Victorian David Moyle started cooking in 1996 at The Latin, with Bill Marchetti in Melbourne. In 2001, he joined Maurice Esposito at St Kilda institution Stokehouse, before working with Andrew McConnell at Circa. He set up Pacific Dining Room at the Beach Hotel in Byron Bay before moving to Tasmania to be head chef at The Stackings at Peppermint Bay.
His Hobart restaurant, Franklin, opened in 2014, to acclaim. See www.franklinhobart.com.au
Tricycle Cafe and Bar. They cook with such care and consideration, the food is always nutritious and it is situated in the historic area of Salamanca amongst sandstone buildings. Super calming.
Angasi oysters from producers down the peninsula, south of Hobart. The angasi are a native variety that are very tricky to raise. The flavour is very deep and minerally. More akin to a clam.
This might also be the worst-kept secret really – the ruby wheat loaf from Pigeon Whole Bakers (also our neighbours) plus anything rye based from them. Consistently freaking delicious. See pigeonwholebakers.com.au
Dunalley and Eaglehawk Neck or Bruny Island. The Dunalley fish and chip shop is situated in an old anchovy processing space on the pier and they always represent lesser-known species. You can sit out on the jetty and chill with the resident seal. On Bruny there is the Bruny Island Cheese Company and you can pick up some oysters on the way. See eaglehawkneck.com ; brunyislandcheese.com.au
My favourite indulgence here would be eating in and getting amongst the outdoors. Even within the city, there are so many places to take in the incredible situation of the landscape – the omnipresent mountain and the ocean, which wraps into the river.
It's hard to pick a best time to visit Hobart – there are always strengths. The depth of winter has a very morbid charm that has been embraced by the ever-excellent Dark Mofo festival. Food-wise, the most productive time is late spring or late autumn, in my opinion. The sea is still cold, so the urchin and oysters or anything coming from the ocean thrive. Plus you get root vegetables and fruit still hanging on trees or beginning to show. See darkmofo.net.au.
Not too much to avoid food-wise here. But the adventurous will be most rewarded. Most of the goodness is in the raw product, so trying everything relatively unadorned puts you in the space.
Lots hot on the food scene, two new restaurants of note being Aloft in the Brooke St Pier where Christian Ryan (Property of Pilgrim) and Glenn Byrnes (Garagistes) are manning the pans, and Templo, which is in North Hobart. I'm hanging to get to them when I can. See aloftrestaurant.com , templo.com.au .
