Marnong Estate

Marnong Estate boasts a wealth of history in a restored homestead, located in the heartland of the Mickleham community. The estate is home to Bankvale Run, a restaurant placed atop a hill boasting stunning views of the Macedon Ranges.

Opened in 2018, from day one the priority at Bankvale Run was to offer superior ingredients, including their number one dish; steak. They wanted the best of the best, and the answer was a Dry Ager Cabinet. Chosen not only for its dry-aging abilities, but its visual aesthetics which would help facilitate the sales process within the restaurant.

Often customers need to understand what they’re buying when making high-value decisions, using visual queues to facilitate education around what makes a quality steak. Not only does this bolster decision making, but it also contributes to the elite experience offered at the restaurant.

The Dry Ager acts as a visual tool, helping the customer understand exactly what they are buying from the menu. Bankvale Run hosts high profile events with clients who have specific needs and refined tastes.

Profitability for the restaurant has increased as a result of featuring the Dry Ager in the Bankvale Run kitchen. The storage space of the Dry Ager allows the kitchen to completely control their own meat cuts, often preferring to purchase a carcass and larger cuts. This helps maintain control of, and lessen the steps involved in the process of meat purchasing. Their management of the meat cuts is not only cost-effective for the business, but it facilitates education for new chefs as they learn how to breakdown and prepare the meat. The Dry Ager facilitates their ‘farm to fork’ approach at Bankvale Run.

Adam, the Executive Chef at Marnong Estate, leverages the visual opportunities of the Dry Ager by having clear labels for each cut. This management of the stock means that the restaurant can anticipate menu specials and promote what’s on offer in advance.

“I experience such pleasure and excitement when seeing the potential of each cut and being able to run specials for what’s coming”, Adam, Executive Chef.

Adam used the Dry Ager to tap into his creativity as a chef. Dry-aging is classically a process associated with beef. However, now he is now looking to what’s next, what’s trending; he’s looking at dry-aging fish.

The Dry Ager has shaped the procedures in the Bankvale Run kitchen by supporting the education and development of new chefs, and providing a platform to enhance sales through demonstrations with customers.

The Dry Ager has boosted profitability for the business by saving on costs and unnecessary steps when buying from a butcher, improving the meat flavours and improving sales. But most importantly, the Dry Ager has given a level of control to the kitchen and customer experience that is simply unrivalled.

Back to all case studies

Marnong Estate

Dry Ager offers the ‘farm to fork’ approach to elite restaurants around Australia.

You may be interested in:

Join the meat press