The smile on chef Stephen Scott's face says it all.
He's found his niche at The Lucky Hotel in the heart of Newcastle, which re-opened under new owners at a lavish launch party in September.
"I'm loving it. I'm pretty much a hospo life member, and the team around me here are fantastic and are all on the same page," Scott said.
"My sous chef Kai [Tran] is unreal, he's an exceptional chef and he also takes a lot of time with the junior chefs and apprentices to teach them and train them up, which builds a strong team."
His new office is an open kitchen adjacent to the hotel's impressive atrium courtyard where diners can watch the chefs in action. It really is an oasis in the city - perfect for lunch as well as dinner - and there are lots of inviting nooks to cosy up in.
"We've had such a great reception to what we are offering and people seem to really gravitate towards our more non-traditional pub meals - look, we do sell a lot of burgers and schnitzels but it's a pretty even split with our more modern and unique dishes," Scott said.
"We created the menu knowing we were going into the busiest time of the year so we put down a menu that was a good representation of spring then leading into summer, rather than trying to do a full overhaul as we hit peak season."
There are small plates to share, main meals, burgers and salads to choose from.
"People are loving the fried chicken and caviar - we use the smoked avruga caviar with some crème fraiche and chives and you spread that over the buttermilk fried tenders and it just works," Scott said.
"The raw tuna tostada is a great sunny day dish; fresh raw tuna tossed with our house-made XO served on a fresh tortilla. It's perfect with a nice glass of rosé.
"On the mains side of things, its great to see people going for the steak frites, rather than your classic pub rump steak. We use a hanger steak which is a classic European cut with a really beautiful flavour; we do a nice pepper crust for it but using Tasmanian pepper berry, we make our own jus (beef sauce) in-house which you don't see many pubs doing, and it's really hit home with a lot of people how much you can elevate a steak in a pub setting.
"Lastly, the lobster mac and cheese is gaining a bit of a cult following. We do a classic three-cheese bechamel spiked with some fresh tarragon, tossed through the pasta, and some lightly poached lobster meat finished with some nice Huon salmon caviar from down Tassie way."
The hotel was renovated and refurbished with a Palm Springs theme in mind. Scott had to consider that while designing the menu for a Newcastle pub, albeit an upmarket one.
"We definitely needed to curate that balance, but I think we achieved that more so from the personality and the atmosphere of the pub itself and keeping that relaxed, casual vibe and not trying to be too stiff," he explained.
"You can be comfortable ordering a chicken burger or some tacos and your dining partner can order the saltimbocca and it's not out of place - you do you, so to speak."
I ask him to explain some of the flavour combinations on the menu.
"We just took a look at what we wanted the dish to be and what would best complement it, for instance, we wanted to put a guacamole on the menu, but to elevate that we make it using fresh pea as well as the avocado," he explained.
"It gives the guac a nice, lighter sweetness as well as a bit more texture and body.
"With our BBQ honey chicken, we take half chickens and brine them overnight with a saltwater solution that is also flavoured with some star anise, cinnamon and garlic, then we give the chickens a nice char to start.
"We finish them in the oven, slowly, while glazing with some organic honey - it gives a really nice salty sweet taste - then we serve with some steamed bitter greens to really pull the whole dish together."
Scott and his team try to use local suppliers wherever possible.
"To mention just a few, we get our meats from Tim and Jordan from Hunter Valley Meats - I've worked with them for years now and they send me some great produce to showcase," he said.
"We get our Tasmanian pepper berries through Oz Tukka, they are unreal and supply all sorts of native produce, and I can't forget George over at Red Funnel who hand selects our seafood and sources our caviar."
He's enthusiastic about the summer months and says there is "heaps in the pipeline".
"We've got some cool collaborations on the way, next up being our dinner with Philter Brewing Co on November 24 which I'm really excited for, and then ramping up the menu for summer with a few more additional bespoke offerings before really turning it on for January."
