Chef Ashley Patfield brings a world of fine-dining experience to Papatya cafe at Marks Point

They started a new life in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Marks Point, purchasing a house there and opening a cafe they named Papatya early last year.

"It was our dream to open Papatya for our daughters. We call them papatya when we speak to them. Also, papatya means daisy in Turkish and we wanted a Turkish-inspired menu and venue with a focus on natural influences," Sebiha explained.

Ashley Patfield is a chef who has worked at many quality restaurants in his time, and credits chef Guillaume Brahimi as being his greatest influence. But his love for cooking started much earlier, in the family home.

"My mother and grandmother were great cooks but it was my stepfather's mother who mostly influenced me," he said.

"I spent my school holidays at her house in Forster reading Gourmet Traveller magazines and cookbooks.

"I then decided I wanted to create the food I was reading about and decided to learn from the best I could. I started my apprenticeship at Guillaume at Bennelong and spent some time at the Observatory Hotel before finishing my apprenticeship at Donovans in Melbourne."

He worked for Guillame at his bistro in Melbourne for a year before taking on a pastry chef role at the Healesville Hotel.

"My boss there, Neil Cunningham, introduced me to Middle Eastern influences," Patfield said.

"I then moved to London and did a stint at The Fat Duck before taking on a job with Marcus Wareing. He taught me a lot about organisation and running a kitchen, and with him I also learnt modern British cuisine and to play around with different flavours a bit more."

Patfield returned to Sydney and worked Est. under Peter Doyle which he says "had long been a dream of mine".

"It was my first time playing around with Asian ingredients in a big way and I had the privilege of working with some other amazing chefs while I was there," he said.

"After this I spent a couple of months at Felix doing French bistro food before taking on my first head chef role at Left of Field in Rhodes. Here I worked closely with a chef who spent a lot of time in Japan as well a having a love of native ingredients, and his knowledge has had a big influence on my food now.

"We then moved to Nowra where I was head chef of Wharf Rd restaurant for a year.

"We moved back to Sydney for the birth of our second daughter and I took on the role of head chef at Firegrill in the city."

But a sea change beckoned, and Marks Point was the perfect fit.

At Papatya, Ashley and Sebiha take classic breakfast and brunch dishes and "put our twist on them".

"At the moment there is an Asian as well as a Mediterranean influence but we will be moving to a more Mediterranean and Middle Eastern offering in the future," Patfield said.

Popular dishes at present include the son-in-law eggs on koshihikari rice congee with soy-braised beef ribs, the Ottoman eggs (a Turkish version of shakshuka) and the ricotta hotcakes with strawberries, mascarpone and meringue.

The Turkish coffee goes down well with Papatya's house-made baklava or apricot danish, and a Turkish-style mezze menu operates on Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons when Papatya morphs into a sun-drenched wine or cocktail bar.

Diners can sit in the indoor dining room or a covered deck area that also functions as a children's play area, as well as at outdoor seating on the front pavement. Dogs are welcome. Sebiha and Ashley are hoping to add another deck area to increase outdoor capacity.

"As a chef, my philosophy is quite simple, just taking the best elements of what I know and combining these in interesting ways using the best of what's in season," Patfield explained.

"For the venue we have tried to create a comfortable space and are focused on getting the basics right. Good food, coffee and service without gimmicks or trying to be too trendy.

"We are creating a space for the local community to feel comfortable and gather around. We hope new connections and friendships will be made in our little space."

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