Tuesday marks the start of a new era at QT Newcastle, as popular and successful chef Shayne Mansfield officially takes over the hotel's dining venues.
Mansfield's latest position in Newcastle was at Flotilla, with that restaurant earning a "chef's hat" in the prestigious Good Food Guide during his tenure.
He left Flotilla late in 2022, and spent time concentrating on his hobby - making ceramics for kitchen and homewares. He created 600 pieces for King Living before answering the call from QT Newcastle general manager Michael Stamboulidis to join the hotel as executive chef.
"I'm always up for a challenge and I've definitely never done a hotel of this size before, so it's a different ballgame, a different kettle of fish," Mansfield said
He is in charge of the 50-seat fine dining Jana restaurant as well as the 70-seat ground floor Jana bar area, and the QT Rooftop Japanese-style bar, plus room service and breakfast.
He's running a staff of five in the main kitchen, with Sam McKinnon as the senior chef de party, plus one in the rooftop bar and two breakfast chefs.
Mansfield said the dining won't be as refined as it was when he operated the Flotilla kitchen, but his ethos and philosophy of quality produce and sustainable fare will be stamped on the QT.
"We need to have food that reflects the hotel, and it's a five-star hotel, beautiful," he said. "We need food that goes hand in hand with that."
He's described it as an "approachable" menu.
"We have steaks, if people come in and just want to have proteins. And then the ala carte menu, we've added things that are a bit more playful," he said.
"I've always said it's fun dining, approachable. things people can relate to, but they can't do at home."
The first seasonal menu features Margra lamb, with two pieces, one almost tomahawk-style in presentation served with seasonal vegetables. "There's a bit of trickery in there as well," he said, in a nod to the delicate presentation of vegetables.
Other signature dishes include carrot tartare, Game Farm quail and Rocky Point cobia fish.
"My approach to minimal food waste is a true passion and a key focus of mine," he said. "I'll continue to bring this to life with my time at Jana. It allows me to unlock new flavours through parts of produce that often would end up in landfill."
Mansfield pays tribute to his past with new twists, plating up modern versions of recipes created through his family's generations.
"Throughout the menu we've included my grandmother's pickling mix. We're batching this 20 litres at a time," he said.
Guests will enjoy pickled rhubarb in the snapper crudo, to pickled carrots in the carrot tartare.
Meanwhile, there will be new treats - still Japanese style - in the QT's rooftop bar.
"I wrote that menu with the concept, 'I'm going to have a few beers with my mates, what sort of menu do you want'. You want to eat food that is super tasty, moreish food. Food that you want to sit there all afternoon and eat," he said.
One of the new bar treats: a smoked eel pancake, with cured egg yoke and benito.
Mansfield's version of Jana will include private dining room functions - dining for 14 with a set menu served by the chefs; wine dinners, and guest chefs from around Australia.
In the simplest of terms, Mansfield said, "I'm excited."
Diners will be, too. The timing could not be better, as Newcastle's stature as a magnet for tourism grows, food is becoming one of its draw cards. The QT Newcastle has just added an ace to the deck.
