Featuring: Short Order, Jocelyn’s Provisions, Salon de Co…
FOR over a decade the talented team at Jocelyn’s Provisions has cornered the market in irresistible baked goods. Growing out of a humble little kitchen and shop in James St to a purpose-built state-of-the-art facility in Albion that is now home to a dedicated bread bakery, a sizeable multi-disciplinary kitchen where everything from fruit tarts to wedding cakes are made. It is separated from the team’s second shop by a glass viewing wall so customers can see all the baking and decorating action. A third shop popped up last Christmas at Camp Hill, awaiting the completion of the build of a permanent home in the southside enclave.
So with the cake dessert and pastry market sewn up, what could possibly be next? Good baking takes time, cakes rise, breads are slow ferments and layered special occasion cakes cannot be rushed.
Enter Short Order, a new concept designed by the same team with long-term general manager Rosie Conway at the helm. Largely savoury based with a full range of sauces, dressings, dips and condiments to enhance the main event, free-range chickens, lamb and pork cooked on a French rotisserie alongside roasted root vegetables and a colourful array of salads, Short Order is a veritable haven for the time poor.
Serving coffee and delicious breakfast burgers, muffins, croque monsieurs, patisserie and more from 7am, hot chicken and jus rolls, salads and lunch boxes packed with roasted veggies smothered in romesco sauce or chimichurri, peanut and lime or yoghurt and dill, and whole chickens and roasts for dinner, Short Order is giving busy families a perfect home cooked meal without the preparation time. Haven, 2/63 Skyring Tce, Newstead; phone (07) 3252 9485.
The Emporium Complex in Fortitude Valley is largely known for three things – the elegant boutique hotel located in the centre of the bustling precinct, great shopping and Tartufo, one of Brisbane’s best loved Italian restaurants. Now Emporium has a southside location in the equally busy precinct of SouthBank. Emporium Hotel at Southbank opened in August with its signature restaurant Opal under the capable guidance of chef Josue Lopez who, until recently, wowed audiences at GoMA with his art-inspired dishes.
Opal, so named for Lopez’s increasing preoccupation with natural treasure and indigenous ingredients, land and seascapes as a backdrop to the locally procured produce of Moreton Bay and the rich hinterlands north and south of the city. Minjerribah (north Stradbroke Island) is one such spot that has inspired a seafood-rich creation for main courses and his signature dessert Fire of the Desert, the indigenous meaning of the name of the light refracting gemstone, is the edible embodiment of an opal. Emporium Hotel Southbank, 267 Grey St Southbank.
Salon de Co opened recently in the Inchcolm Hotel in Wickham Tce, just a few minutes from the centre of the CBD. The place has had many dining identities, the first of which was the highly acclaimed and eponymously named Armstrong’s, by legendary chef Russell Armstrong, when the hotel opened in the 2000s. Since then its numerous incarnations have been met with varying degrees of delight, but now it has been acquired by the Ovolo Group and extensive refurbishment by designer Anna Roberts to the front foyer and restaurant has ensued. Built in the 1800s, original design features have been highlighted and there’s an art deco overlay that references the 1920-’30s when the building housed medical rooms. Executive chef Anthony Hales worked at Alchemy, Esquire, Tartufo and Belle Epoque before taking up this latest challenge and his menu shows influence from these establishments as well as his work life and travels throughout Japan, Korea and Australia.
Oriental influences and native ingredients pepper the menu – kingfish with Illawarra plum and Mt Pepper pork with daikon and sesame and native thyme and wild herbs over tomatoes, but there’s also some strong Euro leanings in other dishes like beef with cabbage and horseradish, and barramundi with charred broccolini and turnips. Colourful ceramics and distinctly “of the moment” style plating add an edge and thoroughly modern feel to the food. 73 Wickham Tce, Spring Hill; phone (07) 3226 8888.
As if glamping in safari-style tents overlooking a lovely lagoon and under a canopy of ancient scribble gums and paperbark trees isn’t enough of an incentive to head for the hills, here’s the kicker, the location is smack bang in the middle of a winery! Sanctuary by Sirromet boasts 18 luxury tents surrounding the Merlot House guesthouse all located on Sirromet Estate, the family-run vineyard and winery at Mt Cotton. Fifteen of the tents are for couples, two for families and one is a dedicated bridal suite, and all feature king beds and en suites, deluxe linens, heating and airconditioning, wifi for those who still need that tie back to reality and a nicely stocked mini bar to help with relaxation and immersion into the charming surrounds. Breakfast hampers filled with everything from freshly baked viennoiserie, pots of granola and yoghurt and smoked salmon bagels arrive every morning, and lunch and dinner is available at the wineries on-site restaurants and cellar door. Sirromet Winery, 850 Mount Cotton Rd, Mount Cotton; phone (07) 3206 2999.