Let’s eat: latest hospitality news

30th October 2020 | Eativity editors

So, what’s on the menu? A very busy Matt Moran, for one. As well as judging the 2020 delicious. produce awards and rustling up a delicious cupcake recipe for the RSPCA, in the past few months he’s also been hitting “refresh” on his restaurants left, right and centre – with everything from an Archibald-inspired menu at Chiswick at the Gallery to a collaboration between Aria and award-winning Aussie bar, Maybe Sammy. Now his latest post-COVID reopening will have steak-loving Sydneysiders drooling in anticipation.

But Moran isn’t the only one who’s been hard at work. Ovolo Hotels recently announced their Year of the Veg initiative – all Ovolo restaurants and bars across Australia and Hong Kong will go vegetarian for 365 days. Meanwhile, in Brisbane, the former Elephant Arms Hotel has undergone a massive refurbishment, taking the pub back to its former glory and original name, while introducing some exciting new spaces, with a rising star chef on hand to create culinary delights to match each new area. We dish up all the details below.  

Chophouse uses years of grill skills to perfect every wagyu, sirloin and eye fillet.

Chophouse returns with Matt Moran at the helm

Sydney steakhouse Chophouse will reopen on November 4 with Matt Moran at the helm of an all-new menu. Under Moran’s guidance, the menu has been stripped back, with locally sourced produce and premium Australian meat taking centre stage, most of which comes from the Moran family farm in NSW’s Central Tablelands.

A fourth-generation farmer himself and a pioneer of paddock to plate dining, Moran has diversified his family farm’s offering over the last few years, now rearing ethically farmed hormone-free beef, lamb and pigs. Moran family charcuterie, sirloin, T-bone and rib-eye will star on the launch menu, alongside a further array of Australian produce including bread from Sonoma, Westholme wagyu, Alto olive oil and local fruit and vegetables.

The menu will be largely Australian-focused, with only Spanish anchovies, King Ora Salmon from New Zealand, Reggiano parmesan DOP, raclette cheese and Valrhona chocolate imported for the opening menu.

Chophouse is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Friday, as well as dinner on Saturday. Bookings available via chophousesydney.com.au

Monster’s menu is driven by responsibility, sustained by seasonality and inspired by regionality.

Monster welcomes World’s 50 Best Restaurants chef

Canberra’s Monster Kitchen & Bar has welcomed new Executive Chef Paul Wilson on the back of Ovolo’s Year of the Veg announcement.

Wilson has previously worked as Sous Chef at Denmark’s acclaimed Geranium – ranked number 5 in 2019’s 50 Best Restaurants – and as Executive Chef at Orpheus Island Lodge‘s renowned restaurant on the Great Barrier Reef. He brings a deep respect for locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, and will incorporate his previous experiences and techniques to showcase vegetables through a refined menu offering.

The new menu promised to be indulgent, rich and refined, with Wilson pushing the boundaries with vegetarian, featuring everything from hay-smoked beetroot to slow-roasted carrot terrine. The restaurant is also experimenting with growing its own hyperlocal produce for the kitchen and bar. The garden will offer an array of aromatic herbs, young vegetables and edible flowers for the chefs and bartenders to pick on a daily basis.

For all bookings head to monsterkitchen.com.au

The Heritage Listed Prince Consort has a colourful history.

The Prince Consort – Brisbane’s newest gastro pub

A rising star of the Australian restaurant scene, Jack Powlay will heading up the pans as Head Chef at The Prince Consort in Fortitude Valley – Brisbane’s newest collective of bars.

More recently known as The Elephant Arms, The Prince Consort – as it was originally named – has fed, watered and kept the secrets of all who ventured through since 1888. Now, thanks to new owners Tilley & Wills Hotels, it will once again take its rightful place on Brisbane’s centre stage. The hotel is now home to The Parlour Bar, La La Land, 400 Rabbits Cantina, The Garden Bar, The Naughty Corner, The Bowie Rooms, The Yorke Suites and Greaser – eight different spaces that create a new social master quarter in Fortitude Valley.

Powlay will lead menu design and food operations across the venue, creating culinary experiences to suit each adventure. Menus range from the gastro-pub-inspired offering of The Prince Consort and super modern tacos starring seasonal ingredients at 400 Rabbits Cantina to epic pizzas from the wood-fired oven and shared tapas plates at La La Land.

The Prince Consort & Friends is now open. To find out more, head to theprinceconsort.com.au

Alibi’s cheesy dog, featuring a vegetarian Beyond sausage.

Alibi Bar’s “meaty” month-long World Vegan Day celebration

Vegan Month at Sydney’s Alibi Bar & Kitchen returns this World Vegan Day (November 1) in celebration of the flourishing plant-based industry. For the entire month of November, favourites from Alibi Bar’s Dirty Greens menu will be available at special prices each week.

Since opening, Alibi Bar & Kitchen – alongside acclaimed plant-based pioneer, chef and restaurateur Matthew Kenney – has championed plant-based eating. A “darker side to plant-based dining”, Alibi Bar’s Dirty Greens menu continues to challenge the traditional green and raw perception of plant-based dining. Delicious and guilty, 100 percent plant-based “meaty” treats are made using fresh plant-based and protein-packed meat alternatives and other innovative ingredients from the Alibi team.

Alibi Bar is open from 4pm until late each day. Book now at alibibar.com.au