Lost Magazine February 2019

YOURS TO KEEP VOL 19 ISSUE 181

LOST FEATURE

The Palais-Hepburn has been reborn and it is beautiful. The 92-year-old dance hall in Hepburn Springs’ main drag has undergone refurbishment and remodelling and has emerged as a smooth, mature and luxurious palace of entertainment. Richard Fanale is one half of the team behind the revamp, along with his business partner Brendan Wykes. Richard is a former furniture importer and interior designer. The family that owns the building brought him onto the Palais project last year to breathe new life into the old girl. The former dance hall turned modern music venue had seen better days and the downstairs loos had a reputation that preceded them.

“I did not start with a master plan,” says Richard as he sits in a comfortable velvet upholstered chair in the lounge by the foyer. We are surrounded by plush furnishings, richly

coloured deep blue carpet underfoot, warm lighting from above lots of discreet reflective surfaces to catch glimpses of others in the room. “I worked with the building, letting its old walls and shapes inform the decisions I was making.” He stops short of saying that the Palais was telling him how to redecorate it – but you feel that was where he was heading. During this period Richard began to feel an idea growing inside his brain. He describes how a gradual, natural progression made him realise that the natural way forward was for him to buy the business from the owners.

He had once been a chef and worked around Europe for 10 years and had vowed to himself never to do hospitality ever again. “Slowly a business model evolved,” he says, a negroni with fat blocks of ice sitting front of him. “It was a slow revelation, but I could see how I could work with the Palais,” remembers Richard.

Left: Richard Fanale. Photography by Richard Cornish. This page: Live Music. Photography by Rowena Naylor

LOST MAGAZINE | 9

LOST FEATURE

The new iteration of the Palais sees the stage of the main theatre wrapped in deep blue velvet curtains and the downlit bar a smooth vision of gold and silver. The classical frieze above has been freed of its former skin of pink paint. With small tables and balloon backed chairs lining the walls they leave the sprung hardwood dance floor free for perfect sight lines to the stage. Next door to this is the lounge bar, a more intimate and set up for solo acts and duos. The new wine bar is a luxurious addition to the local hospitality scene. Softly lit with a stone topped bar and lined with chair, tables and couches, the space is set up for a place to come to meet people, have a drink or two and be seen. The wine list reflects Richard’s love of both local and European wines along with a good selection of cocktails.

The food offering is elegant and simple: charcuterie, cheese, small plates. Later in the season high tea will be served.

Although the new Palais-Hepburn was christened with the inaugural Circus and Cabaret Festival in November, the real, big opening happens on February 22. This is a free event that starts at 7pm and presents cabaret artist Miss Sina King and is followed by DJ Hotwheels playing until late. This is followed the next day with Dan Sultan. Come March, Palais-Hepburn will become a hub for the Chillout Festival. In the meantime, come in for a drink - the bar is open.

111 Main Rd, Hepburn Springs; 03 53481000 Thu-Sat 12pm-1am, Wed & Sun 12pm-11pm; palais-hepburn.com

Below: Palais-Hepburn has undergone a complete transformation. Photography by Rowena Naylor

10 | LOST MAGAZINE

LOST EAT

The Worldly Chef

STORY AND PICTURES BY RICHARD CORNISH

12 | LOST MAGAZINE

LOST EAT

It is mid-morning on a clear summer’s day and Hepburn Springs chef and restaurant owner David Willcocks is preparing for the evening service. Deliveries are dropped off at The Surly Goat, a casual restaurant housed in a little weatherboard building, shaded by sprawling trees on theedge of the Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve. The site has long been a café or restaurant and holds a special place in the hearts of many locals. David Willcocks came to the Surly Goat as a chef. He had been working between ‘The Goat’ and the charcoal fuelled kitchen at Passing Clouds at Musk and was looking to make the move from chef to restaurateur. “It was time to make the plunge and a conversation started up with The Goat’s owners’ Simon Bevanda and Vanessa Kalamistrakis,” he explains. “It all happened quite naturally. It was less a sale and more a commercial succession,” says David with a smile.

“He showed us how to season a dish without using plain salt”

The Mount Evelyn born chef has an unassuming nature that belies his impressive CV. The first chef he worked under was the Yarra Valley’s legendary Gary Cooper. “He taught me to embrace the seasons and cook with what the growers were bringing in the kitchen door,”says the David with his gentle demeanour. “The older I get the more his teaching influences me.” In 2001 David moved to Melbourne and worked with ground breaking chef Teage Ezard at his eponymous restaurant. “He showed us how to season a dish without using plain salt,” remember David. Instead Teage not only used fermented sauces such as soy, fish sauce to add layers of flavour to his dishes. “Teage also eschewed white starch such as plain rice and potato instead looking at more flavourful vegetables instead,” he says. “I also learned a lot about cooking under pressure.”

LOST MAGAZINE | 13

LOST EAT

David moved to Amsterdam in 2003, capital of his mother’s home country, where he cooked under Schilo Van Coevorden in a restaurant housed former music conservatorium. There the kitchen team needed to create dishes that matched the colour scheme of the old building and the shapes and forms of its architecture. David followed Schilo to the south of Spain where he discovered the delights of casual dining in the bars and on the beaches between Malaga and Cadiz. After cooking around Europe, David returned to Australia moving to Hepburn Springs in 2012 to cook at The Argus. In 2015 he helped set up the remarkably simple menu at Passing Clouds and then, on October 17 last year, he took over The Surly Goat.

The food is beautifully simple while packing a punch when it comes to flavour. The small dining room, with its bare hardwood floors and wooden tables is complemented with a popular

bar that seats 12. The small plates menu offers finger food such as béchamel based croquettas to juicy bronze lamb meatballs sitting on grain and yoghurt salad. For mains, look for grilled steak and crumbed pork chop all backed by a compact wine list hand-picked sommelier Stacey Lee Edwards from award winning Geelong restaurant Igni.

Under David, The Surly Goat has retained all its intimate charm and hospitality. Simon Bevanda has stayed on, working front of house, and the focus on local produce continues to expand. “It is such a good place to become the owner,” says David. “There was always something special here.”

The Surly Goat, 3 Tenth St, Hepburn Springs; Tue-Sat 5pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 12pm-3pm; 03 5348 2648; thesurlygoat.com.au

LOST MAGAZINE | 15

A New Brew

STORY AND PICTURES BY RICHARD CORNISH

LOST DRINK

LOST MAGAZINE | 17

LOST DRINK

The new Holgate Brewhouse is a

complex machine of interconnected stainless steel tanks, tuns, pipes and hoppers. The purpose-built brewery in the heart of Woodend has been years in the planning and will allow the 20 year old craft brewery to expand production from the present 600 000 litres per annum to 5 millions litres within five years. The process has been slow. Deliberately so. Brewer Paul Holgate was keen to expand the business without killing the goose that laid the golden egg, in this case the inimitable authentic flavours of his range of beers. “Some small brewers get bigger by taking their product to contract brewers and, in doing so,” says the energetic beer maker, “they lose control of the process, their flavour. Their identity.”

The Holgate Brewhouse started as a backyard operation in 1999 when young scientists, husband and wife, Paul and Tasha Holgate began to brew beer in the back shed of their Woodend home. “There was not a huge online community back then,” says Paul. “So we did a lot of research reading books and much of

the brewing information back then was all European.” Some of the first brews they made were in the European tradition including the pale straw coloured hefeweizen or wheat beer made in the Bavarian style. This beer is still being poured at the historic Holgate Brewhouse pub, the 1896 former Keating’s Commercial Hotel. The Holgates bought this grand old dame in 2002 and it stands next to the new factory and beer discovery centre. The old pub’s interior has great examples of interwar interiors including Arts and Crafts style lead lighting. Upstairs there is comfortable, modern spacious accommodation while downstairs is the dining room and bar.

Along the bar are 13 taps, fresh from the keg. Paul orders a tasting paddle of eight 90ml shots. This is very popular with visitors and costs $20. “I never have favourite beers and I never order a pint,” he explains. With his scientific background he prefers ordering smaller serves and ‘researching’ as many beers as possible instead of settling back into one he is comfortable with. He is recognised as a founding brewer of craft beers in Australia

18 | LOST MAGAZINE

LOST DRINK

and, with his extensive understanding of brewing techniques and beer styles across the globe, is also a beer judge at competitions here and overseas.

While he has found a new generation of beer fans with his sour fruit beers, made in the Belgian style, it is the classic range of Holgate Brewhouse beers I love the best. For me the ESB or Extra Special Bitter style is my favourite. Slightly malty, barely prickling with gas with a mildly bitter hops finish, it reminded me of the great bitters of Northern England when I first tried them 16 years ago. Now when I drink ESB, it reminds me of all the great pints I have had in the pubs around Central Victoria – listening to blues at the Radio Springs Hotel, knocking back a glass at a pub in Castlemaine. Holgate’s beers are more than about quenching thirst. They create memories and a relationship with the beers themselves. Happy 20th Holgate Brewhouse.

Every month this year, Holgate Brewhouse is releasing a special birthday beer. To keep in contact visit holgatebrewhouse.com.au

79 High Street, Woodend; (03) 5427 2510, Daily 12pm-11pm

Passing Clouds Winery

cellar door & Dining Room9 minutes from daylesford

Cellar Door 7 days 10am-5pm Dining Room Friday - Monday for Lunch

30 Roddas Lane Musk VIC 3461 passingclouds.com.au | (03) 5348 5550

For Dining Room reservations: feast@passingclouds.com.au

LOST MAGAZINE | 19

LOST PRODUCE

Slow Flower Power

STORY AND PICTURES BY RICHARD CORNISH

20 | LOST MAGAZINE

LOST PRODUCE

The morning summer air is filled with the fragrance of a thousand roses. Row after row of roses are in full bloom, a palette of pink, apricot, deep red, white, cream and ochre. Above them is a riot of insects: bees, native bees, hover flies, tiny moths – all eager to feed on the heady nectar. The rows between the flower beds at Acre of Roses, a tiny farm in the heart of Trentham village, are soft underfoot, a sign of good soil management and organic techniques. Owner Sandy Roy is a woman with a vision and a mission. She is part of growing legion of flower growers in our region who have embraced the Slow Flower movement. “Did you know there is no Country of Origin labelling on flowers in Australia?” she asks rhetorically. “The cheap flowers in the supermarket could have been grown in Argentina or South Africa and you would never know it!” She draws a deep breath. She is fired up. “Those flowers are sprayed for bugs before they leave those countries and sprayed again with chemicals when they arrive in Australia.” She takes one of her beautiful fragrant roses

and draws it to her nose. “The first thing you do with a flower is smell it. You put it in your face. It could be full of chemicals!” She then says that there is an open known secret in the florist industry that pregnant women don’t handle imported flowers to protect their unborn children.

A founding member of the local Slow Flower association Consortium Botanicus, she started the garden on her half hectare block four years ago. She planted 40 different varieties of roses, 1500 bushes in all, from old fashioned David Austin roses to tighter hybrid tea roses. A bee lands on a bloom nearby. “We have six hives in the garden and very shortly will start to spin honey from the frames,” says Sandy. “It has a lovely rose aroma.” Walking along the rows the scent changes with each variety. From one comes a hint of cloves and citrus, from another almonds and apple. The sensation is as complex as it is mesmerising. Sandy holds regular workshops in the garden called Farmgate Sundays. These are three hour-long, hands on masterclasses that range from beekeeping to edible flowers to floral

LOST MAGAZINE | 21

LOST PRODUCE

therapy. In the floral therapy class, participants are blindfolded and encouraged to take in the aroma of different roses and describe the memories they evoke. All the workshops, including the upcoming series on sustainable closed loop farming, also offer light meals or refreshments cooked by Trentham chef Jochem Follink. (He also provides meals for the Acre of Roses accommodation - a suite of two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and living area with open fireplace and outdoor yoga area and hot tub overlooking the gardens.)

Participants in The Farmgate Sunday series have access to the roses to pick their own bouquet to take home. The cost of the masterclasses is an introductory special of $35. Bee Keeping Exploration, Feb 3; Floral Therapy & Mindfulness Session, Feb 10; Closed Loop Farming & Composting Skill Share, Feb 17; Edible Flower Experience with Lauren Matthews, Feb 24.

Acre of Roses blooms are sold at Trentham General and at the Trentham Farmers Market.

For details visit: www.acreofroses.com.au

LOST MAGAZINE | 23

LOST PLACES

The Last

Goodbye.

STORY BY RICHARD CORNISH.PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROWENA NAYLOR.

24 | LOST MAGAZINE

LOST PLACES

The Old Hepburn Hotel is closing up shop. The freehold has been sold and the new owners won’t be continuing the lease. A bastion of live Australian music for 16 years will fall silent and the district will lose one its most egalitarian and truly grass roots venues. Jason Dooley and his sister Amber Dooley owned the pub together from 2003 until 2014 when Amber became the sole licensee. While Amber is taking the move philosophically, Jason seems slightly sad. He was the main booking agent and brought some of Australia’s best acts to the old weatherboard pub that sits on the hill overlooking a gully on the road between Hepburn Springs and Newstead. “James Reyne, Deborah Conway, Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows,” he says, reeling off the names of the acts who have performed at the Old Hepburn. Amber adds, “Mia Dyson, Jordie Lane and don’t forget Liz

Stringer!” “Yeah, Liz Stringer,” says Jason excitedly. “She has always been a big supporter of the Hepburn.”

Why some of the nation’ best artists played in an old pub with a galvanised iron roof, some of the sheets close to lifting, with a small stage and interesting acoustics becomes self-evident after the first beer. The place reeks of character. It is a classic well-run pub on a backroad that looks after the locals first, the passion of the owners almost as well and everyone else is made to feel welcome. There are stories of lockouts that we are unable to publish here for obvious reasons. Some of the stories may involve nudity and farm animals – not at the same time – but they must remain forever locked behind those solid wooden doors. One story we have permission to retell involves a local bloke called Tom Manning. Jason tells the story well.

FARMGATE & DELI OPEN

36 WHEELERS HILL ROAD MUSK. PH 03 5348 3382.FARMGATE STORE & EURO DELI OPEN MON-FRI 8-4. SAT 9-2.

ISTRASMALLGOODS.COM.AU

LOST MAGAZINE | 25

LOST PLACES

"He was drinking with some other blokes who thought it would be a good idea to stir the old fella up. They bet him $100 that he couldn’t run to the top of Mannings Hill. Now from the veranda of the pub you feel like you can touch the top of the hill. But there is a steep gully full of scrub and bush covering a creek between the pub and the hill. So off he went, out into a pitch back night and they could hear him crashing about in the bush. About an hour goes by and there is a flame on top of Mannings Hill, the sign from old Tom that he’s reached the top. Torches at the pub are flashed back at him and about an hour later he comes back into the pub to collect his bet. The only trouble is that the blokes had already buggered off and left him with nothing but cuts and scratches."

It’s that sort of pub. A pub where legendary Aussie actor Bill Hunter regularly stopping by for a chicken kiev countery at the bar or Kasey Chambers coming for a mate’s gig and ending up being hauled from the audience to do a few numbers. That is what is going to be lost when The Old Hepburn turns the taps off the last time. While there is a full programme planned next month for ChillOut on the long weekend, Jason and Amber are planning one last hurrah the following weekend Fri 15 March – Sunday 17 March. The bill has yet to be released but the invitation is there for everyone to come and say goodbye to The Old Hepburn Hotel one last time.

236 Main Rd, Hepburn Springs, 5348 2207, oldhepburnhotel.com.au

LOST MAGAZINE | 27

Reasons To Get

5Lost...

LOST PLACES

COMPILED BY RICHARD CORNISH

Hanging Rock, Woodend at sunset.

1. One Ring to Bind Them

Thinking of making your own ring? Jeweller Bec Podolinsky from Pod Jewellery in Kyneton will show you how in her Kyneton workshop. She runs workshops, including wedding ring workshops, with a difference supplying all the tools, equipment, sterling silver, morning, lunch and afternoon tea and discounts on accommodation nearby. Her Silver Ring Workshops see you and just four others sit at a traditional jeweller’s bench and learn to use precision tools including callipers, files, pliers, hammers, a soldering torch, ring mandrel, punches and more. At the end of this fun class, you’ll take home your beautiful handmade sterling silver ring. The summer class is on February 10 with classes running in autumn on March 17 and April 6. This all-inclusive, one day workshop costs $330.

podjewellery.com.au

2. Bend It Like a Yogi

In the heart of the Wombat State Forest is the Rocklyn Ashram. This is a beautiful place where 5000 people come each year to experience traditional aspects of Yoga and Yogic lifestyle programs. The Rocklyn Yoga Ashram believe in the vision of sharing a diverse range of wellbeing programs to suit people from all walks of life seeking Yogic lifestyle and awareness practices. In a world that is time poor, they believe that individuals need an authentic place of retreat to rediscover inner balance and peace in a natural sustainable environment. The team behind Rocklyn Yoga Ashram believe in the vision of sharing a diverse range of wellbeing programs to suit people from all walks of life seeking Yogic lifestyle and awareness practices. In a world that is time poor, they believe that individuals need an authentic place of retreat to rediscover inner balance and peace in a natural sustainable environment. On February 10 they are holding a special one-day workshop which includes Yoga Asana and Pranayama practice, Meditative Bush Walk, Yoga Philosophy talk, Mantra Chanting session, Yogi – vegetarian lunch, morning and afternoon tea plus many good vibes.

Rocklyn Yoga Ashram, 393 Dean-Barkstead Road, Rocklyn; www.yogavic.org.au

LOST MAGAZINE | 33

LOST PLACES

3. Stars at Hanging Rock

Celebrate a belated Valentine’s Day on Saturday February 16 under the stars at Hanging Rock. Bring along a rug and a picnic and enjoy a screening of Peter Weir’s famous film “Picnic at Hanging Rock”. Adults $25 Children $10 Families $60

Saturday 16 February 7:00pm Hanging Rock; 139 South Rock Road, Woodend. Purchase tickets via www.mrsc.vic.gov.au/See-Do/Events

4. The Old Hepburn

We love the Old Hepburn pub, with her jaunty weatherboards, eight different parmas and pie of the day. It is also a great place to see live music. This month checkout Marty Luke playing on Saturday Feb 23 at 8pm. As his blurb reads, “Performing classic covers from the 40’s to now, Marty has a unique acoustic sound…. think old crow, Ryan Adams, Cam Kettle, The Pogues, Springsteen and the Goo Goo Doll rolled into one. His smoky vocals and bluesy finger styling work with a driving rhythm bring new and old tunes to life.” See you at the Old Hepburn.

The Old Hepburn Hotel; 236 Main Road, Hepburn Springs; 53482207; oldhepburnhotel.com.au

5. A night with Uncle Jack

Spend a night at the Theatre Royale with national treasure, award-winning actor, Aboriginal elder and activist Uncle Jack Charles (above), annotating his colourful life and brilliant career in words and music. Hosted by respected broadcaster Namila Benson plus special guests. Uncle Jack Charles is an actor, musician, potter and gifted performer, but in his 74 years he has also been homeless, a heroin addict, a thief and a regular in Victoria’s prisons. A member of the Stolen Generation, Jack has spent his life in between acting gigs, caught in the addiction/crime/doing time cycle. Today — no longer caught in the cycle — he lives to tell the extraordinary tale. Saturday March 2 at 8pm. The show goes for 3 hours with a 20 minute interval. Tickets $45.90.

Theatre Royal Castlemaine; 30 Hargraves St, Castlemaine; 03 5472 1196; theatreroyalcastlemaine.com.au

34 | LOST MAGAZINE