Restaurateurs Alessandro and Anna Pavoni will attend Hunter Culinary Association’s Spring Seasonal Lunch at the one-hatted Margan Restaurant in Broke on November 12.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The husband-and-wife team operate four successful Sydney venues: Ormeggio at the Spit, Via Alta, Sotto Sopra and Chiosco by Ormeggio. At 10.30am, Alessandro will prepare Italian cuisine using contemporary flavours, techniques and textures. He will be joined by his wife Anna, a founding board member of Women in Hospitality and a highly-regarded force in the industry. She will share with guests her back-of-house experiences across four venues, her passion for customer service and what she has learned about the hospitality industry.
Following Alessandro’s cooking demonstration, Margan head chef Thomas Boyd will prepare a three-course lunch served with a selection of premium Margan wines. All are welcome to attend. The cost is $100 for Hunter Culinary Association members, $130 for non-members and $30 for apprentice chefs. Book online at hunterculinary.com.au.
Burwood sells
The Burwood at Merewether has sold. Previous owners Julianne and Ty Burford are moving on after eight years to focus on their other venture in the suburb, The Prince of Wales Hotel.
Their last day of trading at the Burwood, subject to legalities proceeding as planned, is this Sunday, September 30. Lessees Tony an Sandra have taken on the lease of the business under the news owner and will re-open on Tuesday, October 2. The new owner cannot be named at this time.
“Our Mex-Americana restaurant has wrapped up, making way for a fresh new pub menu. Two Mules was set up as a pop-up concept: here for a good time, not a long time. And, as we recently welcomed a new head chef, we felt the time was right to change the food concept to a menu that really showcased his food style,” Julianne told Food & Wine.
Stephen Scott was born and raised in Newcastle and has returned after working overseas with some of the world’s best chefs. Read all about him in Food & Wine soon.
The Prince is fully operational after a small fire caused damage in April. Monday is pasta night ($20 a bowl including a glass of wine); Tuesday is $10 burger night with music and movie trivia; “Wind back Wednesdays” offers two-for-one mains and $10 espresso martinis; on Thursday chicken meals are on special; on Friday there’s $5 drinks from 5pm to 10pm and live entertainment from 8pm; and on Saturdays watch live sports on the television plus live entertainment from 8pm. And you can grab any four craft beers from the fridge for $25 any day of the week.
Pop-up place
I mentioned in my Saturday column that a new collaborative culinary concept for Newcastle was being introduced by a familiar face. It’s called The Residency Kitchen and it’s the latest venture for Babak “Bob” Abbaszadeh, one-time owner of The Persian Place which closed in April after six years at 43 Bolton Street. By day, the former Persian Place will run as a cafe of sorts. It will open later this week, so keep an eye out. By night, The Residency Kitchen will be an ever-changing pop-up restaurant. Different chefs will come in and set up shop for a week or two, the first being a Turkish chef and friend of Abbaszadeh’s. After that, the offering will be homestyle Italian. You get the idea.
Holiday fun
Grill’d at Westfield Kotara is hosting burger-making workshops on October 2, 3, 8 and 9 from 11am to 11.30am. The cost is $10 per child, bookings on 4952 2577.
Healthy start
United Speed Cafe in Georgetown is known for its coffee and Brazilian cheese bread but owner Natalia Soares Carter, who runs the cafe with husband Ryan, is on a mission to share information about and discuss “taboo” subjects affecting women. She works with an organisation called Healthy Down Under and is tonight attending a sell-out event about endometriosis at Charlestown’s The Place Community Centre. The Place will also host free events on Menopause and Perimenopause (October 24, 6pm to 8pm); and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (October 21, 6pm to 8pm). Bookings can be made online at healthydownunder.org or by emailing healthydownunder@gmail.com.
Hunter winners
Lorn’s Myrtle & Pepper Fine Chocolate won the Champion Chocolate Perennial Trophy at the 2018 Callebaut Sydney Royal Chocolate Show. Championship winners were chosen from a pool of gold medal recipients at all Sydney Royal Wine, Dairy and Fine Food competitions throughout the calendar year. Anna Bay’s Pasta Di Porto again performed well, as did River Roast (East Maitland), Ambrose Coffee (Woodville), Exquisite Cakes by Lennert (Cessnock), Hunter Heritage Gourmet Foods (Cardiff) and Upper Hunter Smokehouse (Denman).
For the senses
Dining in the Dark is a unique culinary adventure that raises funds for Cure Blindness Australia. Guests are blindfolded while tasting a selection of foods and get a taste of what it’s like to live with low vision or blindness. The event is returning to Newcastle for the sixth time on October 20 at Harbourview Function Centre.
“It’s an unforgettable sensory experience, because you really focus on smell and taste when you’re plunged into darkness,” vice president of Cure Blindness Australia Deb Hescott said. Tickets cost $100 per person Book online at trybooking.com/WWMR or phone Deb Hescott on 0412 658 139.