In his own words, Matthew Smith "hit the ground running" when he took on the executive chef role at Crystalbrook Kingsley two months ago.
He's barely had a chance to stop and catch his breath since.
"The removalist truck came on a Thursday and I was in the kitchen the following morning," he said, laughing.
Smith is in charge of Roundhouse restaurant, Ms Mary and Romberg's bar at Newcastle's first five-star hotel, which opened last year at the former Newcastle council chambers, plus conference and in-room dining.
"We're getting there - I've been here two months and we've achieved quite a lot in that time," he said.
"We've now got breakfast seven days, 24-hour room service is going, so we're cranking."
He's also created, and re-created, a new menu for Roundhouse that influences all other food offerings at the hotel.
"I had a menu ready about a month ago, and then with all the weather, floods and all that, I had to change it - prices had gone through the roof and we needed to stay within a certain price point," Smith explained.
"We don't want to be the super-expensive joint around town.
"Seasonality is a big part of what we're doing as well, and sourcing locally is getting more and more difficult, so we have to be flexible and keep our options open."
The food offering is now in line with Smith's preferred style of cuisine: modern European with "some Japanese influences".
"I use French techniques with a hint of Japanese flavours through the menu, but they're not in your face. I definitely would not say it is a fusion of any sort," Smith said.
"We're doing a prawn dish with XO brown butter - which is actually Chinese rather than Japanese - and we have a tuna dish with yuzu kosho, which is basically fermented chilli and citrus.
"There are light touches, like beef tenderloins with red miso onion sauce, but with flavour at the forefront. Nice big punchy flavours."
The new Roundhouse menu will launch on July 12. Care for a sneak peek? It will include this entree (bush spiced beef tartare with duck fat fried bread, cured egg yolk, horseradish and tarragon) and this dessert (Eucalyptus diplomat with gin macerated strawberries, candied Adina Estate black olives and strawberry sorbet).
Native Australian ingredients are important to Smith. So is sustainability. It's what drew him to the Crystalbrook Collection in the first place.
In April the hotel group extended its commitment to sustainability across its 14 restaurants and bars through the "Climate Calories" initiative, which provides additional information about the environmental footprint of its dishes. Icons show guests whether ingredients consciously reduce waste, have been sustainably grown or caught, are locally sourced within a three-hour drive, are "culturally considered" (use native ingredients or work with Indigenous producers), or are supplied to the restaurant in eco-friendly packaging.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
"Sustainability should be important to all chefs. We can't pillage and not care for the oceans and the land any more; we have to be quite conscious about what we're doing," Smith said.
"We're building a lot of symmetry between the cafe, in-room dining, the restaurant and conferencing to minimise waste and keep things sustainable - what we don't use in a dish upstairs might be used in a dish downstairs.
"We still need to feed people and make sure we are offering a quality product but it's not just lip service to us. It's not just about profit.
"We use biodegradable containers and have made big investments in kitchen storage to limit plastic use.
"Even in the building itself there is a lot of repurposed wood. There are a lot of things that have been recycled and put back into the building."
Smith was born and raised in Cairns but has spent most of his working life in Sydney and on the Gold Coast. His resume includes stints at the Solotel Group, Banksii Vermouth Bar & Bistro and Jonah's Restaurant and Boutique Hotel, and he says he has "spent a bit of time in Japan as well".
"Now I'm in Newcastle and I'm loving it so far," he said.
"I was already hoping to get out of Sydney and I wanted to join a company that I thought had the same values as me.
"Crystalbrook came up; we had a conversation and moved forward from there. I felt that the company aligned with what I wanted to do and achieve - and the restaurant is just beautiful. When I walked in and saw that view I was sold."
When he finds the time, Smith is hoping to connect with other chefs in and around Newcastle and the Hunter Valley.
"I'm trying to build relationships with the local chefs because I think we can do a lot of cool stuff together," he said.
"I don't think it's very competitive in Newcastle - it's more collaborative than competitive, which is nice."
Roundhouse
Where: Crystalbrook Kingsley, Level Nine, 282 King Street, Newcastle
Breakfast: Daily, 7am to 10am
Lunch: Friday and Saturday, noon to 3pm
Dinner: Tuesday to Saturday: 6pm to 10pm
