New restaurant Midden by Mark Olive opening at the Opera House in July

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Midden by Mark Olive opening at the Opera House in July
New restaurant Midden by Mark Olive opening at the Opera House in July

A new restaurant, Midden by Mark Olive, opened at the Opera House on Tuesday 4 July with celebrated  Indigenous Australian chef and Bundjalung man Mark Olive at the helm. 

Midden’s Ambassador Chef Mark Olive will create an exciting new culinary experience that draws on  his Indigenous Australian heritage and heroes a produce-focused menu of native Australian ingredients  – from wattle seed and bush honey to saltbush and succulents.  

The new restaurant, currently trading as Portside and located in the Western Foyers, will be operated  by Doltone Hospitality Group and introduces a new vision to the Opera House’s current line-up of  renowned bars and restaurants. 

Diners at the restaurant can enjoy seasonal menus with vibrant flavours inspired by millennia of  traditional cuisine, including entrées like damper bread infused with native herbs served alongside  whipped eucalyptus butter. Main courses include blue gum-smoked barramundi, wallaby shanks  braised in bush tomato, and quandong-glazed chicken stuffed with warrigal greens. For an elegant  harbourside brunch, matinee high teas will be served on Wednesdays and weekends. 

“Opening a restaurant at the Sydney Opera House on Tubowgule, Gadigal country is a dream come  true. I could not be prouder to follow in the pioneering footsteps of leading Indigenous Australians like  Rhoda Roberts, Justine Saunders and Stephen Page who have brought incredible First Nations  storytelling to this place over the past 50 years. Of course, the land on which the Opera House stands  was a gathering place for ceremony and culture for thousands of years before the building itself was  ever conceived and I hope the menu we’ve created will give guests a real taste of that millennia-old  history and maybe even inspire some to cook with our vibrant native ingredients at home too,” said  Midden Ambassador Chef Mark Olive. 

“We’re excited to welcome celebrated Indigenous Australian chef Mark Olive and Doltone Hospitality  Group on board. Together, they will deliver an inspiring new dining experience that embraces Australia’s  distinct and diverse native produce within one of the most iconic settings in the world. Midden by Mark  Olive will be integral to the Opera House and all it stands for, and I can’t wait for our visitors and  audiences to enjoy this unique food offering that celebrates our First Nations’ heritage,” said Sydney  Opera House Chief Customer Officer Jade McKellar. 

“We are honoured that Doltone Hospitality Group was appointed by the Sydney Opera House to  reimagine the dining experience for the Western Foyers. We are also thrilled to welcome renowned  Indigenous Australian chef Mark Olive, who will bring his internationally acclaimed skills and culture to  enhance and transform the restaurant with the opening of Midden by Mark Olive. Mark’s collaboration  with us, along with his passion, creativity, and love of food, will take the Opera House on a wonderful  new culinary journey,” said Doltone Hospitality Group Managing Director Joseph Murray. 

Midden will open daily for lunch and dinner, with matinee high teas served every Wednesday and on  weekends. For trading hours and bookings, visit the Sydney Opera House website. 

Doltone Hospitality Group, an acclaimed and prestigious Australian-owned and managed hospitality  company with over 30 individual branded venues, was appointed by the Opera House as the operator  of its Western Foyers restaurant and theatre bars for a five-year term following a public tender process..