Chef Shayne Mansfield's flavour-driven menu at Jana Restaurant & Bar is a feast for the senses | Food Bites

In recent weeks I've had the pleasure of dining at The Flotilla and Thermidor Oyster Bar and Brasserie, and Roundhouse.

Jake Deluca (Flotilla) and Josh Gregory (Thermidor), take a bow.

Last week it was QT Newcastle's turn, and I enjoyed a Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut at Rooftop at QT before adjourning to Jana Restaurant & Bar downstairs where executive chef Shayne Mansfield has introduced a new spring menu.

Wow. I'm not sure how else to describe it. I sampled the following:

The sides? Charcoaled lettuce with buttermilk and chive dressing and anchovy floss, and crispy duck fat potatoes with rosemary salt.

Mansfield's culinary expertise frees him up to try new and exciting menu ideas; to think outside the square and truly make the most of each ingredient in season.

The tamarind sauce was so delicious I used each duck fat potato as a sponge to mop it up. The charcoaled lettuce was tasty dipped in the short rib's bone marrow sauce. The finely sliced potatoes on the prawn dish soaked up the very tasty XO Mary Rose Sauce.

Everything works together in harmony, including Mansfield and his sous chef Sam McKinnon, and the helpful and professional waitstaff.

I could go on, or you could check it out for yourself.

Read more: From Flotilla to QT: chef's big plans for restaurant

Reece Hignell and Floozy Coffee Roasters have opened a cafe at Westfield Kotara. It's called Cakeboi + Floozy and it's located on level two, outside Country Road.

"So the collab came about because we wanted the Westfield location to be something different than what you can get at our flagship store in Hamilton," Hignell says.

"We decided that our Westfield store could include a range of specialty coffee, so we pulled in our friends at Floozy. So this store will have so many Cakeboi favourites which you can enjoy along side some locally roasted, freshly brewed coffee.

"This shop is all about two local businesses giving it a go. Trying to represent Newy along side the big guns in retail. We will be in the Westfield all summer long. We are treating this as a pop-up or trial period to see if this is a long term move that Cakeboi could make."

Read more: MasterChef favourite's classic take on a cake shop

Sommelier Stephane Pommier is personally curating the wine list at a long lunch being held at Maryville Tavern on Saturday, October 28.

"The concept will be like a typical lunch that you would experience in Europe," he says.

"It will consist of beautifully set long tables filled with flowers and personalised menus, where people can come together to graze and drink in the garden at the back of the tavern.

"I will be bringing European experience and knowledge and presenting some casual French wines. I would like it to be educational but also fun. People are tempted to drink the same wines all the time and I would like to make them think outside of the box. Therefore, I have selected an eclectic, affordable grape variety range."

The list of wines to be sampled on the day includes: Cremant de Bourgogne; Chardonnay (Burgundy); Aligote (Burgundy); Gewurztraminer Alsace; Rose (Rhone Valley); and Gamay (Beaujolais).

Stephane was born in Chablis, France, and studied Oenology Vitiviniculture at Maison Familiale Rurale De Grandchamp in Beaune. He moved to Australia in 2004 and has worked at McWilliam's Winery, Rock Restaurant and Muse Restaurant.

In 2018 he started his own business, SOM Wine Pty Ltd which, among other things, produces and imports a range of Burgundian wine to Australia.

Tickets to The Long Wine Lunch at Maryville Tavern are $140 per person and on sale now. Included in the ticket price are six premium French wines, seven canapes, and an individual grazing board on arrival.

Last December best friends Jo Thomas and Karina Barry launched a new business venture called Buds & Beads.

Karina owns Bells at Killcare and Jo is the former general manager of Hunter Valley Wine & Tourism Association, having also worked in marketing and communications for Destination Hunter Valley, Reflections Holiday Parks, Golden Door and Thomas Wines.

The Buds & Beads sparkling tea range is "a non-alcoholic, virtually no sugar, healthy alternative to alcohol and sugar-laden non-alcoholic offerings". There's the Ginger Rose, the rose-vanilla scented Silver Needles, and Before Rain, a blend of nectar-like jasmine and Woojeon green tea. Each one is deliciously fragrant and looks like the real thing when in a champagne flute.

Buds & Beads sparkling teas are now on wine lists at Newcastle restaurants The Flotilla, The Grand Hotel and Humbug.

"The Hunter Valley also is a strong market for us," Jo says.

"Cellar Doors across the Hunter often get asked about non-alcoholic alternates and, being a region filled with boutique producers, there's really not an appetite for many to produce a non-alcoholic wine.

"So there has been a great opportunity for our sparkling tea at the following cellar doors: Scarborough Wines; Wine House; Briar Ridge; Emma's Cottage; Pokolbin Distillery; 4 Pines At The Farm; and Winmark Wines.

"We are also listed on the wine lists at the following restaurants in the Hunter Valley: Bistro Molines, Muse Restaurant, Esca Bimbadgen Estate and Yellow Billy."

Jo and Karina have created some premium Buds & Beads bundles ideal for Christmas gifts. You must order by Friday, December 15, to ensure delivery before Christmas. Free delivery is available throughout November for any bundle purchased as part of the Buds & Beads Christmas promotion.

The Wellness Bundle, for example, includes four herbal tisane blends, a 750ml bottle of Ginger Rose Sparkling Tea, Good Night and Defence glass canisters, and Organic Peppermint, African Summer, GABA Oolong and Cuddle-Me Chai tea boxes.

The Exquisite Bundle includes the Ginger Rose and Silver Needles sparkling teas, Jasmine Pearls green tea, Fragrant Earl Grey black tea and Good Night herbal tisane.

For more information and to order, go online to budsandbeads.com.au.

Newcastle French Market is on at The Station this Saturday, October 28, 3pm to 9pm.

Grazing on the Grass at Hungerford Hill is a one-day-only picnic on Friday, November 10, with live music, lunch and, of course, wine. Details and tickets at hungerfordhill.com.au.

Save the date: Saturday, November 11, noon to 9pm. Hunter Multicultural Communities Centre at Waratah is hosting Taste of Africa - Owanbe Edition, featuring Nigerian food by Elevated Kitchen and music from Dre Afrika & The International Brothers Band.

The Koutetsu is throwing a Day of the Dead party on November 2, 6pm.

Skip's Deli is opening on Griffith Road at Lambton soon, and keep an eye out for Bowie on Beaumont Street.

Courtyard Eclectic at Lovedale is opening for dinner on Saturday nights, 5pm to 8pm, kicking off on November 4.

Join Pegs Cafe at Whitebridge on Saturday, November 25, for A Little Bit of French. It's a French banquet with live music and, like all Pegs events, promises to be a lot of fun.

Tickets are $90 per person and include a glass of French Champagne on arrival. Get there at 5.30pm for a 6pm Baroque-inspired performance by duo Ruth Crosby and Shaun Ng.

Ruth, a Newcastle pianist and musical therapist, also playsa wooden baroque flute known as the traverso. She has performed with the Australian Haydn Ensemble and the Bach Akademie Australia, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Quatorze, Sydney Cantata project and the Early Music Ensemble (Sydney Conservatorium). Shaun plays instruments from the violin, viola da gamba and lute families. He has performed in many ensembles throughout Australia, operates a busy private studio and runs his own record label, A415 Music.

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