If you've taken a road trip north from Newcastle along the Pacific Highway in recent years, chances are you've spotted The Artisan Farmer at Nabiac.
The purpose-built barn-style building is a cafe, licensed bar, farm-gate butchery, bakery, coffee roastery and deli, making it an ideal stop for travellers. There is plenty of space for bored children to run around, too.
The paddock-to-plate regional farm experience on four acres was the brainchild of Peter Doyle. He opened it in 2022, and has just sold it to former Domino's director, Grant Bourke.
Doyle will continue to supply wagyu produce to The Artisan Farmer under its new ownership.
Bourke said this week his aim was to preserve what people already love about The Artisan Farmer while enhancing the experience over time.
"At this stage, we aren't making any major changes to the menu. The Artisan Farmer's strength lies in its in-house commitment to quality, from the bakery and butcher to the kitchen and coffee roastery," he said.
"Our initial focus is on consistency, execution, and celebrating the products we already produce exceptionally well. Over time, we plan to refine seasonal offerings and highlight the incredible produce available across the Mid North Coast, so guests can experience the region with every visit."
Bourke said The Artisan Farmer was hoping to expand its team and training programs, with a view to gradually increasing trading hours in the future.
"Supporting local suppliers remains a priority. The business already has strong relationships with producers throughout the region, and we're meeting local growers and producers to further strengthen those partnerships," he said.
"Our decision to take on The Artisan Farmer was motivated by a belief that regional Australia deserves hospitality venues as outstanding as those in major cities. Our vision is simple: to make The Artisan Farmer the best regional food destination on the Mid North Coast, a place where locals gather regularly and visitors make a point of stopping."
Last week Hunter Valley Luxury Hotels announced the first new-build luxury resort development in the Hunter Valley in two decades: Laval at Pokolbin.
Its signature restaurant, Vallery, will feature an "ever-evolving a la carte menu informed by a Mediterranean expression of Provence, coastal Spain and Southern Italy, with subtle influences of Japan."
I asked Laval's creative culinary director Justin North what Vallery's point of difference will be in the Hunter Valley.
"There is not one singular element that will give Laval and Vallery its uniqueness, but rather a collection of notable 'ingredients'," he replied.
"Amazing produce, wonderful engaging staff, views of the garden and valley, live cooking, interior design, ambience and a sense of fun that will all contribute to giving Vallery a true sense of place and point difference, a feeling that you are somewhere new, somewhere different."
Vallery will seat about 90 people, with a private dining room catering for 12 to 14 guests.
North said work had begun on the restaurant's kitchen garden, which would be "the guiding force for the menus, including heritage and heirloom varieties, natives and Japanese botanicals".
"We are also developing a network of local suppliers, growers and artisans, with consideration for the unique micro seasons of the area," he said.
Laval Hunter Valley is expected to open in about 12 months' time.
Meet Sam Chatloup. He joined Newcastle's George Darby Hotel in March as head chef.
Chatloup grew up in Tasmania, where he developed his passion for fresh seafood, local produce and classic French-style cooking techniques. As a first-year apprentice he worked alongside Neil Perry and Tetsuya Wakuda at the Taste of Summer Tasmania Festival.
Prior to joining the George Darby Hotel, Chatloup lead kitchens at Heron Island and Wilson Island, worked at Emirates One and Only Wolgan Valley Resort in the Blue Mountains, Strom in Perth, and as a private chef on luxury boats.
"We are so delighted that Sam has joined the George Darby family. It was serendipitous how we came to meet Sam," George Darby Hotel owner Cath Antaw said.
"Andrew Cowmeadow is our head chef at the Great Northern Hotel Teralba and is also from Tasmania. He worked with Sam in Western Australia and kept telling Sam he should do himself a favour and move to Newcastle.
"We were on the lookout for a new head chef and, as they say, the rest is history."
Chatloup's arrival coincided with a shake-up of the menu at George Darby Hotel.
"The menu includes some exciting dishes that are new to the Newcastle dining scene including fish collars, Hokkaido scallops en croute and coffee-roasted beetroot, as well as a gentle twist on your favourites such as limoncello and thyme granita oysters, house-made prawn toast, pork cotoletta and slow-roasted lamb shoulder," Antaw said.
"Of course we haven't forgotten the traditional pub classics, either."
George Darby Hotel's weekly Mystery Monday, where guests pay just $45 and are treated to a surprise three-course meal, was a drawcard for Chatloup.
"I love challenging myself and keeping things interesting," he said.
"Mystery Monday gives me the opportunity week in and week out to both surprise the guests and keep the kitchen team on their toes, pushing the boundaries of culinary excellence."
The George Darby Hotel is open seven days, with all-day dining available from 11am until 9pm.
Krinklewood Estate is hosting an afternoon of wine, art and conversation this Saturday, noon to 3pm, to celebrate its 2026 Orange Wine launch.
Sauvage: Art Exhibition & 2026 Orange Wine Launch begins with a glass of blanc de blanc and roaming canapes, followed by a seated, seasonal lunch and a cheese course to finish.
The main course will be paired with the 2026 Orange Wine, which is crafted from 100 per cent Gewurztraminer.
Krinklewood Estate general manager Stephane Pommier said this year's Orange was "expressive, textural, and quietly wild; the perfect companion to Sauvage, a new body of work by contemporary artist Marisabel Gonzalez".
Sauvage explores the vineyard as a living organism, shaped by cycles of growth, exhaustion, resilience and return.
At Saturday's lunch guests will hear from Marisabel and the Krinklewood team as they share the story behind the wine and the works, opening into a relaxed Q&A.
As part of the launch, Krinklewood will be auctioning the original artwork featured on the Orange wine label, Under The Weight of Summer.
Special cellar door offers and limited edition prints will be available on the day.
Tickets are $150 per person and on sale now.
