Simone's of Bright: Leading regional Italian restaurant marks 30 years

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This was published 7 years ago

Simone's of Bright: Leading regional Italian restaurant marks 30 years

By Anthony Dennis
One of the Umbria-inspired dishes from the kitchen of Simones of Bright in north-east Victoria.

One of the Umbria-inspired dishes from the kitchen of Simones of Bright in north-east Victoria.

It's a starry, clear, frigid late autumn Saturday evening in north-east Victoria while inside Simone's of Bright, by contrast, a special warmth is radiating. It's not just the heating essential on such a night inside this congenial landmark Italian restaurant that's creating a certain snugness. It's the unmistakable warmth and infectious enthusiasm emanating from a diminutive Italian woman moving between guest-filled tables.

She circles the floor, dipping in and out of each of the various dining rooms of the house that was once a GP practice, pausing to explain, in her still discernable accented Italian, the evening's menus and dishes, as well as to chat, as dishes such as ricotta canneloni, mushrooms braised in porcini water with smoked-cured yolk and duck and lamb, crushed crackling, pickled cabbage, fennel, chicory and sangiovese sauce, emerge from the kitchen.

Hang on. This woman looks suspiciously familiar. Could it be Patrizia Simone, matriarch of one of Victoria's, if not Australia's, leading Good Food Guide-hatted regional restaurants?

At Simone's of Bright, three-quarters of all of the ingredients used come from within the boundaries of north-east Victoria.

At Simone's of Bright, three-quarters of all of the ingredients used come from within the boundaries of north-east Victoria.

The Umbrian-born Patrizia Simone who, the last time I checked, had three years ago graciously ceded control of her gastronomic fiefdom (QEII, please take note) to her 30-something son, Anthony, taking an overdue "head-clearing" sabbatical of sorts away from the stoves.

It's true. Patrizia is back, this time sharing duties on the floor with Hope, her daughter-in-law and Anthony's spouse. And not a moment too soon, either. Simone's, which remains a remarkable slice of regional Italy transplanted to the foothills of alpine Victoria, turned 30 years old this month.

It was Claude Forell, a pioneering restaurant reviewer for The Age, who first discovered the restaurant in the 1980s with the Simones hardly having missed a salt baked beet ever since.

One of the cooking classes run by Patrizia Simone, of Simone's of Bright restaurant in north-east Victoria.

One of the cooking classes run by Patrizia Simone, of Simone's of Bright restaurant in north-east Victoria.

But don't expect unbridled celebrations to mark this humble, refreshingly unpretentious restaurant's diamante anniversary. To mark the occasion, the Simone family is planning to revive, for a few months at least, some of their rustic classics such as rabbit, goat and handmade pasta dishes from menus over the three decades.

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In Italy, with a culinary culture running deeper than Silvio Berlusconi's pockets, that it'd make it a mere gastronomic bambino. But, low-key celebrations or not, here, in the Australian context, three decades makes Simone's positively ancient, the restaurant having begun life inside a small motel at Bright that Patrizia and her husband George opened in 1986.

"When George told me we were going to Bright I thought he said 'Brighton' [the Melbourne bayside suburb]," she says. "I thought, 'how lovely, we're going to live by the sea'."

Alas, no. George meant the sleepy, last major town before skiers reach before the Falls Creek and Mount Hotham ski resorts. The nearest significant stretch of water is probably the Hume Weir near Albury, NSW.

Fortunately for Patrizia and her then unrealised culinary ambitions, north-east Victoria was home to a community of Italian-Australians, many of whom had forged a post-war living through the growing of tobacco and other crops. They also grew produce, mainly for themselves and their friends, that would ultimately form the basis of the first menus at Simone's of Bright.

"My first suppliers were all Italian-Australians," Patrizia says. "They would say, 'I've got rocket in my garden that no one wants'. People always say that you cook with your heart but unless you've got the right producers and ingredients you can't cook that way at all."

But, in a testament to Simone's vision and determination, nowadays, three-quarters of all of the ingredients in the dishes served on Anthony's menus are sourced regionally from within the boundaries of the now formidable north-east Victoria food and wine bowl.

And with Anthony ensconced in the kitchen, adding modern touches to the menu without undermining its heritage, Patrizia also now runs a "country cooking school, which she began during her brief "retirement", consisting of six to eight people.

She's even contemplating a return to accommodation after all these years, in the form of a gourmet Italian-style bed and breakfast, as well as perhaps developing her own line of sauces. Then there are those front-of-house duties, which are clearly delighting guests and which says she loves, a number of nights a week. Welcome back, Patrizia. Oh, and felice anniversario.

TRIP NOTES

MORE INFORMATION

visitvictoria.com

GETTING THERE

Bright is a three-and-a-half hour or so drive north-east of Melbourne and just under 90 minutes by road south of Albury in NSW. There are regular Qantaslink, Rex and Virgin Australia flights between Sydney and Albury with rental vehicles available at the airport for the drive to and from Bright. See qantas.com; rex.com.au and virginaustralia.com

EATING THERE

Simone's of Bright is open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday, from 6.30pm. The degustation menu starts from $110 per person with a la carte available. 98 Garwan Street, Bright, Victoria. Phone (03) 5755 2266; see simonesbright.com.au

STAYING THERE

Villa Gusto is a beautifully-situated Italian-inspired luxury retreat in the Buckland Valley overlooking Mount Buffalo National Park about 10 minutes drive from Bright. Doubles start from $310 including a full a la carte breakfast. 630 Buckland Valley Rd, Buckland, Victoria. Phone (03) 5756 2000; see villagusto.com.au

Anthony Dennis was a guest of Tourism Victoria, Villa Gusto and Simone's.

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