Looking for a sophisticated regional getaway and dining experience? The Powerhouse, alongside its own Workshop Kitchen and Coal Bunker Bar, will undoubtedly light up your life. It should come as no surprise that the Powerhouse Hotel was built on Tamworth’s old power station (or ‘power house’) site. After all, back in 1888 that very earth housed the clever folks responsible for providing residents with electric street lighting – making Tamworth the first town in Australia and the entire southern hemisphere to light up come nightfall. Calling the same land home since 1986, the Powerhouse hotel continues to dazzle the town and region beyond. Here, FOUND Regional chats with three of the bright sparks behind the formidable venue.

I studied Hospitality Management at Ecole hôtelière in Switzerland and have since worked in the hotel and hospitality industry for over a decade – that’s included roles at The Ritz-Carlton Central Park, New York, Maradiva Villas Resort and Spa, Mauritius and at leading London restaurants The Wolseley and Rabot 1745. But there’s nowhere quite like home, right? When I returned to Australia, I was General Manager of the Powerhouse in Armidale for eight years, and recently relocated to Tamworth with my young family.

Coming to work every day is a joy for a number of reasons. My top three? To be part of the family business, to lead the team behind the only five-star hotel in the New England region and to deliver exceptional guest experiences in a space created by award-winning design team, Paul Kelly Design.

Paul drew on inspiration from around the world to introduce high-tech yet subtle lighting touches in each of the guest rooms, bar and dining spaces. Further features to the fit-out of each room include bespoke leather bedheads, marble bedside tables and bathrooms, timber details hewn from local craftsmen, and carpets and tiles designed specifically for the project.

The incredible attention to detail continues in The Workshop Kitchen and Coal Bunker Bar, where brass and timber elements, deep aqua-hued velvet soft furnishings, leather banquette joinery and bespoke marble cabinetry combine to pay homage to our history as the site of the town’s power station. The lighting, textures, colour palette and materials all connect to that era, while also creating a sense of comfort and luxury more commonly associated with hotels around the world.

Overall, the end result is undoubtedly a home away from home for our guests, as well as a celebration of Tamworth’s history as the first Australian city of light.

I was 21 years old when I first walked through those doors and I’ve considered the Powerhouse my second home ever since. I started on the floor, literally learning from the ground up. In my time I’ve covered the bar, restaurant, functions, reception and today I’m General Manager. I’ve seized every opportunity to ask questions and involve myself in all facets of the business. For me, the chance to work with Greg Maguire and help this prestigious, family-owned business achieve its business goals was a dream come true. Greg’s taught me so much – I live by his lessons. Some of my favourites? “If you have 30 ideas in a week and come away with one that sticks, you’ve had a good week”, “If you don’t have it, you can’t sell it”, and “Make sure things are top-notch every day”.

I fell in love with the place, the people and the possibility to create incredible guest experiences. Just one of those experiences is our extensive wine list. This has been my passion, six years in the making. I started by picking wines from all over the world – Japan, Lebanon, Slovakia, onto Napa, Sonoma and closer to home with the Barossa. We now showcase more than 270 wines and achieved a 3 Glass rating in the 2022 Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards. The Workshop Kitchen was the first restaurant in the region and one of only a few prestigious eateries in the nation to ever receive the rating. The Coal Bunker Bar also showcases an array of top-shelf spirits, including an entire whiskey cabinet from around the globe. We’re very proud of that – but I’ll always ask myself, what can we do next, what can we do better? Because as Greg taught me from day one, the sky’s the limit.

I always wanted to be a chef. Today, I’ve been in the industry 23 years and have worked across casual to fine dining, canapé and function service in some of Sydney’s landmark restaurants. But moving to Tamworth with my family to take on the role as Head Chef at The Workshop Kitchen was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Designing the menu for a venue like this is a culmination of my entire career. Understanding the Australian environment and palate is hugely important, as is knowing what people like and don’t like. For example, dinner is vastly different to lunch – the day is for crowd pleasers, but come nightfall people want to try something new and interesting. Here we offer both – from a 200g Jack’s Creek Scotch Fillet Steak Sandwich or Pepperoni Pizza to Creole Blackened Market Fish and Wood Fired Roasted Duck.

Bringing that together comes down to a lifetime of experience, building a great team in the kitchen and sourcing exceptional local produce. For us that includes amazing seafood and oysters from Coast & Plateau in Coffs Harbour, flour from Wholegrain Milling in Gunnedah, lamb from Thomas Foods and of course the multi award-winning Jack’s Creek beef. All of these elements combine to create the kind of dining experience people would usually only find in the city.

I’m working on our winter menu as we speak – that will feature a pressed lamb rib crumbed with sauce gribiche, a rich and brothy oxtail soup, as well as a slow cooked pork belly, marinated in five spice seasoning then barbecued and served with an eggplant sambal. Every opportunity I get to take cooking back to its roots, I’ll take it. It’s about fire, wood, good marinades, great meat and vegetables and combining all of the above to create real food and a beautiful dining experience.

Prepare to be dazzled

Have you experienced the Powerhouse? Seize the chance to dine, drink, play and stay at this prestigious regional venue – open seven days a week.

248 Armidale Road | Tamworth NSW 2340 | (02) 6766 7000 | Website | Facebook | Instagram