An eclectic community garden in the middle of the Central Wheatbelt played host to one of Western Australia's rising star chefs last month.
Kondinin's innovative community garden was established in 2015 at the site of the town's original swimming pool and is now used for a range of activities and events.
These include the March Gourmet in the Garden dinner for 120 lucky people who managed to get coveted tickets to the sell-out experience.
This year, for the first time, the guest chef was Melissa Palinkas, who owns the Young George Bar & Kitchen and Ethos Deli and Dining Room in East Fremantle and was awarded the WA Good Food Guide Chef of the Year in 2019.
Her theme was native-inspired cooking and she used a wide range of locally-sourced produce from across the Wheatbelt.
This included produce from the Kondinin Community Garden.
Shire of Kondinin community development officer Hannah Repacholi said the garden was becoming a real feature and focal point of the town.
Run completely by volunteers, it was established in the middle of town when the local swimming pool closed and a new pool was built at the town's sporting precinct.
"We decided we didn't want a blank space as the central point of Kondinin," Ms Repacholi said.
"We were able to start with a blank canvas and build-up the space from there.
"It is now very eclectic."
The Kondinin Community Garden is continually evolving on the back of investments by the Shire, State and Federal governments and community groups and has expanded from having simple garden beds to growing fruit and vegetables and a variety of native foods.
A children's play area has been extended during the past few years as local groups have raised funds to purchase new equipment.
The latest installation is a nature playground and art from local creators.
"We have been engaging artists to facilitate community arts projects at the site, including the painting of murals and the Nyoongar six season poles," Ms Repacholi said.
Early in 2019, the Shire of Kondinin received grant funding to plant a bush tucker and native garden at the Kondinin Community Garden through the Natural Resource Management Community Stewardship Program.
The plants were collected from Chedoona nursery, in Cuballing, and planted by Kondinin Primary School pupils.
During the planting day, local experts were able to tell the school children the names of the different plants and their traditional medicinal uses and uses as sources of food.
Also in 2019, a kitchen decking area - with shade - a pizza oven, sink and steel benchtops was installed.
This space is regularly used for birthday parties, gatherings and other community events.
Ms Repacholi said the Shire had hosted many events at the garden, including school holiday activities and gatherings for occasions such as bike week and NAIDOC Week.
"We have also hosted workshops in the space that focus on sustainability," she said.
"This has included garden workshops run by Chris Ferreira, from the Forever Project."
"Our local volunteers work hard to keep the garden maintained and the Shire organises busy bees throughout the year for planting and larger scale tidy-ups," Ms Repacholi said.
She said the space was in top shape for this month's Gourmet in the Garden event held on March 15.
This event has been staged annually since 2018.
"We get people coming to town from across the central and southern Wheatbelt for the dinner, which we cap at 120 people to ensure a more intimate experience," Ms Repacholi said.
"This showcases our town and what can be presented by top chefs using the produce from our town and the wider region."
More information: kondinin.wa.gov.au/image-gallery/gourmet-in-the-garden-2023/23, Facebook: kondinincommunitygarden
