The Winning Woodshed at Kin Kin
John Caruso discovers the converted woodshed in a town of fewer than a thousand people that’s just outcooked the country’s best restaurants.
Kin Kin has a population of 844. In August, its restaurant beat every fine diner in the country to a national award – not a nomination, not a shortlist, but the win itself, announced amongst the crème de la crème of Australia’s food media, chefs and restaurateurs for the 46th Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Awards.
The Woodshed took out the coveted Best Destination Dining award- only the fourth time in the last 2o years that a Queensland restaurant took the honours – and, unsurprisingly, was also named the State’s Restaurant of the Year. Both categories are judged against the country’s full field – metropolitan and regional alike – at Australia’s longest-standing restaurant awards program.
For a room serving a seven-course set menu twice a week and adjoining a hinterland pub, in a town most Queenslanders would struggle to place on a map, that’s not a modest result. Housed in what had been a derelict agricultural shed servicing the 112-year-old Kin Kin Hotel, The Woodshed has been carving its own future since opening just over a year ago. The transformation was part of a grand vision for David and Ellie Ezrine who bought the Kin Kin Hotel in 2021 and closed the doors for close to two years while they rebuilt and restored the public bar, accommodation and surrounds, including planting a substantial market garden across the road to service the venue. An interior designer, Ellie chose to honour and embrace history and stories within the walls.
Large windows cut by local artisans, salvaged timber, handblown light fittings, plush banquettes and feature tables, an expansive benchtop and servery made from Flame Tree stone that glows with rich yellows and greens and at its heart, an open kitchen where fire rules and engagement is encouraged.
It is the domain of head chef Oscar Holgado, whose own heritage runs through Michelin-starred London kitchens including Murano and Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, and later Coombeshead Farm in Cornwall.
The invitation is to slow down, indulge and enjoy a four-hour, seven-course showcase of seasonality, sustainability and skill, cooked mostly over fire and drawing heavily on nearby producers and the Hotel’s own market garden and menagerie of bees, ducks and pigs. Bread, pastries and desserts come from The Bakehouse, Kin Kin Hotel’s own sourdough masterpieces crafted by Richard and Kirsty Mundt. What the team don’t make themselves, is sourced as locally and ethically as possible.
Venue Manager PJ Choroomi curates a drinks adventure based on your desire – playful, funky, traditional? Everything is personalised and everything the judges tasted is exactly the experience open to diners every Friday and Saturday night.
From late August, The Woodshed opened its dining room on Thursdays to meet demand and to provide a new way to experience Kin Kin with the luxury of slowing down before the weekend begins. The extra night offers the chance to also deliver a curated program of creative residencies led by acclaimed artisans, makers and craftspeople that pairs overnight stays and fire-cooked dinners with hands-on sessions.
The first, in August, was an elemental charcoal drawing residency with Elisabeth Berry where art and fire came together. Participants spent an afternoon beside the flames, transforming vine cuttings into drawing charcoal over glowing embers, feasting on a seven-course fire cooked meal, and waking the following day to create artworks using the very materials they crafted by hand the day before. It is a small detail, but an meaningful one: the same fire that cooks the food becomes the artist’s tool.
That philosophy extends to the table, where every plate has been handmade and every dish is thoughtfully crafted over fire, creating a seamless connection between the artistry of making and the experience of dining that has become the hallmark of The Woodshed.
In October, an intimate two-day oil painting residency with acclaimed artist Lauren Jones will offer time to paint, pause and experience the surrounding landscape while enjoying farmhouse breakfasts, long lunches, fire-pit cocktails and a seven-course dinner that was just awarded Australia’s Best Destination Dining.
IN Noosa Magazine has experienced the transformative effect of the experience so the award and recognition came as no surprise. The magazine held its 2025 summer launch at Kin Kin Hotel and enough of us wanted to go back that we’re doing exactly that – and you’re invited!
We have curated An Evening with Oscar – an intimate and engaging seven-course degustation and fireside conversation with the people and the place that has just received national recognition as Australia’s Best Destination Dining and Queensland’s Restaurant of the Year.
Enjoy a welcome drink and canapés under the centuries-old Fig tree before settling in for a guided degustation and conversation from Oscar. Kin Kin is thirty-five minutes inland from Noosa, on a beautiful country road most visitors have no obvious reason to take. For a growing number of them that’s starting to change. And now, we’re giving you an extra reason to take the time to indulge in a truly remarkable experience for one unforgettable night. Seats to this intimate evening will fill fast so don’t delay. As will accommodation for one of the lovingly-restored heritage rooms which comes with a wholesome and homegrown farmhouse breakfast.
AN EVENING WITH OSCAR @ THE WOODSHED
Join IN Noosa Magazine for an intimate and unforgettable evening at The Woodshed Kin Kin, awarded Australia’s Best Destination Dining and Queensland’s Restaurant of the Year!
Spend an evening fireside with Head Chef Oscar Holgado and experience a seven-course, paddock-to-plate degustation, country hospitality and meaningful conversation.
The food. The experience. The conversation.
Thursday 22 October, 6pm
The Woodshed, Kin Kin
Welcome cocktail, canapés, seven-course degustation and exclusive welcome and IN Conversation with Oscar $200 per person
Accommodation options with a divine farmhouse breakfast are available but limited.
Be quick as tickets to this exclusive event are limited and will sell-out!
Book your tickets.
