Max Crawford has a "less is more" attitude to cooking inspired by his travels through Europe.
"I like to cook simply and humbly," the head chef at new Lambton bar and restaurant Eldaba says.
"I tend to cook with modest ingredients, ingredients that are often dismissed or overlooked and seafood that's sustainable.
"I'm big into using spice to give a little push, that's why I love those bright, fresh eastern Mediterranean flavours."
Eldaba opened three weeks ago at the former Rosa Bar on Elder Street owned by Maree and Murray Ruse, who also own Cargo Espresso Bar on the beach at Redhead. Rosa was a Spanish tapas bar while Eldaba's menu concentrates on central and eastern Mediterranean dishes.
"It is no secret that there is a severe shortage of skilled labour in the hospitality sector post-COVID," Maree Ruse says.
"When Max contacted us, we thought it was too good to be true but, after catching up a couple of times, we were thrilled to find he is the real deal. Very experienced, very focused in the kitchen with a lot to teach those around him, and putting out really, really beautiful food.
"Max was looking for a venue where he could put his signature on the menu and we were looking for a chef who could manage all the moving parts of a busy kitchen as well as maintaining our reputation for great food.
"The menu is entirely his design and he has sourced all of the ingredients from his preferred suppliers with a focus on local, sustainable and small batch supply. It's been fascinating to watch him pull it all together. I have total faith in what he is doing which allows me more time to focus on all the other areas of the business."
Crawford moved to Newcastle with his partner and newborn son just before Christmas. He was most recently head chef at Havilah Wine Bar in Launceston, and before that worked at Giulietta in Toronto, Canada, and Petersham Nurseries in London.
"I chose cookery as a career quite late in life," he says.
"It wasn't until my mid 20s that I chose to take this path. I guess living in London, which has such a huge melting pot of cultures and food, inspired me."
And then he was introduced to Sicilian cuisine.
"I was really taken aback by how simple their cookery was but how much it delivered on flavour, so I draw on those simple approaches and take a little pinch of the vibrancy of the eastern Mediterranean," he explains.
"We work with Newcastle Greens and they've supplied us with some striped eggplants which we'll slowly cook in olive oil and dress in a spicy Yemenite hot sauce, zhoug. It's flavoured with mint, coriander and cardamom, and I could drink a bucket of it!
"And the fritti romani are delicious with a cold beer. They're deep-fried anchovies sandwiched between sage leaves in a light crispy batter."
Ruse started working in hospitality at age 14 as a waitress in a Mexican restaurant, going on to work in bars and pubs during her "travelling days". She was a fashion buyer for 15 years before opening Cargo Espresso in 2019.
"Cargo has had a little facelift and we've introduced a new acai and ice-cream soft-serve machine. It has been a huge hit this summer," she says.
"After the wave came through the kiosk about a year ago we had to replace all of the equipment and repair some of the fit-out so we took the opportunity to make some improvements.
"We honestly struggle to find time to run both venues but we have a very strong manager at Redhead and some of our team down there have been with us since we opened. We also have a great little team at Eldaba so we muddle through!"
Feedback from Eldaba customers has been positive, she says, with "lots of support from loyal regulars".
"We've kept the same share plate model as before which creates such a fun, communal vibe," she continues.
"The dishes are lighter and more elegant but absolutely full of flavour. Eldaba needs a little moment to find its feet. We have our eye on a Sunday sesh - nothing too rowdy - just long lunches, jugs of cocktails, great wines. It's in the works.
"We trialled breakfasts last winter and they were a huge hit so that's on the cards as well. We've always wanted to do days on Elder Street. It's such a sunlit space and coffee will always be our first love. We just need to find the time to get that off the ground."
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