Victorian regional cuisine: Ballarat undergoing a resurgence

Victoria is well known for its regional cuisine, and with border restrictions and the curtailment of international travel, more and more Victorians have been exploring what their state has to offer outside of the key culinary drawcard of Melbourne. 

One of the hidden gems of Victoria’s regional centres is Ballarat, which is currently undergoing something of a culinary resurgence – although it has long been home to trailblazers like Peter Ford Catering, which has carved out a respected niche in the market over the past two decades. But particularly in the last five years, Ballarat has seen an influx of eclectic food and dining options – tying in with the move of Melburnians lured by its property prices in the idyllic tree lined streets of areas like Soldiers Hill and picturesque Lake Wendouree.

The former heart of Ballarat – the streets directly around its heritage listed railway station – had fallen somewhat into neglect over the past decades, but are now becoming reinvigorated as a food and accommodation hub, thanks in part to the ongoing Ballarat Station Redevelopment project and the new GovHub precinct on the site of the old Civic Hall which now houses some 1000 public servants.

Just across the road from the railway station is the historic Provincial Hotel, which six years ago stood dilapidated and empty, yet now houses an award-winning boutique hotel and Lola’s restaurant, the brainchild of husband and wife team Simon and Gorgi Coghlan.

While Simon has spent 25 years in hospitality, Gorgi’s background is in media, and together they’ve worked hard to establish a vibrant new identity for this longtime Ballarat landmark.

“She really is a jewel in the crown of Ballarat’s historic buildings,” Gorgi tells us. “The landlord had asked Simon if he’d be interested in seeing what he could do with her, and he phoned me up and asked me to meet him there.

“We walked through together and I could immediately see how much potential she had – the bones were all there and I knew she could be glorious but what she needed was texture, beauty, femininity. So I said, I’m happy to do it but it’s going to be so much work! We took her over and spent four and a half months working long hours and then flopping into bed and asking ourselves, is this going to be worth it?”

The pair reshaped, restyled and rebranded her, built a whole new restaurant and bar, and opened up at the end of November 2018. “She’s been really embraced, although the pandemic has been very challenging – nothing short of heartbreaking at times,” Gorgi says. “But people’s support of what we’ve done has been so overwhelming and gratifying.”

Their inspiration came from sitting in a Montmartre bistro in Paris – “just that classic French approach, the simplicity, the Parisian touch … we wanted to bring back a slice of Europe to Ballarat,” Gorgi explains. “And with the pandemic, our customer demographic has shifted somewhat – we’re now getting people who would otherwise be going to Europe coming in and saying ‘I feel like I’m getting my touch of Paris without leaving the country’. They love the attention to detail, the sense of home – I think people are moving away from big hotels because of quarantine, they’re wanting something more intimate and homely and those special touches you only get in boutique hotels.”

The “infamous temptress of the Ballarat goldfields”

Simon’s personality is injected into the business predominantly through Lola’s restaurant – appropriately named after historic personality Lola Montez, the “infamous temptress of the Ballarat goldfields”! Head chef Philippe Desrettes hails from France and worked in his native country as well as Switzerland and the UK before coming to Australia in the 1990s; prior to settling in Ballarat he was Executive Chef at Vino’s/1 Degree Bar and Dining in Brisbane. His wife Karine, also French, is Lola’s FOH Day Manager, which gives the restaurant an authentic French vibe that’s matched by the décor and stylings.

”We didn’t start off with a French themed menu, it was more of a European bistro to be honest, but when our original chef had to go back home, we talked with Philippe and Karine whom Simon had worked with before and they said they’d be keen to work with us here.

“Philippe’s beautiful execution of classic French dishes is so remarkable that the menu really just fell into place – we realised this is exactly who we are.

“We're just about to launch a new menu so customers can enjoy even more of his signature French dishes. We asked him to think back to what he enjoyed eating while he was growing up – that was our inspiration, when you put something in your mouth and it evokes memories of wonderful times in your life, or you think you've never tasted food like this before. So Philippe reflected on what he's passionate about, which dishes feel like home to him and how can he can replicate that experience for our guests. The new menu is really a celebration of his French childhood.”

Both Gorgi and Simon are Ballarat locals and she says the local culinary scene is undergoing a strong resurgence. “We’re the fastest growing regional city in Australia and we’ve seen quite a few chefs from Melbourne and other capitals who’ve decided to move here because they want more work-life balance and the cost of leasing restaurants in the larger cities is so high. So they’ve taken the punt and invested in Ballarat which after all is only an hour and a half from Melbourne.

“Locally we have Derek Boath at Underbar who worked in New York and decided he wanted a change of lifestyle – Underbar is only open two or three nights a week and has been awarded a chef’s hat in the Good Food Guide awards. Not far from us is Raggazone, which has excellent modern Italian based on the Tippo 00 restaurant model in Melbourne. And in the past 18 months we’ve seen two or three brand new bars which offer that Manhattan/Melbourne cocktail experience where you can go in for a beautiful negroni.

“The way was really paved by Mitchell Harris Wines, who decided to bring their cellar door into the city a few years ago. That was a game-changer because suddenly people could go into a heritage building and experience beautiful wines and bites from a really laid back bar menu.”

“Other restaurateurs and entrepreneurs saw what they were doing and started asking, what can I do? Now we have a whole lot of people bringing that experience into Ballarat, and there’s plenty of community support because increasingly we have young professionals coming here who are more discerning and demanding about their food as they’re used to what’s available in the city.

While the restoration of the Provincial and the creation of Lola’s has clearly been a labour of love for Gorgi and her husband, she emphasises “it’s not been without its challenges”, adding: “It has been wonderful to execute a project like this – we never thought we’d ever do a boutique hotel, but if you have the passion, the will, the desire and throw yourself into it, it’s remarkable what you can achieve. Now we walk in and there’s a full hotel, the guests are bustling in with their bags and the restaurant’s buzzing. I can understand why people get addicted to the theatre of hospitality – it’s an industry with a bit of magic to it.”

Lola’s is currently looking for a new restaurant manager.
Email: enquiries@theprovincialballarat.com.au