Jess Odrowaz is one of the owners of Messmates Dining. Messmates came into being when Chris Odrowaz (Jess’s husband), his sister Jodie (The Age Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year 2019), and her partner Michael decided to open a wine bar/restaurant in their hometown of Warragul in Gippsland. “Our style is casual at heart with the focus being on great service, thoughtful cooking, all backed by our region’s great produce,” says Jess, “and wine of course.” The restaurant won a hat right after it opened in 2023, and in 2024 was named the Good Food Guide’s Regional Restaurant of the Year. In March 2025, meanwhile, the team staged their first MFWF event. Here’s Jess with the lowdown.
Hey Jess. You guys called your event “Lunch in our Backyard: A Tale of Seasonal Produce with Mates”; what was the idea there?
We came up with the idea for our event one day during staff lunch. The concept was to showcase what we’re so lucky to have in our backyard. Rolling green hills, alpine rivers, farmland, vineyards, and some of the loveliest people you have ever met. Having a great relationship with our friends and primary producers Mikey Densham and Kez Tsaushu from Five Tales Farm in Piedmont, we thought it would be a great opportunity to give people a true taste of what our region is producing. Let’s load up a bus full of people (driven by Ian Odrowaz, aka Dad), take the scenic route to Five Tales Farm, give our guests a tour of the farm guided by the people doing the work, and finally let’s have a long lunch in their backyard, using as much of their produce as possible.
Pulling the event together was a great experience, we pitched it to the Five Tales crew over a very casual dinner and they loved it.
We broke it down into teams:
- Mikey and Kez: supply the produce, organise the tour, host the party
- Jodie and Mike: write/prep the menu, set up the outdoor kitchen, cook for the guests
- Jess and Chris: transport, design, beverages, service, ticket sales
Once we all had clear direction for the project it took shape seamlessly.
What did everyone eat and drink?
Short answer, lots!
Long answer:
On arrival:
- Fig danish, croissant dough, bay-leaf custard
- Five Tales Farm Tonic: a cucumber water, mint and gin Spritz
Lunch
- Potato crisps, tomato tartare, chilli, herbs
- Vegetable crudites with tomato and olive oil dip, French onion dip, and green goddess or bagnet vert
- 2021 Wine Farm pet nat
- Fermented cucumber kingfish and smoked snapper roe in a jester lettuce cup and crème fraîche
- 2023 Entropy Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc
- Stuffed zucchini, Middle Eastern spices, cheese, preserved mandarin and za’atar
- 2023 Patrick Sullivan Baw Baw Shire Chardonnay
- Charred pepper, chilli and lamb meatballs with garlic yoghurt
- Cherry tomato salad with charred spring onions, Greek basil
- Beef-fat flatbreads
- Charred baked potatoes
- 2013 William Downie Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
- Chamomile custard tart with blueberries
- 2022 Gurneys Estate Poireau
How did it go on the day – what was the highlight?
The event was a huge success, we ran on time, didn’t forget anything and everyone had a great day. There were a few highlights, the weather and setting was perfect – full sun all day in beautiful Piedmont Valley, the smell of the open woodfire barbecue and the freshness and quality of food was amazing, the wine was great and of course the people. It was so nice to have a bus load of people sharing a meal together like they were close friends.
Any curveballs or challenges along the way?
Curveballs? Not really, only because the weather was so good to us. Our wet-weather plan wouldn’t have had the same feel to it.
The biggest challenge was the work and planning, no surprises there, I guess. Having a restaurant in Warragul is great for so many reasons, but one of the main ones is how great the sense of community is. We were able to put together piece by piece our whole event with the help of local businesses, shire resources, family and friends. It felt like a very supportive exercise and a huge eye-opener for what is available to us for future events.
Every year the question we’re asked most around event submission time at MFWF is about price points and inclusions, what can you tell us about how you learned here?
We really wanted to give people an experience and something different to what they might usually get from dining on a set menu at a pop up or themed dinner (which we often host at Messmates). We took our set menu price and added a wine pairing cost to that, then did the calculations on what it would cost to staff the event along with the transport costs. We did a lot of the leg work ourselves and had all of the tableware already which kept the costs down. Our price point was set high ($350 per person), which encouraged us to deliver an experience that would reflect value and attract people that would be open to something different.
Everyone wants their event to stand out; what advice would you give to other hospitality operators when they’re brainstorming for their next event?
Fortunately for us we are in a regional area where we have the luxury of hosting an event like this. But if I were to have any advice it would be to work with the people around you. In this industry we have so many great connections to producers, bars, restaurants and other hospo related folk that can bring something to the table (pun intended). Think outside the box.
How did you promote your event?
We used Instagram to promote the event on social media and Seven Rooms to send out marketing info to our mailing list.
What about the best event you’ve been to recently, what made it so memorable?
Embla x Lankan Filling Station at MFWF in March was great! One of my favourite restaurants in Melbourne teamed up with the legendary O Tama Carey. Everything I love about Embla, great food, service and drinks, just different and just as delicious! I’m still dreaming of the chicken liver parfait.
Messmates Dining, 15 Palmerton St, Warragul, messmatesdining.com, @messmatesdining