Merricks is a seaside town on the Mornington Peninsula in Melbourne, Australia. Just an hour from Melbourne’s central business district, it’s a lively and picturesque area with a white sandy beach flanked by a mix of seaside cottages and modern beach houses, vineyards and wineries, health and wellness businesses, farmhouses, and a lively culinary scene.

Merricks Kitchen founder Sarah spent her childhood weekends and holidays on the family’s much-loved property - Plein Air. Here, they raised cattle, cultivated a vegetable garden, built raging bonfires, and spent days and nights together as a family.

Merricks is a place to enjoy getting away from the city and back to a simple life – eating just-picked strawberries still warmed by the sun; wading out through rockpools to swim in the clear waters of Western Port Bay; cuddling around a blazing brazier full of crackling firewood; and venturing out on bushwalks that yield tart blackberries, scented gumtree branches, and intricate bird nests plucked from huge pine trees by blustery winds.

Merricks Kitchen is a fictional place that draws on the good times enjoyed as a family around the huge island counter in the Plein Air kitchen. Sarah’s mother always made something from scratch – quince jam, chutney, lumberjack cake, a fillet of beef with all the sides, or maybe her infamous chicken sandwiches. Food at Plein Air was always packed with flavor and made from local produce – some of which came right from the vegetable garden.