Next year it will be 20 years since Nagisa Japanese Restaurant opened at Newcastle's Honeysuckle dining strip.
Twenty years. That's a good innings, particularly given the turmoil of the past three.
And during those 20 years owner Taiyo Namba and his team have never become complacent. They've never let their standards slip.
Head chef Chris Schofield has been the anchor steadying the ship. Nagisa's two degustation dinners with The Farmer's Wife Distillery earlier this month gave this quietly-spoken and humble chef the opportunity to shine.
"This collaboration was a bit of a guilty pleasure for me," Schofield says.
"As a lover of gin and a big fan of Farmer's Wife, it was an exciting prospect to be able to work with Kylie Sepos and incorporate the native Australian flavours of her gin into a Japanese setting.
"The menu was heavily inspired by the flavours and dishes we encountered when in Japan for Taiyo's wedding in April. We visited a lot of local gin distilleries and ate an obscene amount of food while travelling the country. This event was about bringing that incredible experience back to Newcastle and sharing it with our customers."
He used the four seasonal variations of Farmer's Wife gin as a guide when creating the menu.
"Rather than just try to match each dish with a cocktail, they developed together, mixing and matching the flavours of food and drink so that the cocktails became part of the dish rather than an addition."
Let's look at his menu, course by course.
First course: Sydney rock oysters, cucumber and pickled ginger mignonette; and an Autumn Dry Gin classic G&T.
"This dish was about introducing the flavours of the Farmer's Wife signature gin with simple flavours and a Japanese twist ... a classic gin and cucumber pairing adding Japanese pickled ginger to pick up the sweet and spicy notes of pepperberry and native honey and to refresh the palate," Schofield says.
Second course: lightly torched Port Lincoln sardines, warm oil of lemon myrtle, juniper and finger lime, Japanese pickles, caramelised yuzu, umami butter and toasted shokupan milk bread; Summer Spritz Gin, salted black lime gimlet, fresh lime juice, black lime cordial, lime salt.
"A fun take on sardines on toast for all of our customers that grew up with them, and a recent favourite of mine, with a citrus-based cocktail to help cut through the oiliness of the sardines. Juniper berries and myrtle give that gin flavour, Japanese pickles add a freshness and acidity to pick up the citrus in the gimlet and accentuate the addition of the Tamberlaine sauvignon blanc grapes in the gin."
Third course: Flinders Island sashimi calamari, clarified tomato and white balsamic jelly, peach mint cucumber and heirloom tomato salad, yellow mustard seed pickle, basil oil; Autumn Dry Gin, crystal snapper, clarified tomato, yuzu, crystal soy, umami bitters, celery salt.
"A red snapper is one of my favourite ways to kick of a holiday morning, but not everyone loves a glass of tomato juice," Schofield explains.
"With this dish we tried to make a more refreshing, accessible version with a light clarified tomato, replacing the classic Worcestershire with soy sauce and yuzu juice, umami bitters I bought in Tokyo add depth to the flavour, complimenting the herbal and citrus notes of the gin.
"For me, nothing goes better with a red snapper than seafood, and sashimi calamari is something we haven't done before at Nagisa. The flavour and texture are maybe not something not many people are familiar with, so incorporating that into a lighter style salad made it more accessible and balanced the slightly heavier flavours of the cocktail."
Fourth course: miso honey marinated Pukura Estate lamb backstrap, mixed grain rice, butter roast vegetables with charred cabbage and nori, pickled cucumber chimichurri, Hokkaido soup curry reduction; Warm Winter Gin reverse martini, Oka Kura Bermutto sake vermouth, Hinoki Bitters.
"Two of my favourite dishes in Japan were soup curry from Hokkiado and Gyutan from Sendai," Schofield says.
"The Warm Winter gin, aged in peated whiskey barrels from Black Gate Distillery, was the perfect match for both of these, so we figured why not mix them together?
"Gyutan is traditionally made with thinly sliced, marinated beef tongue grilled on an open flame, we instead used the Pukura Estate lamb backstrap to maintain the richness of the dish, adding a hint of honey for that warm winter sweetness.
"Smokiness and umami from the charred cabbage and nori play with the peat and whiskey notes from the gin. We reduced the soup curry base to a sauce to bring together the rich floral and citrus notes in the gin and the Japanese vermouth."
Fifth course: Hokkaido cheese tart with lemon myrtle and macadamia crust, cherry and sage jam, bee pollen and citrus dust; Sweet Spring Gin spritz with mixed berry shrub, prosecco, bee pollen and citrus toffee.
"Hokkaido is renowned for its dairy products and one of the most famous is the cheese tart - and I am obsessed," Schofield says.
"There's a slight tanginess and umami from the addition of parmesan to the sweetness of honey and vanilla. The Sweet Spring gin is aged in sweet vermouth barrels from Margan winery giving it floral notes of cherry blossom, vanilla a little spice and citrus.
"We concentrated on these flavours with a mixed berry shrub in the spritz through the cherry and sage jam for the dish, adding lemon murtle, macadamia and bee pollen to round out the flavours of both dessert and gin."
Keep an eye out for the next event at Nagisa Japanese Restaurant, or just book a table on a weeknight. The experience is always of a high standard, no matter the occasion or the day of the week.
Read more: Warm up at Ape, Nagisa and Susuru this winter
BIG BLUE TABLE
Spicers Guesthouse at Pokolbin are hoping to raise $50,000 for Beyond Blue at a long lunch this Sunday, October 22, noon onwards. It's called Big Blue Table.
Hosted by Beyond Blue Director and Hunter Valley local Johanna Griggs, guests will be treated to a four-course menu from on-site restaurant eRemo with matching wines from First Creek, Silkman and Tyrrell's, and beer from IronBark Hill. There will be entertainment and auctions throughout the afternoon.
Tickets are $159 and available at spicersretreats.com or bigbluetable.com.au.
SHORT AND SWEET
Beach Life has returned to Newcastle SLSC, 11am to 7pm, all weekend. Enjoy oysters, $5 schooners and $6 seltzers, wine, live music, and that view.
Nineteen Hunter Valley's dumpling bar opens on October 20.
Martha is opening soon in Belmont. Watch this space.
Jjindakk Korean Fried Chicken's Hamilton restaurant has a tentative opening date of November 1.
Save the date: Mayfield Multicultural Festival & Food Fair is on November 11.
A CARING PARTNERSHIP
Australian Hotels Association NSW - Newcastle Hunter Sub-Branch and Lifeline Hunter have entered a three-year partnership with a view to educating hospitality staff on how to better engage with patrons.
AHA NSW - Newcastle Hunter Sub-Branch will provide ongoing financial support to the organisation while Lifeline Hunter will host a series of In Conversation Lifeline Mental Health Talks to train hospitality staff on how to best engage with patrons who come in looking for a chat and a shoulder to lean on.
"As a sub-branch we provide more than $100,000 to charity organisations every year and this partnership with Lifeline is a perfect fit," AHA NSW - Newcastle Hunter Sub-Branch president Mick Starkey said.
"Our front-facing staff are at the coalface each and every day interacting with patrons who often come into a pub looking for a friendly face and open ear.
"We believe this training will be invaluable in teaching them how to provide engagement in a positive way ... and also help in learning how to not take the concerns of others home at the end of the shift."
If this story raises issues for you, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or 13 YARN on 13 92 76.
