Latest news with #Huddart
The Age
28-05-2025
- Climate
- The Age
New-wave regional restaurants elevating South East Queensland's dining scene
Eating outRegional guides A 20-seat vine-covered cottage, a bistro with stunning views and a restaurant in a rainforest are giving us reasons to go regional. , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. It's another of those miserable days South East Queensland has been suffering through of late. Thick sheets of rain, one after another, slow the drive from Brisbane to Nambour, then up, up and further up the range to Mapleton in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. It means it's late when I step into Mapleton Public House (2 Flaxton Drive, Mapleton) for Thursday lunch. Yet, the place is packed. Pretty Mapleton Public House. Not long ago, this was just a charming weatherboard pub pouring pints for locals. That was until 2022, when husband-and-wife team Ben Johnston and Jessica Huddart bought the place. Johnston and Huddart are best known in food circles as owners of The Falls Farm, which supplies specialist produce to heavyweight Brisbane restaurants such as Agnes and Essa. (They also own respected design business Josephmark. Remember when Timberlake-era Myspace switched to sideways scrolling? That was them.) Together with veteran chef Cameron Matthews, they intended to tap the produce from their farm to create the ultimate paddock-to-plate restaurant. In the process, they've become stars of a new wave of elevated eateries in the South East Queensland region. Brunch time at Mapleton Public House. Brisbane and, to a lesser extent, the Gold and Sunshine coasts, have long boasted nationally recognised restaurants, but that often failed to translate beyond the cities. Over an expansive spread from that day's menu, Huddart sits down to talk about what's changed. The weather might be obscuring the pub's usually spectacular views towards the coast, but the colour on the plate makes up for it: the vivid green of farm-picked cucumber and 18-month pickled peppers, the rich red of house-cured roo salumi and rosella jam, or 'nduja-braised sugarloaf. A selection of dishes at Mapleton Public House. Matthews is a long-term regional specialist – he cut his teeth at Simone's in Victoria's Bright and later led that kitchen – but the challenge of rewriting his menu depending on what's coming out of the farm that week (or day) has added extra verve to his cooking. Everything pops with attention-grabbing flavour. 'People feel more tied to their produce now,' Huddart says. 'They're interested in that provenance, and we've been investing in the farm now for 12 years. It's a story we're trying to tell of food grown with care. 'I think there's a correlation between the rise of regional dining and young people pushing out of the cities, or exploring outside of the cities, particularly since the pandemic. It's a rising tide that lifts all boats locally … but also throughout the region.' Blume restaurant in Boonah. Grace Dooner Jack Stuart agrees. Head an hour southwest of Brisbane, deep into the Scenic Rim region, with its pretty patchwork of farms and dramatic ranges, and you'll hit sleepy Boonah. There's a pub, a brace of bakeries, and an RSL. Then there's Blume (5 Church Street, Boonah) , a handsome 24-seater that Stuart opened in an old timber shopfront in 2022. A veteran of Congress Wine in Melbourne, Stuart had considered opening a restaurant in Brisbane when he fell for this beguiling, light-filled space with its timber floors and pressed metal walls. 'I think there's a movement in the Scenic Rim, especially,' Stuart says. 'You have Essen in Stanthorpe and Myrtille in Crows Nest. But I definitely want to do something else in the Scenic Rim.' Stuart fell in love with producers such Scenic Rim Mushrooms, Tommerup's Dairy Farm and Valley Pride (for target beetroots), among many others, which he heroes on his seasonal menu. 'Recently, I met a lady, Chris Greenwall, who has an acreage,' Stuart says. 'She was at the market selling beautiful Jerusalem artichokes. We've started a relationship and next year's artichokes are just for Blume … That's a dream come true.' Essen owner-chef Clarissa Pabst. Paul Harris Clarissa Pabst has a similar relationship to local produce in her native Stanthorpe. Situated 218 kilometres southwest of Brisbane near the NSW border, this is the Granite Belt region. Almost 900 metres above sea level, it's known for the Euro-inflected wines from producers such as Bent Road and Golden Grove. But pre-pandemic, when Pabst moved back to town, there wasn't much of a food scene to go with it. 'There was no one really matching food to the wine,' she says. Her response in 2019 was to open Essen (2 McGregor Terrace, Stanthorpe) , a cosy 20-seat restaurant in an old vine-covered cottage. Not that Pabst pairs wine to her contemporary menu, but a BYO permit encourages diners to explore the surrounding wineries before visiting. Essen restaurant in Stanthorpe. Paul Harris The other appeal of opening in the regions? Cost. Pabst reckons it would've been much harder to open Essen in the city, where rents are higher and there's more competition. Also, Brisbane has, in recent decades, tended to lack the smaller tenancies that give a young chef-patron scope to throw ideas at the wall. 'Regional dining is a great way to get into the market,' Stuart confirms. 'You can open small with lower outgoings in a destination. For me, the rent wasn't crazy – that, on top of the produce, meant it added up.' Tranquillity surrounds Spirit House Restaurant. Five more spots to visit Spirit House The South East's most celebrated regional restaurant remains vital. Chef Tom Hitchcock's cooking is based on Thai techniques but also reaches towards Indonesia and the Philippines. The restaurant's setting inside its own rainforest is fabulous escapism. Book ahead. The Paddock Head into the Gold Coast hinterland to discover this light-filled pavilion with views across boutique country retreat Beechmont Estate. A long lunch here experiencing chefs Chris and Alex Norman's Euro-influenced food is a neat escape from the region's sweltering summers. The Peak at Spicers Peak Lodge Set within Australia's highest sub-alpine lodge, The Peak is the pick of Spicers' accomplished South East Queensland restaurants on location alone. Chef Gareth Newburn, who has a particular interest in native ingredients, uses produce from nearby Scenic Rim and Lockyer Valley. Host Toowoomba was overdue for something like Host when it opened as Zev's Bistro in 2016. Chef-patron Kyle Zevenbergen isn't afraid to toy with surprising flavours, and the restaurant's street-art cool fitout accounts for the rest of its charm. Myrtille From the ashes of much-loved Emeraude in nearby Hampton came Myrtille, a theatrical bistro that was restored by the Hinds family in Crows Nest in 2022. It draws big weekend crowds, so book ahead to experience an accomplished French-influenced menu. The 10 Queensland restaurants you need to eat at this year Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up More: Regional guides Queensland Best of Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-at-large at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, the Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.
Business of Fashion
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
Cult Swim Brand Hunza G Goes for Growth
LONDON — The distinctive crinkle of a Hunza G swimsuit has been a feature of creative director Georgiana Huddart's life for as far back as she can remember. Her mother wore the brand to see her through multiple pregnancies, the material stretching and contracting with her belly. While the label had closed down and faded from fashion by the time Huddart hit her teenage years, the notion of swimwear that flexed with the female body stuck with her. A chance discovery of a rack of old Hunza products during a vintage shopping trip in Berlin in 2006 turned a nostalgic memory into the spark of a business idea. Huddart bought the whole rack and began wearing the products to summer holidays and parties. But while she started snapping up all the old product she could find on eBay, for years Huddart couldn't find anyone to reproduce the distinctive crinkle fabric for her. Then in 2015 a mutual acquaintance saw her wearing a Hunza dress at a party and connected her to Peter Meadows, who founded the brand in 1984. Then in his late 60s, Meadows was retired, but he still had a stash of the original crinkle and was open to the idea of reviving the label. They added a 'G' to the brand in a nod to Huddart's first name and within weeks they'd made a plan to relaunch. Huddart bootstrapped the company, hiring three of her brother's friends to help pack and ship orders. 'We had no PR, no marketing. It was me with a laptop and like three teenagers helping me,' she said. But customers loved the product, a one-size-fits all swimsuit with a distinctive, but low-key look that hugged curves, while hiding lumps and bumps. With no marketing budget, the brand leaned on social media to gain traction. Early posts by models like Adwoa Aboah and Georgia May Jagger helped boost visibility, as did purchases by celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Rihanna, but Huddart also leaned on posts from every-day customers to populate the brand's feed; a decision that lent the label a feel of authenticity and relevance. 'It wasn't like super fashionable women all the time,' she said. 'In the first year, we'd have a post of Rihanna, but then next to her might be just a customer from Wandsworth who had three kids who looked great on her holiday in the South of France.' Though hardly cheap — Hunza G's swimsuits today retail at between £175 to £215 ($234–$288) — the pricing was competitive when compared to high-end swim brands like Zimmerman, Heidi Klein, Melissa Odabash and Eres. 'That didn't really exist at the time across any brands,' said Huddart. 'It was like you were either super elitist and aspirational or you were high street.' The combination of product performance, social media marketing and accessible pricing proved a winning formula. The brand has been consistently profitable and generated nearly £30 million ($40 million) in sales last year, giving it a solid toehold in an intensely fragmented swimwear market. A management buyout supported by a group of investors late last year gave Meadows an exit and made Huddart the controlling shareholder. With a solid financial foundation and the appointment of former Ssense and Pangaia executive Krishna Nikhil as CEO in April, the company says it's now poised to ramp up growth. Hunza G's distinctive crinkly swimwear has garnered a cult following, bringing in sales of nearly £30 million last year. (Hunza G) Over the next two years, Hunza G is aiming to double sales, fuelled by international expansion and the introduction of new product categories. But its longer-term ambitions are far greater: to carve out a distinctive and enduring niche in swim in the same way Lululemon has for yoga pants and Skims has for shapewear. '[Hunza] created the idea of one size fits swim,' said Nikhil. 'When you deliver something in a category that redefines the category and connects your community, I think that's when you can drive true growth and scaling.' Brand Building Swimwear is a tough nut to crack. The market is growing, with global sales of women's swim rising more than 20 percent over the last decade, from $13.7 billion in 2015 to $16.8 billion last year, according to Euromonitor. But it's dominated by a plethora of small players, with few brands able to carve out a dominant position or scale as they have in other sectors. Hunza G is not alone in its ambitions. Euromonitor projects the swimwear market is likely to continue to grow steadily over the coming years, with its fragmentation creating opportunities for M&A and consolidation. Andie, an eight-year-old, US-based swimwear brand with $50 million in annual revenue acquired apparel label Richer Poorer last week, aiming to leverage the deal to double sales in the next three to five years. Hunza G wants to achieve the same growth in the next two. Organically. 'There's a kind of pent up ambition for the brand and business,' said Tom Fleming, a founding partner at venture fund Venrex Investment Management, which came on as a minority investor in Hunza G in last year's management buyout and has also backed brands like Orlebar Brown and Charlotte Tilbury. ' [But] it's going to be harder to have a breakout brand in the swimwear category.' That's because customers are very discerning, equally fickle and are spoiled for choice in a space that runs on trends. 'What scares me about this sector is that it feels like, as new collections launch, it's like investing in a new business every season,' Fleming added. By contrast, what makes Hunza G distinctive is the crinkly, form-fitting fabric that has defined its look since the '80s, giving it a stable brand signature. Its forgiving stretch, shapewear-style control and resulting one-size-fits-all products have also given the label an edge in a sector where shopping is often fraught and demoralising. Women are often different sizes on top and bottom, making it a chore to find swimwear that actually fits, not to mention the body image issues raised when shopping for garments that are the closest most people will get to public nudity. 'Putting on a swimming costume that makes you feel like your best self and you never thought you'd feel like that, it's quite unusual,' said Huddart. Over the last decade, the brand has fended off the inevitable dupes by developing new styles, but also continuously investing in improving the performance and feel of the fabric. Its distinctive look has allowed it to carve out a solid base from which to grow, without leaning on heavy branding or flash-in-the-pan trends. 'This is universal enough to not go out of fashion that quickly,' said Bosse Myhr, buying director for menswear, womenswear and childrenswear at Selfridges. 'Innovation is important… but a little black dress is still a little black dress. It's almost like Hunza defined that market [in swim] in that they have something they are ultimately known for.' When the British retailer started stocking the brand a few years before the pandemic, 'any drop we got sold out within two or three weeks,' said Myhr. It's still among Selfridges' best-selling swimwear brands. 'They were almost like a disruptor in the market,' Myhr added. 'The crinkle fabric bikinis, it's a very inclusive one-stop-shop for a lot of people.' Going for Growth To fuel its growth ambitions, Hunza G is looking to expand internationally, deepening its wholesale relationships and lucrative partnerships with hotels (the brand is stocked in 552 doors, which together drive about 50 percent of the brand's sales, with the remainder coming from its own e-commerce channel). It's introducing new, more trend-led collections, like a recent gingham drop to broaden its offering. But its best-selling product remains its trusty square-neck crinkle swimsuit. 'We know we have to continue to invest in creating exceptional products, making the fabric better and better,' said Nikhil. Hunza G has introduced new collections, like a gingham range, as it looks to expand its offering. (Hunza G) Despite the retail chaos of the last few months, the brand is relatively well positioned, with manufacturing in the UK, Europe and Morocco — regions with limited exposure to the Trump administration's tariff threats. The brand's one-size-fits-all offering also helps keep its inventory with stockists lean and streamlined, which is helpful at a time of market uncertainty. The challenge ahead will be to navigate the current turmoil, while charting a path to growth that doesn't sacrifice the brand's essence and desirability. 'Any trend-driven brand ultimately has a cap on its growth,' said Nikhil. 'Hunza is very different than that in that it is performance and emotional.' 'We really want everybody to be buying a Hunza,' added Huddart. 'We've barely scratched the surface.'
