As Byron Bay heats up the sunday roast changes its food focus to cool you down. The roast format has not changed, comunial tables, great food, champagne and wine. Still super profesional and so ralaxed, this event is for everyone, except people who don’t like seafood.

The Chalmers family’s commitment to innovation and excellence has made them a pivotal force in the Australian wine scene for over 20 years. Bruce and Jenni Chalmers began growing winegrapes in the mid 1980’s.  Over the years their Euston vineyard grew to become the most diverse and one of the largest privately owned vineyards in Australia.

After a fantastic traditional japanese lunch, it so nice to be able to give the Japanese people some much needed support. Harvest in collaboration with Masaaki from Kitchen Saito has managed to raise a thousand dollars for the Japanese Tsunami victims. One of those feel good moments in this crazy world.

What a great day at the local farmers markets, Chefs Joe and Shannon put on a real show bringing the fantastic produce to life. Below are the two recipes from the day. Thanks to all who participated.

Food Lovers Event

Awesome foodies night in the old bakery, really trying to embrace traditional cookery and expand our culinary horizons. Joe and Shannon are so excited by this event and I hope that a certain group of you are as well.

Harvest Cafe wins Restaurant of the Year

Harvest Cafe has been awarded three industry gongs at the Savour Australia Restaurant & Catering Hostplus Awards for Excellence held in Newcastle on Monday night. Triumphing over formidable peers in the Northern Rivers and New England Regions, the Newrybar cafe took out the coveted accolade of Restaurant of the Year, as well as Best Contemporary Restaurant and Best Breakfast Restaurant.

Head chef, Joseph Griffin, was on-hand to receive the awards at the Newcastle Civic Centre on behalf of Harvest Cafe. Owners Tristan and Kassia Grier credit the restaurant’s success as “the result of a passionate, hard-working and close-knit team”.

This is the second time Harvest Cafe has been awarded Best Breakfast Restaurant at the Savour Awards, having won the category previously in 2004.

A 13-year-old institution, the Savour Australia Restaurant & Catering Hostplus Awards for Excellence are the most respected awards in the hospitality industry and are judged according to exacting standards.

Harvest Cafe’s outstanding performance at this year’s Awards further positions the restaurant as one of the region’s finest establishments, offering not only award-winning fare with a focus on seasonal, local produce, but also a relaxed and approachable dining experience.

Set in the Byron Bay hinterland, Harvest Cafe and the historic Harvest Old Bakery are owned and run by Tristan and Kassia Grier, who have a combined total of 26 years experience in the hospitality industry. Since taking over the business in 2007, Harvest Cafe has attracted the attention of the food media and industry professionals alike, while also building a loyal client base of locals and regular visitors to the Byron region.

WORTH A DETOUR: Harvest Cafe in Newrybar. Picture: Adam Head Source: The Courier-Mail

Just 15 minutes from Byron Bay and five from the trendy township of Bangalow, Harvest is situated in a 100-year-old cottage next to the old bakery in the tiny village of Newrybar, which has about three shops.

The operators also own the 99-year-old bakery, which now acts as a function room for big parties and still smells of crusty bread and delicious preserves, while the new bar also has a boutique wine list, with more than 20 wines offered by the glass.

It’s a favourite with locals and visitors alike occasionally you’ll notice someone riding up on horseback to pick up something for lunch and combines a casual, laid-back atmosphere with a very superior menu that lures foodies from all over.

The food is locally sourced, wherever possible, mostly organic and all cooked on site, including the bread. So, for the tastiest, most nutritious food, you can’t go wrong.

The score:

Food: 16

Service: 16
Ambience: 17
Value for money: 16

About the score: 0-5 go somewhere else; 6-9 major change required; 10-13 reasonable, room for improvement; 14-16 good; 17-19 excellent; 20 the pinnacle.

For breakfast, try freshly baked (still warm) sourdough with grilled parma ham, avocado and lemon for $11.50; or a twice-cooked goats cheese souffle with micro herbs and rocket from the Harvest garden, fresh asparagus and a smoky paprika-flavoured oil ($18).

Muesli fans will be happy with plenty of fruit, both fresh and dried, combined with a selection of healthy seeds and local macadamia nuts, served with local organic yoghurt and milk, a real set-me-up for $10.50.

And as well as superb local coffee, you can have Australian bubbles by the glass, or a Bloody Harvest which Mary Queen of Scots would have loved with fresh chilli, galangal and kaffir lime added ($14.50).

Kids can have bacon and eggs or fluffy pancakes with maple syrup or caramelised banana ($6.50 or $7.50), and a baby chino for 70, so there’s the whole family happy for the day and kids are welcome here, with high chairs to keep them from biting adult ankles.

But unless your kids have super-sophisticated palates save the Dark Secret hot chocolate that’s made with Belgian chocolate and marshmallow ($4.80) for yourself.

At lunch time, the menu ranges more widely. We tried an absolutely brilliant terrine made from farmhouse pork and tender rabbit, served with crisp sour cornichons, olives and freshly baked bread ($22.50); and a vegetarian salad fresh from the garden containing green leaves and micro herbs with tofu crisply fried so that it hardly tasted like that flavourless vegan protein substitute, with fresh fennel, pickled beetroot and a citrus miso dressing raising the dish into heavenly realms ($17).

More rabbit was on offer, this time in a ragout infused with aniseed and cinnamon, melded with a creamy risotto and topped with a parmesan wafer ($24.50), and the most expensive dish, a crisp-skinned spatchcock, came with polenta, greens and a darkly flavoursome sauce made from Davidson plums ($28), and was worth writing home about, or even being praised to the skies in a review.

Want more? Rhubarb aficionados can have a tasting plate for dessert, including some poached rhubarb with raspberry sorbet; a stack of fresh berries, double cream and sable biscuits; and a rhubarb creme brulee. It’s the best $15.50 you’ll spend all year.

Or try two cheeses served with fresh fruit, candied ruby grapefruit and lavosh bread ($19 for one person).

So, if the madding crowds of Byron Bay get too much for you or if you’re just on the way south and need a break you’ll find that this clean, fresh, open cafe with its healthy food and relaxed but sophisticated atmosphere meets all your needs.

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HARVEST CAFE NEWRYBAR
Address:  18 Old Pacific Highway, Newrybar, NSW, Telephone: (02)6687 2644, website harvestcafe.com.au
Opening hours: Daily from 7.30am for breakfast and lunch; dinner Friday and Saturday evenings.
Liquor status: Fully licensed
Prices: Breakfast to $21, lunch $10-$28, coffee from $3
Owners: Kassia Picone and Tristan Grier
Chef: Joseph Griffin
Parking: Plenty free on street
Wheelchair access: Yes
Other: Seats up to 80; all major credit cards; table service; vegetarian, gluten-free, takeaway; airconditioned; toilets; noise level low