A big few months
3 min read
It’s been a few months since I last put pen to paper for the Mangan Digest and boy what a busy couple of months it’s been!
In February we opened the brand new Luke’s Kitchen in the spectacular Kimpton Margot Hotel in Sydney. It was fitting we opened on Valentine’s Day - because getting to that point was an incredible labor of love (and a bloody lot of blood, sweat & tears) by so many people. It was also a fitting night to welcome guests into our new space because we opened the original LK restaurant on Valentine’s Day back in 2018. So, it just felt right.
Over the past few months, I’ve loved catching up with so many of you in our new home. Thank you for being so supportive of me and the team. It’s great being back in business!
If you haven’t dropped into the Kimpton Margot Hotel then I’d invite you to pay us a visit soon. The space the team has created in the old Sydney Water Board art deco building - which includes Luke’s Kitchen in the lobby - is magnificent! We’ve been hosting bottomless brunches every Saturday with live music, caviar bumps and a bloody mary trolley. It’s been beyond satisfying to know they’ve been sold out every week!
As part of the hotel’s partnership with Moulin Rouge The Musical, we've also created a spectacular French-inspired 3 course pre-theatre dining menu at Luke’s Kitchen... inspired by the ideals of Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Love! This exclusive pre-theatre menu is available Wednesday through to Saturday for $85per person from 5pm. So, if you’re seeing the show, come and join us for dinner beforehand and then it’s just a short stroll down the road to the Capitol Theatre. Click here to book.
Up the road at glass brasserie things are also going great. Vivid has been brilliant for us, bringing so many Sydneysiders back into the CBD over the past few weeks. We’re also now back open for lunch on Thursdays and Fridays, and it’s been fantastic seeing so many familiar faces back dining with us. I, for one, want 2022 to be the year that the long corporate lunch makes a comeback! So, if you’re a suit-wearing, office-working city-slicker, please, make a booking (and, more importantly, try to make the boss pay)! Surely after the past two years, you deserve it?
On the topic of big comebacks, how good is it having cruise ships back sailing again?! In mid-April, P&O’s Pacific Explorer became the first cruise ship to return to Sydney Harbour after two long years! I opened my first restaurant onboard a P&O ship back in 2009 and now I’ve got six restaurants across the fleet! Seeing Pacific Explorer round Bradleys Head, pass Fort Denison and the Opera House and arrive alongside at the Overseas Passenger Terminal was a momentous moment for the local cruise industry and the thousands of people it employs. It's great to be cruising again!!! Check out some brilliant cruising holiday deals here… and don’t forget to drop into Luke’s once you’re on board!
Our much-loved pie, quiche and tart business - which became a hit during last year’s lockdown - is also still going strong. They’re perfect winter warmers and make for really easy and delicious weekday meals for the family. We’re now delivering to most parts of Australia - you can check out the Luke At Home range here.
So, as you can see, it’s been busy! The trouble is, we could be even busier if we just had more staff. As you probably know, the whole hospitality industry is struggling with finding people to work at the moment. You may have read a few pieces I’ve written (or seen/heard me on TV/radio) recently talking about just how dire the situation is. You can check out some of those pieces in the ‘In The Media’ section below. As it stands, though, we can’t open Luke’s Kitchen or glass brasserie every night of the week, because we just don’t have the chefs, waiters, kitchen and bar staff we need. I’m really hoping the new Federal Government comes to the party soon. We need to educate, train and mentor Aussies for a career in hospitality… because, as I can attest, it can be a bloody brilliant career. If you or anyone you know is keen to apply for one of the many positions we have on offer at the moment, please get in touch via info@lukemangan.com .
Speaking of staff, before I go, a little shout out to our beloved, long-standing glass waiter Jimmy Chu who retired back in March after almost 17 years of incredible service at Hilton Sydney. I know Jimmy served many of you over the years - and he knew many of you by name too! A few years ago, as a token of my appreciation of his work, I decided to name the private table at Glass “Jimmy Chu’s Table” - because, he’d pretty much always been “part of the furniture”, so it was fitting he LITERALLY became the furniture too! So, if you’re looking for a great place to catch up with friends, why not make a booking at Jimmy’s table?!
Here’s to being back in business!
LM