Jasper Avent named head chef at Farmer’s Daughters

Jasper Avent has joined Melbourne’s Farmer’s Daughters as head chef, bringing experience from Lake House, The Town Mouse, Embla and Lesa to the Gippsland-focused restaurant.

More than five years after Farmer’s Daughters opened in Melbourne, Jasper Avent has taken on the head chef role across Farmer’s Daughters and Farmer’s Daughters Wine House.

Working alongside founder and executive chef Alejandro Saravia and group head chef Fellipe Mezzavilla, Jasper will bring his own approach to a restaurant built around the produce and people of Gippsland.

Announcing the appointment, Farmer’s Daughters said Jasper would bring “a fresh perspective” to the produce, producers and landscapes that have shaped the business from the beginning.

A career across Victorian kitchens

Jasper joins Farmer’s Daughters following a career that has taken him through a number of well-known Victorian kitchens.

His experience includes Lake House in Daylesford, The Town Mouse, Embla and Lesa, giving him a background in restaurants where seasonality and ingredients have played an important role in the food.

That makes him a strong fit for Farmer’s Daughters, where produce and provenance have always driven the menu.

The role will see Jasper build on an established identity while bringing his own contemporary approach to the kitchen.

For Farmer’s Daughters, the appointment adds a new perspective without moving away from the philosophy that has defined the restaurant since opening.

Five years of Gippsland in Melbourne

Alejandro opened Farmer’s Daughters in 2021 with the aim of creating a stronger connection between Gippsland and Melbourne.

Rather than being built around a particular cuisine, the restaurant has focused on a region, using its relationships with farmers, growers and producers to shape what appears on the menu.

That approach has remained central to the business over the past five years, with Gippsland ingredients and the stories behind them forming a key part of the restaurant’s identity.

The original Farmer’s Daughters venue brings together a restaurant, deli and rooftop, each offering a different expression of the region.

The group later expanded with Farmer’s Daughters Wine House on Little Collins Street, offering a more relaxed format built around food, Victorian wine, a bottle shop and private dining.

Jasper will now work across both venues as the group continues to develop its food offering.

A first look at Jasper’s cooking

His arrival also coincides with the restaurant’s new Gippsland Getaway tasting menu, giving diners an early opportunity to see how his approach translates at Farmer’s Daughters.

The five-course menu continues the restaurant’s focus on the region, with Jasper now bringing his own cooking style to the produce and relationships built over the past five years.

It comes at an important point for Farmer’s Daughters as the restaurant moves beyond its first five years in Melbourne.

For Jasper, the role adds another significant Victorian restaurant to a career that has included Lake House, The Town Mouse, Embla and Lesa.

For Farmer’s Daughters, his appointment brings fresh input to the kitchen while keeping Gippsland at the heart of what the restaurant does.