Southern Down's Tenterfield has a new gem, a German Heritage Cafe & Event Location, Rosenhof Cafe
After spending a lot of time in the beautiful township of Tenterfield (my partner works here 5 days a week), I have started a little personal project recognising and photographing the small businesses and passionate locals of the township. I love the finer details, the stories behind their existance, the love behind their passion and I LOVE documenting this through imagery to tell a story.
I have been eagerly awaiting the opening of Rosenhof after seeing it in the making on my cold morning walks while I was in Tenterfield visiting my partner. I connected with the owners, Kirsten and Christian, to see if I could pop in to pay them a visit and experience the beauty and charm of this 161 year old building.
Hear the beautiful story sourced from Kirsten & Chrisitian Uhrig themselves below:
“The three-year long refurbishment project of Kirsten and Christian Uhrig has seen the heritage-listed building and garden be brought back to life, providing Tenterfield with a unique place to find traditional, homemade food in an inspiring surrounding.
Fully licensed, the Rosenhof makes all breads, cakes, ice creams, jams, and cookies in-house and champions local providers where possible.
Christian says the Rosenhof’s hearty European-style menu has a wide appeal and not everything is wrapped in sauerkraut.
“The Cafe was born from a vision to establish a place where people could find home-grown, homemade and still reasonably priced food in a stylish yet comfortable setting. There’s a strong focus on inhouse made bread varieties, rolls, cakes, tortes, ice creams and for the savoury lovers we offer a variety of German-style sausages, meat dishes, cheese and many, many accompaniments as well as German beers and wine, of course! Every day we do a Dish of the Day for lunch, for those who want to be surprised.”
“It’s been wonderful to have already welcomed locals, families, motor bike tourists and road trippers from near and far. The German influence is as much in the menu as it is in the standard of service, the surrounds and the hearty fare we offer.”
“For us in Europe, mealtimes are when we come together as friends and family to enjoy, to take pleasure in good food and good company, and sometimes even to indulge! We wanted to replicate this, and we aspire to make food that’ll introduce you to what our German grandmothers used to make fifty years ago.”
The Rosenhof, which translates into ‘rose yard’, is situated on two hectares and features 400 rose bushes and 225 heritage varieties of fruit and nut trees. The market garden, raspberries, black and red currants, herb gardens all provide ingredients to be used in the kitchen. Fresh cut flowers from the garden designed by award-winning designer Carolyn Robinson, adorn modest wooden tables in the restaurant.
“Away from the Highway where it’s quiet, the garden is the perfect place to relax and rejuvenate. There are 100-year old natives as well as all the trees we’ve planted and have nurtured through the drought.”
Inside, the revamped building is tastefully appointed with an eye to its historic significance.
“It took over three years to restore a dilapidated building and we had to gut it out before we could bring it back to life. Restoring the floors, windows, walls, the exterior, basically everything including plumbing and electrical and all of that without destroying its heritage, which was very important to us. The homestead was established in 1858 as a farm at first, before becoming Tenterfield’s first bank. It was home to NSW’s first premier and Australia’s first surviving quintuplets lived here too from the 1960s. As the Rosenhof German Heritage Cafe, it’s now open to the public for the first time.”
And if that’s not enough to pique your interest, how about a hot air balloon over Tenterfield? Named ‘Rosalinde’, the balloon is operated privately by the Rosenhof Team, representing Tenterfield and the property far to distant horizons.
“A ride aloft Rosalinde has thrilled a lot of locals, guests and friends. Having birds-eye-view of Tenterfield and experiencing the land from above is a truly special experience. It’s a great ambassador for Tenterfield and the project.”
The Rosenhof German Heritage Cafe is initially opening four days a week for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and savoury food all day. It is available for special events and dinners by appointment.
For more information, please contact Christian Uhrig at christian@rosenhof.com.au or 0439640512.”
