Corey Park was looking for change. After a run as executive chef with Hunt Hospitality involving seven pub kitchens from Newcastle to Coffs Harbour, he was keen to settle down and be able to spend more time with his 10-month-old son.
Since opening Park's Bistro + Catering at the Boolaroo Sports Club in late October, he's been on a winner.
The suburb seems ripe for a change, with a lot of new residents in new subdivisions, and considerable passing traffic - people playing the touch football competitions at Tredinnick Oval adjacent to the club, and thousands working and shopping at Bunnings, Costco and Glendale not far down the road.
"The amount of growth there is out at Boolaroo, it's never ending at the moment," Park said. "That's what got me excited for the opportunity."
The new bistro has been well received. Park has a staff of eight, including himself.
"We were just kicking goals," he said. "We had a really good response from local clientele."
The club, trading since 1927 and previously known as the Boolaroo Bowling Club, seems to appreciate the new bistro operator. The club has an extensive outdoor dining area and a kids playground.
"The club is really happy with the positive vibe since we've been in there," Park said. "I'm a happy, friendly person. I'm enjoying interacting with the lady bowlers, having a laugh with everyone, we always have a bit of joke."
The most important first step for Park was building awareness - distributing leaflets and becoming active on Facebook.
Business kept building, peaking in mid-December. But a staff member came down with COVID, and the whole kitchen team was deemed a close contact so they were forced to close a week before Christmas.
But after a quiet January, Park's bistro did their best day ever on Australia Day, serving 200 main meals for lunch and another 150 for dinner.
Park loves seafood dishes, and they are proving popular. "I am passionate about eating and cooking seafood," he said.
"On our menu, the salmon dish [fresh Atlantic salmon cauliflower florets, greens and Cafe De Paris] is delicious, we have a lot of repeat customers," he says. "It's all about our market fish. We change it up - we use Red Funnel [supplier] for our fresh fish."
Fresh prawns are also popular. "We did a prawn bruschetta for functions before Christmas. People loved it enough for it to go on our next menu," Park said.
The menu includes tiger prawn spaghetti and craft beer battered king dory, as well as market fish of the day.
Park is taking a practical approach - offering reasonable prices and no pretensions. He knows there are a lot of older locals who really appreciate a $13 lunch.
But he's also mixing it up.
Like the weekly burger special. This week it's the BAA PARK: pulled lamb shoulder, beetroot hummus, beetroot relish, Persian feta, Tzatziki, rocket and fries for $18.
Like the blackboard special on Friday nights.
"Every Friday night we do three courses for $42," he said. "An entree, main and dessert. We are making our own desserts, and getting in fresh seafood. It's something you would get in a high-end restaurant.
"We are changing every Friday. Last week the main course was jewfish with baby rainbow carrots, truffle and blue cheese butter. The dessert was a pannacotta with mango and honey-roasted macadamia nuts. Definitely not club food."
So far, so good.
"It's our opportunity to experiment," Parks said. "For me, it's thinking outside the box."
Park is also set to expand, by offering catering. "We offer everything from hire a chief for a night, to offsite catering, to fine dining, to relaxed canapes, or hire in the venue," Park said. "We can cater for 20 people to 2000."
He also has his eye on offsite wedding catering.
Pizza coming
Park's Bistro is also launching a brand-new pizza shop located outside the club. "We will be the only pizza shop in Boolaroo," Parks said.
Park's Pizza will operate Friday and Saturday nights to start with, and increase hours in line with demand.
Park's Pizza launches on Friday, February 18.
Park Bistro + Catering at Boolaroo Sports Club, 31 Eighth Street, Boolaroo, is open Wednesday through Sunday. Wednesday through Friday, it's open from 12 to 2pm, and 5.30pm to 8pm. On Saturdays and Sundays, it's open from 12 to 8pm.
Other news: Cakeboi
Master Chef wizard Reece Hignell's Cakeboi shop at 48 Lindsay Street, Hamilton, is celebrating its birthday this Saturday.
"We are going to have a fun celebration day with special cakes and Floozy are roasting a special coffee blend only available for that day," Hignell says.
There will be market stalls, indoor plant markets, a bouquet stand, Poly Kala earrings for sale, and big brand giveaways.
