IT is four months since Joel Humphreys stepped into the kitchen at Scotties.
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It was a perfect pairing for the New Zealand-born chef who shares the East End restaurant's philosophy on using only ethically-sourced and sustainably-caught produce for the menu.
Humphreys, whose credentials include stints at Rockpool and Spice Temple, has introduced a new ever-changing menu to the restaurant, with a focus on using only sustainable seafood.
"Everything that we use is sustainably sourced," Humphreys says. "We have a great seafood supplier, Shane's Seafood at Toronto, and everything they get is of the highest quality and Australian. We use hiramasa kingfish which is an amazing sustainable sashimi."
"We also look at using less well-known fish. I suppose everyone is used to things like mulloway and snapper, but we try to use those other varietals like teraglin, and other lesser-known species."
Humphreys has a flair for food. Innovative, fresh and beautifully presented, the dishes are a far cry from the the days when Scottie's was simply an old-fashioned fish and chip shop before owner Jenny Roberts bought the space in 2006.
Dishes on the menu include braised cuttlefish with avocado, fried onion and yuzu koshu; steamed local mulloway with ginger and shallots;and raw scallop with blood orange, sichuan pepper and rocket.
The takeaway window menu has switched up, too. Alongside the classic fish and chips, there is crumbed fish burrito;hot and sour octopus; and the Scottie's fish sanga with tartare, iceberg, tomato and pickles.
The lure of Newcastle came knocking when Humphreys joined his wife on a trip to visit her family and stumbled across Scotties.
"It was quite coincidental because we were visiting and went and had fish and chips on the lawn," Humphreys says.
"Both of us had wanted to move here for ages and I was thinking 'Where would I work?' and I saw that little tiny room at Scotties. I thought it was a beautiful space and, at the time, Jenny was looking for someone to take over, so it worked out pretty well.
"It's famous for its takeaway, but she wanted to push it a bit further in the restaurant and, given the location of the place, why wouldn't you?"