CMAA National Bursary Award Program
March 2016
Profitable Hospitality Melbourne Restaurant Study Tour
Ken Burgin – Profitable Hospitality
Robyn Emblen – Kareela Golf Club
Matthew Johnson - Camden Golf Club
Day 1 After our initial introductions, the first restaurant of our tour was Meat Fish Wine, where
we were introduced to Mr Gavin Van Staden the Director of Operations for Apples and Pears
(the umbrella company of four iconic Melbourne restaurants). Meat Fish Wine and Red Spice
QV are two restaurants serviced by the one kitchen with two completely different food offerings.
We sat with Gavin for over an hour where he explained the challenges of the venue, the mistakes
they made along the way and their staffing and catering requirements. Staff are given a week
orientation in each area of the restaurants to give them a complete understanding of the
business. An interesting concept is that the staff are tested on their knowledge of the menu, the
wine list, the decor etc so that when a patron asks a question they have the knowledge to
respond. Subsequently, staff tips are divided by a percentage system, therefore the more
knowledge you have the higher your percentage of the tips.
From their website:
Meat Fish Wine is a restaurant and wine bar in Melbourne’s QV precinct in the heart of the city. We use the best of
local produce combined with ingredient focused cooking to create a dynamic, seasonally driven menu. Our goal is to
deliver delicious fresh seasonal produce, grown locally and prepared to perfection by our talented team of chefs. Our
impressive wine list features over 650 wines with a focus on the wines of Australia combined with a changing
selection of our favourites from around the world, many available by the glass. Come and try our farm-to-table
inspired menu and enjoy a glass of wine from Australia or one of our hand selected international favourites. It’s all
about great meat, fish and wine!
Tonight was an excellent night to get to know Ken Bergin, who is the founder of Profitable
Hospitality and Matt Johnston who is the other the bursary winner and CEO of Camden Golf
Club. After an amazing meal both taste and presentation the group walked back through the cbd
to our hotel. Stopping at the famous Young and Jackson Hotel (Est 1861). A drink in the Chloe
Bar watched over by the famous "Chloe" artwork.
From their website:
Young and Jackson is Australia's most Iconic Hotel. Beautifully restored and refurbished it is a comfortable blend of
boutique bar and classic pub, a perfect destination for all occasions. Chloe's Rooms on the first floor offer a relaxed
destination. With comfortable couches, boutique beers, fine wine, unique cocktails and unrivalled views of
Melbourne's most iconic sights. This is the home of the famous 'Chloe' artwork who has graced the bar walls of Young
and Jackson for over a century.
A walk along the banks of the Yarra River with Ken pointing out some of the busy pop up bars
finished the evening.
Day 2 of the tour began with Ken taking us on a discovery tour of the alleyways, arcades and
the Galleria of Melbourne, viewing the many shop fit outs, food displays, window displays and
styling techniques.
Breakfast was at Cumulus Inc. followed by brunch at Magic Mountain. The food on offer in both
establishments was very different and very tasty. Again we were motivated by style and
presentation.
That afternoon we boarded a train from the famous Flinders St Station and ventured out to
Frankston RSL where we were met by the CEO Mr. Rob Morrison. Rob and his team were very
welcoming and Rob gave us an overview of his time at Frankston. We were given a great tour of
his club including the gaming area, (120 PM install with 25% of the floor updated annually) three
kitchens, (in house catering – 4,500 meals per week), the completed building extensions and the
proposed future building site. The coffee station staff are given training by the coffee supplier
and regular judging of their coffee making skills are conducted. Similarly, wine suppliers are
encouraged to supply a complimentary bottle of some of the wines on offer and the senior staff
attend a wine appreciation class with Rob. Tasting and group discussion of the wines educate
the staff to create a better interaction with patrons and up selling. The wine list is extensive and
price ranges up to $120 / bottle. Bistro Bar sales contribute to more than 40% of the overall bar
sales. The club currently has approximately 15,600 members.
Rob spoke about the importance of having positive happy staff, the clubs staff incentives and
their motto of "be gracious". We were invited to have dinner with Rob in the clubs New Cracked
Pepper development. The food was fresh and tasty, with an extensive menu on offer. The
restaurant busy and the patron demographic family orientated. The staff were very friendly and
professional. Rob is supported by a management team of 17 and staff of 85. Under Robs
leadership the clubs’ growth in sales has quadrupled over the past four years. It was a pleasure
to meet Rob Morrison and I extended an invitation for him to visit Kareela Golf Club should he
and his team ever come to Sydney.
Day 3 of the tour began with Ken taking us to breakfast at a restaurant called Alimentari in Smith
Street Fitzroy. It is one of Melbourne's busy “bohemian” areas offering a variety of food and
retail outlets. Alimentari’s styling is very appealing, the food amazing, however the point of
difference is the fresh food area. Patrons can purchase a great variety of take away food
produce.
Ken then took us to explore Victoria Markets, Melbourne's world-famous fruit and veg
markets. With plenty of charm, the individual shops entice you to buy a variety of produce
...cheeses, meats, fish, coffee, chocolate, all fresh, and all amazingly displayed.
Our next stop on our trail of discovery was Welcome to Thornbury. Here we were met by the
HR Manager Bree Vatner who introduced us to their interesting food and bar establishment.
Carlton United have installed large brass beer vats on the ceiling, which are definitely a point of
discussion. The building has a history of being a car yard and a garage, and still has a lot of old
car paraphernalia adorning the walls, the floor is concrete and the venue has an industrial style.
The point of difference here is the food. On any given weekend or evening their car park area
has a number of food trucks ranging from Indian, Burgers, Asian, Greek etc so patrons have a
choice of menu. (The food trucks pay $50 a day to park on the premises.) As we lunched at the
venue it did not take long to fill up with patrons. Most of the dining is outside but they do have
plans to expand with an indoor dining area. The clientele ranged from Melbourne’s young
professionals to the elderly celebrating birthdays with children, grandchildren or just gatherings
of friends or family.
And all executed with not one piece of cutlery or crockery to have to clean up afterwards.
Dinner tonight found us at Estelle Bistro where we were joined by Magenta Bergin a stylist for
T2.
From their Website:
Tea! Over the years we’ve sourced, brewed and sipped countless cups of it.
Everything we do reflects our passion for sharing a love of tea in a way that intrigues, delights, surprises and excites
every single tea lover that steps through our door. With over 200 different teas to our name, our take on tea brings
the traditional into today. It started with a sip….
I was especially interested in T2s approach to pyramid styling and Magenta had a lot of
interesting conversation about T2s approach to sales and styling. When T2 send their staff out
of the store with complimentary samples they capture via CCTV people coming into the store
and purchasing the product. Furthermore, their signature smell table is a great product mover
as well as their tea infusion testing bench.
From here the party of four were taken to a quirky little bar that is located through a secret door
at the back of a takeaway bottle shop called Carwyn Cellars, located on High Street
Thornbury. From the street, Carwyn Cellars looks like an “old-school bottle-o”. But since 2012
owner Ben Carwyn has been quietly building a reputation as a craft beer specialist, with more
than 200 on offer. He has transformed the storeroom into the Back Room Bar, with 16 beer and
cider taps under constant rotation and a short but ever-changing wine list.
Behind the bar is a display of 150 whiskies from Scotland, Japan and Australia, along with a range
of mezcals (a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the maguey plant native to Mexico) that is expanding
as customers discover “there's more to the Mexican spirit than a worm in a bottle”, says
manager Ben Duval, who, like Carwyn, comes from a family of winemakers.
Day 4 This morning Ken took Matt and I to Lygon St. We had breakfast at Brunetti's. Brunetti
began trading in 1985. The Angelé family acquired the business in 1991 and transformed the
lovely café that it was into a truly authentic Roman Pasticceria.
Over the years, Brunetti in Carlton has become one of Melbourne’s most iconic places to visit to
indulge in a delicious Italian style coffee from the Bar, cake from the Pasticceria, gelato or
tempting savoury from the Paninoteca.
After breakfast we walked Lygon Street looking at coffee shops and patisseries with a special
interest in shop fit-outs, styling and products.
The next stop was The Local Taphouse in Saint Kilda. Here we were given wood paddles with
half a dozen different beer tastings. Our beer waiter for the day was James who is a Certified
Cicerone (knowledge and tasting skills for professionals dedicated to beer). His talk on each of
the beers on offer was very interesting even for someone who is not a beer drinker.
The Local Taphouse, St Kilda, is one of Australia’s most awarded craft beer venues. They tap
over 400 beers a year, dozens more in bottles and get experimental with an infuser. It’s not all
about the beer though; their food menu is designed to complement.
This was the final destination of the Melbourne Restaurant, food and wine tour.
I would like to thank Ken Bergin of Profitable Hospitality for this opportunity and for being an
amazing tutor and host. For future applicants to this bursary please note that you are able to
bring along a colleague (at their cost) to attend. I would highly recommend this tour.
Once again, thank you to the CMMA and KGC Board of Directors and Management for
affording me this great opportunity.
Kindest Regards,
Robyn Emblen
Operations Manager
Kareela Golf & Social Club Ltd