The Melbourne Cup at The Entrance Lake House

We are so excited to have The Melbourne Cup showing on a big screen at The Entrance Lake House!

Chef Paul has created an absolutely amazing menu for the day...costing guests only $55/head +BF with tickets available exclusively through the link: 
 http://entrancelakehouse.iwannaticket.com.au/   

The menu is mouth-watering and amazing:

How do you choose a winner in the Melbourne Cup? Some ways we have found people choose a winner are:

• Colour/patterns of jockey's uniforms
• Entering a sweepstakes and get a "lucky draw"
• Spending hours, days, weeks researching everything about the horse, it's medical background, the trainers, the jockey
• Picking the horse with the coolest name

Whichever way you choose to pick your winner, we hope to see you at The Entrance Lake House to watch it in the comfort of great food, great company, fantastic atmosphere and we are sure there will be lots of yelling encouragement at the horse you have betted on at the screen!

See you there! We have a competition for best dressed so we look forward to seeing you in your racing finest!

TELH

Opening day of The Entrance Lake House

The 27th September will always be a special day in The Entrance Lake House history books - opening day!

We would like to thank everyone who made it down for this special day. We saw a lot of familiar faces of our family and friends, and a lot of new faces in the community of passers-by, Facebook friends and friends of friends! In all, we had a wonderful day and hope you all did too. For those of you unable to make it we appreciate your comments on our Facebook page and hope you can make it soon. 

Some of our already popular food were the Eggs Benny, macaroons, coffee, hot chocolate, French toast with caramalised banana and butterscotch sauce (that is what I had!), springtime lunch wine, muffins freshly baked onsite, baked eggs with Nulkaba Farm free range eggs, chorizo, proscuitto, baby spinach, roasted capsicum, tomato chutney and sourdough toast....ok I am not listing anymore as I am drooling on the keyboard!







Head Chef Paul and his team (Alan, pictured to the right, preparing the day before) also hand-made all the sauces and chutneys on site for the opening - you can't get fresher than that...except for when our onsite gardens are up and running and we are using ingredients we grow ourselves (stay tuned).


The renovation team headed by Wes were there until 9pm the night before putting on the final touches and Wes stayed through to 5:30am and was there again today looking over the register and making sure it all ran smoothly. Thanks Wes! Some of our favourite little details to look for when you visit were the custom made shelving and seating, the poished floors, the red shiny coffee beast of a machine and the fresh water tap (I won't post a photo - come and see it for yourself to see why I am excited about a tap!). The presentation of the food on special boards was also a great hit. 

Owners Maila Reyes and Tony "Wilco" Wilkinson were happy with the opening. Tony was blown away by the positive feedback on the menu items and the interest we have been getting from the local community in the opening and renovations. 




We would also like to thank "The Flying Chef" Paul Cookson and the other chefs for producing such amazing food and the wonderful staff for being fantastic on the day. 




Thank you to everyone, customers and staff alike, for being part of our opening. We are so excited and proud of everyone's achievements in getting to opening day and can't wait for more customers to come through the doors in the coming days, months and years!

TELH

PS Please stay tuned for blog posts on some of our team member bios including Mady Wilkinson (Events Manager), our gardens, menu development and upcoming special events.

Little Creek Cheese

This Wyong-based company has been in operation for only 14 months and has already won 2 silver awards for their gourmet handmade cheese, so they must be doing something right! The Parsons family, Russell and Sue, had a passion for cheese and in the past thought it was only a hobby but enjoyed it so much that they turned it into a full time career. As always, The Entrance Lake House is committed to using local producers and support the community.

The award they won was from the DIAA Australian Dairy Product Competition in March 2012. The cheeses that were awarded was their BBQ cheese which Sue describes as “not too salty and not too hard, and cooks up a treat” - Sue and she goes on to describe how because they hand make their cheese they are able to take on customer feedback to continually improve their recipe and make sure the customer is getting the best quality cheese. 

Their other awarded cheese was the Garlic and Dill Salad Cheese, fetta style, made from cow’s milk rather than the traditional goat and sheep milk. This Canola oil marinated cheese is great with salads and pizzas and Russell describes the making of this cheese as “I love making the salad cheese, it requires you to be gentle and patient, it’s the Zen of cheese making.” – Russell.

As happy news for the vegetarians in the audience, all their cheeses have no added colours and because they use non animal rennet, are suitable for vegetarians!

Little Creek Cheese also gets out and about for such a boutique cheese producer. They have had a feature story on NBN News for their above mentioned dairy awards and have taken part in competitions run through local tourism websites. They regularly have stalls at local markets and enjoy getting out and about in their local community. 

For more information, go to their website or follow them on Facebook for everything cheesy! We couldn't be happier to be working with them and have their products featured on our menu when we open very shortly!

TELH

Introducing - our Chef! Paul Cookson

Welcome to our Chef Paul Cookson!

Paul is joining The Entrance Lake House as Head Chef - please join me in welcoming Paul by commenting on this blog post or on our Facebook page. Paul describes his influences as "classical French" but has had a wide variety of experiences here and overseas in the London area. When asked what his vision was for The Entrance Lake House his response was "Simple food - done well!".

Another vision Paul shares with us is the desire to have fresh, locally sourced food. We are going to be so fresh and local that we are going to have our own gardens out the back, growing specific in-season fresh produce. Paul also has an interesting hobby - skydiving at "Skydive Maitland". The photo to your left is of Paul at his....wait for it....800th jump! His adrenaline filled hobby and passion for food and experience makes him an excellent leader for our team.


One of the first things Paul is working on is of course putting together a menu to reflect the local needs, produce and food he loves to cook and eat. He is starting with getting ideas together then he will see what the local business are already selling then getting inspiration from local suppliers. He was involved in his local Farmer's Markets so would love to get to know the produce of The Entrance Farmer's Markets which are held at Memorial Park every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month. He loves local, boutique suppliers.

Some other suppliers he is looking into is the rich produce of The Hunter Valley. Some produce he is excited about from this region are the olive oils, cheeses and the beef and lamb suppliers. He hasn't worked before with on-site produce gardens but he is excited about the prospect of growing our own produce as well - right on site in our gardens!

He is also sourcing the best breads and desserts in the region but says that once everything is up and running he would like to produce all of these items on-site as well. Although the one thing he may not produce on-site is the sour dough. The technicality of making sour dough is so specific he wants to make sure it gets done right as it is such a specific skill to have and get right!

Some other things he will consider in the menu selection is the people making the food, his kitchen and floor staff. A great team is such a big consideration and he will taylor the food around his vision and the skills of his staff as well. He is so passionate and exited that he wants to earn a "hat" rating in the future - a prestigious rating reserved for only the best venues and staff. Oysters are also going to be an inspiration of his on his menus.

The restaurant layout is also inspiring Paul. Our communal table had him thinking about the amazing banquets that we can have with a "King's Menu" of whole pig or whole salmon, Sunday round-table lunches and we can't wait to see this stunning table laden with a feast fit for a king! Our "loft" area upstairs is inspiration to amazing finger food and the sunny decking area which lends itself to weddings, birthdays, engagements and other significant celebrations has unlimited potential.

Either way, we can't wait to work with Paul and the team to provide you with not only a meal, but an experience, while supporting local people through employment and local suppliers. Our community is really worth investing in.

TELH

PLEASE NOTE: Food photos used for this post were taken by Paul Cookson (so a skydiving, food loving photographer - why wouldn't we love him?) and are photos of his previous work, not necessarily food that will be served at The Entrance Lake House

"I'm an old-fashioned guy... I want to be an old man with a beer belly sitting on a porch, looking at a lake or something." - Johnny Depp

We agree with Johnny Depp: "I'm an old-fashioned guy...I want to be an old man with a beer belly sitting on a porch, looking at a lake or something" - Johnny Depp

Well...."The Entrance Lake House" is the perfect way to do that! The view is an important factor in beer enjoyment. But more importantly in beer enjoyment is the beer selection, and we believe we have it "in the bag". 

Our partners in beer include: Murray's Craft Brewing Co (Whale Ale on Tap), 4 Pines Brewing Company (Kolsh Bottled Beer), Longboard Beer (Pale Ale) and Tilse's Apple Truck Cider to name a few. 

"I have a drink to celebrate the little things. Like Tuesdays, there are only one of those a week!"

The Apple Thief

Worth stealing a taste of, The Apple Thief is a premium 
alcoholic cider created from freshly crushed Batlow apples. The Apple Thief contains no artificial flavours or concentrates, and is currently being downed by discerning drinkers in some of Australia’s top bars and restaurants including The Entrance Lake House!

Cider is widely being seen as the less bloating alternative to beer and it's crisp flavour is a refreshing addition to our beverage selection, bound to please. 

Tilse's 

Tilse's orchard is at the foot of Barrington Tops is the Hunter Valley, a family business since 1916. Two mountain streams run through their property enriching the flavour of the beautiful red delicious and granny smith apples that go into their products. Keeping in line with our mission to source products locally, we are proud to support the beautiful Hunter Valley region. 

20 beer facts:

Ok mentioning Johnny Depp at the beginning of this post without including a photo of him is just wrong, so my last note is a picture of this handsome man!

Our "Ferrari" Coffee Machine

The arrival of our new coffee machine, the La Marzocco FB/70, was met with great excitement! We call it our "Ferrari" coffee machine due to it's sleek looks, red finish and general "sexiness". 

The coffee machine was a welcome addition to The Entrance Lake House marking an important milestone in our renovations. It was like all our Christmas's and Birthday's rolled into one!



The picture to the right shows Owner Maila and our new Chief Barista Jay giving it a test run. We will need to make many a cup of coffee for the machine to be "broken in" before serving coffee to all our amazing customers.

The impressive dimensions of the machine:
Dimensions: 1090mm x 660mm x 485mm
Weight: 74 kg
Phase: Single Phase 
Weight: 74kgs

• Dual-boiler technology and saturated brewing groups
• Stainless steel boilers & brewing groups
• Omni-directional (points in all directions) stainless steel steam wands
• Sight glass for water level monitoring of steam boiler

"Saturated" brew group is a fancy term for having as much of the portion of the group nearest to the portafilter as possible filled with hot water. 

"You can learn to technique, but you can only develop passion through Dedication, love, pride and respect in your work" - Piero Bambi, La Marzocco machine manufacturer.

When choosing this machine we consulted with RoastWorx, our coffee bean supplier. Using high quality coffee beans is one thing, but the machine has to do justice to the bean's superiour quality! The fact that it is so sexy is just a bonus and it's sleek design will be a focal point for all coffee lovers when we open in 4 short days. 

TELH

Our web site and Michelle Allen

We are so excited to get some movement on our website! On our web site you can expect menus, photos, company information, events and much, much more.




The person behind the web site creation is Michelle Allen, Managing Director at Webstuff.

One of our core philosophies at The Entrance Lake House is supporting the community through hiring local people and buying local produce. Michelle's company is located in Erina and she is already excited about not only creating a web site that reflects our products but also being a regular customer!

I look forward to sharing our web site with you soon...watch this space!

TELH

Scott Davis - Operation's Extraordinaire

Scott Davis is our Operations Manager and we are so glad to have him on board! Scott is an all-round hospitality professional with career highlights running Soho House in London / New York, Pacha London and owning Kasbah in Ibiza. He is well travelled having worked his way around Europe, Scott now calls Sydney and the Central Coast home.

Scott has worked in Consultancy and Events Management and says “It’s refreshing to find such a unique opportunity in such a breathtaking setting” about working with The Entrance Lake House.

He sees The Entrance Lake House as being able to use a beautiful heritage building as a setting for modern, all Australian venue with Coffee House, All Day Eatery and Bar services. He believes that “The owners have selected the perfect building for the product and the project is an exciting one!”. We couldn’t agree more Scott and we thank you for everything you have brought to the project!

As the tallest member of The Entrance Lake House, we have found an extremely useful task for him. We were installing the lights that hang from the roof just the other day and he was almost bumping his head on them – a clear indication that they needed to be lifted higher! We know that if Scott can fit under those lights, anyone can. Of course, we love him for his Operations talent more than his height, but that was just a bonus!

Thanks for all of your continued hard work Scott and we can't wait to share a coffee with you on opening night. 

But what type of coffee will we be drinking at The Entrance Lake House?

RoastWorks Coffee Co will be providing coffee to The Entrance Lake House and we could not be more excited. They believe roasting specialist coffee is a real art form and strive to achieve “perfection in a cup” so we will do them proud with the coffee we provide to you!

Now for some “technical stuff”. Who supplies our coffee? Where do they get their beans from? What will the coffee taste like? Why did we choose Roastworks to supply our coffee? Because we know that coffee is an important part of your day – so we need to get it right!

RoastWorks strengths include an understanding of coffee from the farm to the cup and understand the subtleties in the differences of coffee quality from producing countries and even the individual farms within the same region. All of their coffee is sustainably produces and from award winning plantations.

On of the things that drew us to Roastworks was that they begin with 100% top grade Arabica Beans from the finest plantations around the world. Many of their coffees are Specialty Micro Lots, Direct Trade, Mercanta Selected, or Cup of Excellence. All of our coffees are sustainably produced, many of which are from award winning plantations.

This allows us to provide you with top-notch quality coffee.

Why did Tony and Maila choose Roastworks coffee to supply The Entrance Lake House? 

Tony: “My wife and I research for several months to find the best coffee, made from the freshest beans, lovingly sourced and perfectly roasted by someone that truly loves coffee.

We finally decided upon a most delightful roaster named Keith Reay, owner of Roastworks located at Crows Nest. And yes, Keith loves his coffee!

On our final day of testing, I had an awesome jet black shot, balanced perfectly with a bright fruity acidity with caramel over tones, topped with a deliciously rich golden foam that occurs only a well brewed espresso coffee.

Maila had a latte that looked absolutely fantastic. I looked at her, she looked at me, we knew that we had found a roaster and beans good enough for the Entrance Lake House.

Fair Trade, single origin, certified organic coffee at its absolute best. We can’t wait until you try it.”

One of the things that makes Roastworks coffee fantastic is that they use coffee grown at higher altitudes where crops grow smaller and typically more slowly, which allows the flavours to be more concentrated with more flavour and a strong aroma. Of course, they only use fresh, recently harvested crops!

Roastworks describe their coffee as “Sometimes we roast our coffee a bit lighter than a typical espresso roast. This is so that we retain the natural flavours and characteristic of the Origin which adds interest and complexity to each cup, rather than a darker roast which can overpower the coffee by allowing the dark tastes of the roast itself to become the dominant taste.” They also have a wonderful approach to manufacturing, storage and packaging which all adds to an amazing coffee experience.

We are honored as Roastworks chooses to be partners with selective café owners and managers who share their beliefs in quality and customer service. They want to showcase the efforts of the farmers and plantation workers hard work in every cup of coffee sold.

Stay tuned for information on the blend that Roastworks created especially for us and what flavours you will expect to enjoy at The Entrance Lake House.

TELH

Who are we and where did we come from?

The Entrance Lake House was born from the creative minds of Tony Wilkinson and his beautiful wife Maila Reyes. Tony and Maila are well known in the community for his successful security business SecurityWorx and other business ventures and have been dreaming about a food and beverage venture for a very long time.

Tony 30+ years of experience in Security and Business Ownership including owning 6 Sydney Hotels. On top of this, Tony is a local and proud graduate of The Entrance High School 

“The experience I have gained from yesterday is priceless, my passion is applying this knowledge to the challenges of tomorrow.”Tony Wilkinson. 

It is so exciting to see these dreams from so long ago become a reality. We have such a beautiful, history-rich location and can't wait to share it with you. The building was built in 1903 by Albert (Les) Taylor and has had seen other businesses follow such as Neptune's Seafood, Richard's, Sounan Thai and Rose's Restaurant.

We have only just began to scratch the surface of the rich history of the site and we are looking forward to finding out more through researching library, local people and other sources to find out more. If you or your family have any links to the site, we would love to hear from you. 

The site inspires us to new heights to live up to it's rich history.

Milestones and "1st's"

Our renovations are well and truly underway and we are really excited. The walls and ceilings got a lick of paint and now the floors are all polished up to their original 100 year old beauty the excitements levels are just rising.

We have been polishing up the floors and there are at least 3 totally different flooring types which has only just been adding to the magic.






Some other milestones we are reaching are the signage that has recently gone up and just generally seeing our plans become a reality. We are looking forward to more milestones in terms of uniforms, people, counters and bars installed right through to the first coffee and the first customer!




Maila was at the site looking over some plans when we all stopped and went outside to see a beautiful rainbow going over the bridge that we can see from our windows. As a Facebook fan correctly stated: "Lots of hard work, the rainbow is getting closer, it's worth waiting" and we couldn't agree more.

We have also been receiving the little details that will make all the difference, like our chandeliers pictured below. Dan has been working hard putting them together (and wearing them like earrings!)

None of these milestones would be reached without the hard work and dedication of our team. Stay tuned for staff bios and quotes.

TELH

Welcome to our Blog!

Welcome to The Entrance Lake House's blog! We will be posting updates on our new restaurant, renovations, new equipment, staff and general information on our food philosophy!

We are so excited to open in August and as I am writing we have hard working painters sprucing up the walls and ceilings.

Thanks for following our journey, stay tuned for our upcoming posts on where we came from and who we are, what equipment we are excited about and the renovations we are currently getting through to be able to open! We have had so much support from family, friends and we are getting interest from people in the community with skills and interests in joining the family as staff and we are eagerly looking for that perfect Head Chef and Head Barista to get the team started.

Thanks and welcome,
The Entrance Lake House Team.