Great Ocean Ducks sits just inland from one of Victoria’s most famous stretches of coastline, near Port Campbell and the 12 Apostles, where it raises free-range ducks for some of the state’s leading restaurants. For Melbourne Food & Wine Festival 2026, the farm opened its gates to three of the state’s most celebrated chefs and a handful of lucky duck-loving diners.
Annie Smithers, Aaron Turner and Thi Le cooked over fire in front of guests, serving up a six-course feast that featured duck charcuterie, laap, confit and even duck-fat strawberry ice-cream, alongside produce from local farms and makers.
Here’s Jodi Clarke, co-founder of Great Ocean Ducks, with how they brought it all together.
How did you come up with the idea for your event?
It had been on my mind for some time. I had always wanted to showcase our farm and hero small free-range farmers. We live near the 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road, a beautiful, scenic part of Victoria and a major drawcard; however, the region has so much more to offer if you just head slightly inland. There were so many amazing producers that I wanted to include in our adventure with MFWF 2026.
What did you serve on the day?
We served six courses of duck and local produce. The chefs cooked out in the open over fire in front of our guests – that interaction, and being able to see how and what they cooked, was a massive attraction.
The menu was as follows:
- Duck charcuterie: rillettes, pâté, salami and rare smoked breast, served with fresh sourdough and cultured butter
- Great Ocean Ducks vampiro
- Duck laap: minced duck toasted with rice, lime, chilli and garden herbs
- Great Ocean Ducks confit leg, neck sausage and Babbington Park root vegetables
- Timboon duck-fat and strawberry ice-cream with fresh mint sorbet
- Shared cheeseboard with Schulz quark and honey, Apostle Whey’s Bolte Blue and Southern Briez white-mould cheese, with local dried apricots, fresh apple and hazelnuts, served with Hila’s lavosh
Looking back now, what was the highlight of the whole thing?
The entire event was a highlight from start to finish. We are so lucky with our business that we have very close relationships with the chefs who buy and use our ducks – it didn’t take much encouragement for them to get on board and support this event.
It was a day full of love, food and wine that went off without a hitch. We absolutely loved every minute of it. There is no way it would have come together as it did without all the amazing support we received from the chefs, locals, family and friends.
What did you find was the best way to sell the tickets or otherwise get the word out?
Our Instagram worked well, and the chefs involved were a major bonus and drawcard. Annie Smithers, Aaron Turner and Thi Le are all amazing chefs with huge followings. They served up a range of different styles – having three chefs cooking over fire in front of our guests created a unique point of difference. I think you need to have something appealing and different these days to attract people. We also offered farm tours so guests could see our ducks and how we farm.
What’s the best event you’ve been to lately at another venue? What made it so great?
I haven’t been to an event since ours, but I’m looking forward to supporting an event at Addington Downs in August. Jenna Abbruzzese is cooking Brooklands free-range pork for a small group of 50 people, showcasing their amazing pork alongside conversations about regenerative farming. Jenna cooked with Annie at our event, and we are so rapt to be on the other side of the table.
Any advice for anyone thinking of doing an event for the first time?
Planning and organising. This was critical for me, as it was my first time and there were a lot of hurdles to get around with our local shire. Hosting a paid event on your own property requires multiple permits. We needed a building permit for the marquee, as well as traffic and fire permits.
The permits seemed endless; however, I reached out to a local who helped me navigate council policies. Once that was in place, things seemed to flow. You need evacuation processes and there’s lots of red tape, including a temporary liquor licence, but it all came through without a problem in the end. I had support from so many people.
Great Ocean Ducks, 2129 Port Campbell-Cobden Rd, Port Campbell, greatoceanducks.com, @greatoceanducks