Monarch Group expands into Liverpool
TV chef Colin Fassnidge is working with the team from the Banksia Bistro in Sydney's south, chef Leigh McDivitt and business partner Clayton Ries, to take the brand to Sydney’s south-west.
The plan is to transform Liverpool's Macquarie Hotel.
"We've quietly started there. We haven't put our name (on the door) but we've taken over the bistro and our food is going out," the My Kitchen Rules chef told Good Food.
It all started this month.
And to kick it off, suckling pig sausage rolls and lamb shoulder dishes from the Banksia Bistro have been put on the Macquarie’s opening menu.
The plans for the Macquarie are all part of the Monarch Group’s vision to turn the pub into a key destination for the people of Liverpool. The renewal of the bistro is all part of their vision.
McDivitt and Ries are looking to make as much in-house as possible with a big focus in seasonal produce.
And of course, Liverpool has a sizeable population from Europe so the menu is being designed for them with dishes like the lasagne spring role, filled with beef lasagne and topped with basil and chilli salt. Or there are the desserts like the brownies served with stout cream, Jack Daniels ice cream, laced with salted caramel and honeycomb.
Fassnidge however says the push west is about as far as they’ll go. There are no plans to expand the empire much further.
"I reckon that's about it," he told Good Food.
Still, the word is Fassnidge is looking to come back to pubs after leaving Paddington's Four in Hand.
The talk around the traps is he is looking at some of the pubs for sale closer to the city: "Now we want one of our own. Paddo or near the city would be perfect," he told Good Food.
by Leon Gettler, August 30th 2017
