A new luxury retreat has unveiled some big guns ahead of its opening later this year.
The Grand Saddles Lodge, the luxury retreat coming to the Saddles Mount White precinct north of Sydney, has appointed Jason White as executive chef, snaring one of Australia’s leading emerging culinary talents.
White will shape the culinary direction across the Lodge’s signature restaurant, The Hawkesbury, Art Deco-inspired piano bar Ned’s, and in-house dining.
He will be joined by Zoe Brunton as sommelier, overseeing the Lodge’s wine program and Wine Room, while Marlon Kigonya has been appointed hospitality director across the wider Saddles Mount White precinct.
The Grand Saddles Lodge, the luxury retreat coming to the Saddles Mount White precinct north of Sydney, has appointed Jason White as executive chef, snaring one of Australia’s leading emerging culinary talents.
White will shape the culinary direction across the Lodge’s signature restaurant, The Hawkesbury, Art Deco-inspired piano bar Ned’s, and in-house dining.
He will be joined by Zoe Brunton as sommelier, overseeing the Lodge’s wine program and Wine Room, while Marlon Kigonya has been appointed hospitality director across the wider Saddles Mount White precinct.
White joins The Grand Saddles Lodge from multi-award-winning regional Victorian destination restaurant Brae, where he was head chef, following experience in some of Sydney’s most acclaimed kitchens, including Firedoor, Spice Temple, Rockpool, Sepia, Sixpenny and Saint Peter, as well as Noble Rot and Bonhams in London, and Fäviken in Sweden.
At The Hawkesbury, White will work with trusted farmers, growers, fishers and makers from the Central Coast, Hawkesbury and further afield, with cooking over fire featuring throughout.
A keen gardener, White will also draw inspiration and ingredients from the Lodge’s on-site herb and vegetable gardens as they evolve throughout the seasons.
“As a chef, you don’t often get the opportunity to shape a restaurant like this from the very beginning," he said.
"I’ve been fortunate to work in places where the journey and the setting are as much a part of the experience as what arrives on the plate, and that’s what excites me about The Hawkesbury. We have an incredible landscape, exceptional produce on our doorstep and the opportunity to create a restaurant people will genuinely want to travel for.”
Brunton was previously head sommelier at Sydney restaurants Monopole and Olympus, while Kigonya has two decades of experience spanning the Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group, Sydney’s Kensington Street dining precinct, Love Tilly Group and Two Good Co.,
# Saddles Mount White is a 28-acre bushland destination located just 45 minutes north of Sydney. See grandsaddleslodge.com.au
Image: Hannah Harlow
