By Sacha Delfosse
Goldfish Hunter Valley is planning some major redevelopments this year, with the redesign of the interior area almost complete, and the outdoor area soon to be expanded and refurbished.
The new outdoor area will have a 400 person capacity, while the acquisition of more space will allow for an extension of the indoor trading area that will allow the venue to have up to 250 patrons inside.
An artist's impression of the new look.
In addition to the expanding renovations, Goldfish Hunter Valley has also appointed a new bar manager, Jamie Walker, a nine year hospitality veteran who has worked at some key cocktail bars in Sydney, Melbourne and his homeland of Scotland.
The former Scottish Bartender of the Year will be looking at giving tourists and locals in this rural region a truly world class cocktail bar experience , probably the only one in a 60km radius, and he will be showcasing some exciting wine based cocktails as well as hosing cocktail classes for the Hunter Region.
“We get a lot of people coming up to the Hunter Valley from Sydney, who are more used to cocktail bars, so we want to be able to give them something for them to get their teeth into it, I think many of them are not expecting to get cocktails up here, “ Walker explained.
“And then you have the locals, many are wine industry people who have a different palate… so we are doing things like wine cobblers, and we have the food and wine month in June so we are going to do some wine based cocktail for that.”
Walker says he is looking forward to the challenge of designing cocktail specials and a cocktail list using not just local wines but other Hunter Valley produce such as honey and jams.