STREAT News: Executive Chef, Dianne Kerry, carries the legacy of Heide’s Founder in New Book | A Heide Harvest

We’re thrilled to share with the STREAT community that our Executive Chef, Dianne Kerry, has contributed a collection of her vibrant vegetarian luncheon recipes to ‘A Heide Harvest’, a new cookbook co-authored by Alice Crowe and Maximillian from the Heide Museum of Modern Art. 

Sunday in Rosa Mutabilis c.1974, photographer unknown. Source.

Heide Museum of Modern Art has long been an institution of art, literature and culture. Founded by Sunday and John Reed, the museum and its surrounding grounds have fostered generations of Melbourne’s most celebrated artists.  

Buried in their story of bohemianism, eccentricity and desire was Sunday’s deep love for gardening, cooking, and cultivating her own ‘Eden’ for those she loved. This passion inspired co-authors Alice Crowe and Maximillian to create a cookbook celebrating her connection to the land, and the way she nurtured both people and produce through her garden. 

STREAT’s executive chef, Dianne Kerry, was invited to contribute a plethora of vegetarian recipes inspired by Sunday Reed’s vegetarianism. She takes direct inspiration from the edibles grown in the Heide Garden. Among them, carrots—a favourite of Sunday’s—are featured as the centrepiece of one of Dianne’s standout dishes. 

A passage from the book says, 

“Dianne’s refined approach to vegetarian dining and [STREAT’s] commitment to reducing food waste makes her contribution to this cookbook... Dianne’s dishes offer beautifully balanced, nuanced flavours, making for a spectacular meat-free feast.” 

Co-authors Crowe and Maximillian carefully selected chefs who embody a garden-to-plate philosophy. In a Q&A, Maximillian shared: 

“Dianne Kerry of STREAT definitely surprised me. STREAT’s food offer is hearty and accessible, and I expected Dianne’s suggestions to be along the same lines, but she offered us a nuanced series of vegetarian dishes that are truly elegant”.

We’re so proud to see Dianne’s thoughtful approach celebrated in such a grounded, heartfelt book—one that mirrors so many of STREAT’s values around sustainability, nourishment, and social connection. 

A Heide Harvest is available now at Readings bookstores.