WRITTEN BY OUR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SARAH LANG

WRAP UP OF NEWS AND HAPPENINGS IN OUR REGION

A lot of creatures hibernate in Winter but chefs, restauranteurs and café owners are not normal creatures. This month, Richard Cornish chats to chef Kazuki Tsuya about the big changes afoot with iconic Daylesford restaurant Kazuki’s. (See page 13.) And we can’t get enough of the newly opened Hotel Frangos in the former Belvedere Social space. (see page 27.)

Kyneton’s Piper Street has a new café that will make any Melburnian caffeine addict weep with joy. Kimberley Nuttall-Smith and her partner Sarp Soysal dreamt of a country lifestyle and completely fell in love with the historic charm of Piper St and the close-knit community of Kyneton. So they packed up their lives in Melbourne and headed north – opening GroundWork Co. in Piper Street. Whilst this is their first venture into owning a café, the pair have an extensive background working in cafes and specializing in seriously good coffee was a priority. Traditional espresso-based beverages plus single origin filter coffee comes from Five Senses and the small but growing menu relies almost exclusively on local produce and makers with the main staple being a choice of five baguettes with bread freshly baked in-house throughout the day. “Our most popular baguette is the vegan cheese”, laughs Kimberley, “Even meat eaters love it!”. It is stuffed full of cheese, fresh tomato, basil and a sticky balsamic. We can understand its popularity.
Groundwork Co. 46 Piper St Kyneton;
Open 6 days 8am-4pm (closed Wed);
www.groundworkco.com.au

Daylesford also gained a serious new café in July with the former Awkward Jeffrey space being re-opened as Pancho. New owners Lauren Bieber and Tom Crowe are café veterans having owned Mixed Business in Clifton Hill amongst other restaurants for close to ten years. Also recent tree-changers, this talented couple have reopened the space with an exciting menu, ridiculously good coffee and a lovely cosy atmosphere. We’re already addicted to several things on the all-day breakfast menu including the golden syrup cinnamon porridge with roasted pear and quince yoghurt and the pork belly poached eggs; a delicious twist on eggs and bacon with a sizeable piece of slow roasted then pan fried free-range pork belly, a mushroom ketchup and potato rosti. A small but tight lunch menu adds another 5 or so dishes to the offering with proper soup (we had roasted parsnip, thyme and goat cheese) and toast, freshly made rolls and a couple of hearty salads. Coffee is by Wide Open Road in Brunswick, but beers, ciders and wines are all locally sourced. Call ahead and they will happily package up your order for a quick and easy takeaway.
Pancho, 117 Vincent St Daylesford; open w'days 7:30am-3:30pm; w'end 8am-3:30pm; closed tues. www.panchocafe.com.au

The Harvest Café in Daylesford is a true stalwart in the region having been around since the ‘90’s in one form or another. It is about to get a giant breath of fresh air with new owners Laura and Stuart Oates committed to maintaining its integrity whilst bringing in some new changes including staying open until 4pm on Sundays. A Ned Kelly wood heater has been installed for the current weather and a new garden courtyard will be opening soon for when Spring arrives. Locals and visitors alike will be thrilled that bulk nuts, grains and fruits are coming back as are local produce boxes for collection delivery and a much wider range of fresh organic fruit and vegetables. Harvest Café, 29 Albert St Daylesford; 5348 4022.

On the festival front – the upcoming Kyneton Music Festival has announced their line-up for the massive two-day party in the park. Australian rock icon Adalita, along with beach-pop outfit Sonny & The Sunsets, psych-pop toons from Moonlover, sixties garage pop sweetness The Pink Tiles and trop-pop party band Mighty Duke & The Lords are just a few who will be entertaining crowds from midday and well into the evening on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 October. Last year’s festival sold out quickly so get in quick. $99 weekend pass/$75 Saturday pass. kynetonmusicfestival.com.au

ChillOut Festival, Australia’s largest and longest running regional queer festival is on the hunt for new committee members and volunteers to help run this hugely successful 4-day event held every long weekend in March. Festival Director Merryn Tinkler says “The festival is the largest festival in the region and it takes an enormous amount of volunteer help to make it work. We need some new faces to ensure that the festival is fresh, with new ideas and continues to be the leading tourism drawcard in the region.” They are seeking people with a variety of skills from all walks of life. The festival committee recently undertook a series of community forums seeking feedback and additional volunteers are sought to help bring a lot of the great ideas from the feedback to life. Interested peeps can email admin@chilloutfestival.com.au

Got news to share? Drop us a line at
found@lostmagazine.com.au