HSA November 2020
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Fires of Hell:<br />
OUTDOOR A HIT IN COUNTRY PUB RENO<br />
WORDS: ROBERT LAIDLAW<br />
From an old historic pub to a jewel of the Clare Valley, the<br />
Watervale Hotel has been transformed into a “must visit”<br />
destination.<br />
When Nicola Palmer and Warrick Duthy were dining at the<br />
Watervale Hotel in September 2017, on a whim they decided to<br />
buy the pub with an eye on a major renovation to breathe new life<br />
into the venue.<br />
Three years and a pandemic later, that vision is now complete.<br />
“It was just a sleepy old pub with less than a quarter of the<br />
available space open, so there was renovation potential,”<br />
Nicola said.<br />
“The original license was for 100 people, now we can have 400.<br />
We have a focus on good wine and good food.<br />
“We have our own organic and bio-dynamic farm (Penobscot ),<br />
which we run on the permaculture principals, to source fruit and<br />
vegetables for our salads – we are a farm-to-plate restaurant<br />
within a pub.<br />
“A part of putting in a new kitchen, we also run cooking classes,<br />
while outside is a barbeque – Fires of Hell – where we use the<br />
South American Asado style of roasting.”<br />
BEER GARDEN AND JAIL<br />
One of the space issues with the hotel was the unevenness<br />
of the land at the back, which Nicola and Warrick levelled and<br />
created a huge beer garden.<br />
In the process they excavated 1.7m of hillside – and although<br />
they kept the former jailhouse (the Hell-hole!) at the back as is,<br />
they converted it to allow full disability access.<br />
Nicola, who is the head chef, proved she can turn her talents to<br />
many projects. She designed the renovations, with the pièce de<br />
résistance being the press tin panelling, which retains the hotel’s<br />
historic feel.<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
Growing up in the region, Nicola has distinct childhood memories<br />
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