a great opportunity and great initiative. We know every hospitality business supports each other's venues with resources and knowledge sharing but this is a different way.
"Everyone that's working on this just loves Ballarat and is passionate about wanting Ballarat to come out of this and prosper."
Co-Lab Kitchen Ballarat follows the Co-Lab concept in Daylesford and originating in Bendigo, with restaurants working together on a menu and each venue plating up a different course, which is packaged and ready to be heated in homes.
This also allows restaurants to use excess food in cool rooms in the wake of a quick return to lockdown. The project also helps support local producers and keep workers in jobs during the pandemic's uncertainty.
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Meals can also be paired with wines via Mitchell Harris Wines and Regional Wine Sales Victoria.
Mr Taylor said in challenging each other, it also helped Ballarat's foodie scene evolve and grow. He hoped it would encourage new business to Ballarat and keep this city and its exciting, growing foodie scene thriving well beyond lockdowns.
Mr Taylor also said Co-Lab was a great show of hospitality venues uniting but it was also a way to offer supportive customers something different in a time when they were unable to dine-in somewhere special - a chance for a taster from a few restaurants all at once.
"People have been really supportive as well and we all appreciate it," Mr Taylor said.
For more details, and to order dinner, visit co-labkitchenballarat.com.au. Pre-orders for Thursday and Friday this week are available for pick-up or home delivery.
Initial response has been strong in what Plate-Up Ballarat hoped would bring extra joy into people's homes.
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