Welcome!

The Welcome Hotel has  been associated with serving up the best pub fare for some time. In the recently released Sydney Morning Herald Good Pub Food Guide it was only one of two hotels to receive the coveted three schooners. BISTRO interviews head chef Simon Mackay to find out what it takes to bring fine dining to a pub in Rozelle.

Can you give us some background about your career so far?

I have spent the last four years working in the UK, France and at leading Sydney Restaurants including The Burlington, The Tilbury and Macleay Street Bistro. From 2006-2008 I worked at Notting Hill Brasserie in London but my heart was in France.  I worked as junior sous chef in a Modern French restaurant on the Riviera and then worked as private chef on a super yacht in Monaco for two years before returning to Australia.

Please describe the menu for us at both the restaurant and the bar?

We describe the menus as European Gastro-Pub, however we have brought back the humble rissole on the bar menu and I’m working on a fantastic fish burger. The bar menu is all about comfort food and generosity.

The restaurant menu showcases modern classics and seasonality, making this much more flexible to work with on a daily basis.

There is an Irish influence through the menu. Why?

The Welcome has always had a strong expat Irish clientele and to some extent that has influenced some of the dishes and trends; I think the Irish influence comes through more so in our overall atmosphere of the hotel and this comes through in some of the dishes. So really, the food style is more European now with the heartiness of some dishes being somewhat of a reflection back to Ireland. I must say we do great things with potatoes.

Do you use the one kitchen? Do you have separate people working the bar menu as opposed to the restaurant? Does this create any staff issues?

We operate out of the one kitchen with a separate prep area and things can get pretty hairy on the big nights due to the small size of the kitchen. The restaurant and bar menu are serviced by the same team so  when I’m creating both menus I bear this in mind. Almost 80% of the bar menu comes from the entrée section and during that ‘hour of power’ when all the dockets seem to come at once we all jump in  and multi task as both menus are as significant as each other. Our only issue is oven space – I’d love a bigger kitchen!

In regards to the restaurant – can you describe your patrons – are they locals? Do you have people travelling from other places?

Our Sunday – Wednesday customers are mainly locals, the rest of the week are people venturing from other suburbs even from the east. Lunchtime trade is mainly business people. We have a very good repeat clientele throughout the hotel and it is something we work very hard at from the floor staff all the way through to the kitchen.

The Welcome Hotel is renowned for great food. How important is this in a business sense to the hotel as a whole? Are the restaurants ‘drivers’ for the rest of the hotel?

The kitchen is the engine room and has always been a focus of the hotel. I work closely with the owner and managers on all aspects of the operation, the food is definitely the driving force, although I might be a bit biased.

How often does the menu change? How do you come up with new menu items?

When the seasons change the menus follow, once I know the quality of the produce I can get. You don’t want to start too early into a new season, which we are most likely to see this winter with the impact of the Qld floods on produce. My style adapts to the season, in autumn I like doing a lot of braising and I’m currently working on a short rib wellington with bone marrow, confit shallots and Jerusalem artichoke puree. I do a lot studying with the style of food I want to work with and I spend a lot of time at the markets to make weekly changes. I really enjoy testing new dishes weekly based on what I find at the markets.

Of course going out to eat at other restaurants is an absolute favourite pastime.

Where do you source produce from – please highlight meats and vegetables and herbs in particular?

We use a range of beef products from Wagyu for intercostals and brisket but most of it’s Riverine beef from South Australia & we only use Berkshire pork from Byron Bay. In the winter months you will see New Zealand turbot appear back on the menu. It’s such a lovely strong flavoured delicate fish that is so under used in restaurants in this country.

I work closely with our suppliers. Joto and Verdi send out excellent newsletter updates and can be very helpful in getting directions of foods, pricing and availability. I talk a lot too with other chefs, and often have a quick team catch-up at the Fish markets or a Growers market. I have been amazed since coming back from Europe just how good our produce is in Australia – so often less is more.

Pub restaurants as higher-end dining destinations are really taking off in Sydney. Why are they becoming so popular?

Australia has a strong pub culture and in recent years, especially with the explosion of food shows, magazines etc.  Going to a pub restaurant is more approachable than fine-dining but with the same emphasis on quality in flavour and service. We try to aim to be the place you can come to a few times a week, rather than the place you would just go to for special occasions, which I think is something that fine-dining restaurants would have to struggle with.

What is your take on Sydney’s restaurant scene at the moment? What trends do you see over the next few years?

There are so many fantastic diverse eating options around Sydney. I can’t believe how many new restaurants open monthly, I think chefs are sticking to the basics in their own manner. We have headed away from over-complicated dishes that they don’t understand and are heading towards more nose to tail eating with simple garnishes. Sustainability eating is a growing trend and the awareness of lowering food miles, regional cuisine is becoming more popular than the eclectic mix that we have seen in the past.

Where do you see yourself in five years time/ ten years time?

Never mind five years, I will be 80 and still doing the same food I’m doing today.  I would love to head back to Europe one day with the freshness of what we do out here and the techniques I have developed.

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