Robyn Rogers
It’s good to see the hospitality revival is continuing in Hepburn Springs with the latest opening being Café Lotte (pronounced Lottie), on the main road this week. Formerly the site of Frank & Connie’s, locals have missed having a venue at this space and are excited about the venue being re-opened.
Ben and Jess Allen, along with Wes and Madeleine Hendricks, are the proprietors of Café Lotte. Ben and Jess were formerly at Pancho as the chef and FOH respectively and that’s the roles they will continue to perform, while Wes takes care of the Barista role and Madeleine focuses on the back office. They, with their children, all live locally and are very passionate about making a success of their first café together.
Ben is keen to make sure their menu is a bit left of centre – not your standard brekky – and that the café becomes a food destination. While initially the focus will be on breakfast and lunch offerings, the plan is to work up to opening for dinner and even a wine bar, but they are currently waiting on a liquor licence before that can happen.
The partners vision for the café is a focus on service, food and ambience with the café being staffed by experienced people, the food being as local as possible, with a nod to historic and Indigenous ingredients, all set in a comfortable and welcoming. atmosphere.
The menu will be small and focused, a la carte and will have a few specials depending on the seasonal ingredients available. Ben’s influences are European and English, but what he’s turning out is modern Australian. As the café is able to morph from afternoons into evenings, snacks will be available to have with a glass of Victorian and local Macedon Ranges wines, plus a dinner offering on some nights. Café Lotte is very much a work in progress and I think we can all look forward to watching it grow and change over the next few months.
I asked Ben what his signature dish is on the menu and why. He said, “the Lotte Plate reflects how we want people to see us – locally produced products from our local suppliers. For example, Salt Kitchen with Mr Cannubi mortadella, Long Paddock’s Banksia cheese and Tumpinyeri Growers for vegetables and salads”. So what’s on the Lotte Plate? The clues are in the suppliers but there’s much more to it than that, so I suggest you get along to Café Lotte and try it!
Café Lotte’s menu cover has a very local and Indigenous symbol that signifies how the partners want to be seen by their customers. Their research led them to the Murnong Flower (aka the Yam Daisy) that was one of the first foods to be harvested in the Goldfields region and symbolises the food history of this area. This just shows the passion that the partners have that they’ve taken the time to do the research and make sure it’s reflected in what they are presenting.
It’s great to have another hospitality business operating in Hepburn Springs again and seeing it come back to life after a tough period. Let’s make sure we support our newest café and keep Hepburn Springs buzzing.
Opening hours at Café Lotte at the moment are 8am until 3pm Thursday to Monday. Stay tuned for updates to those timings once the café has received its liquor license.
Welcome to Hepburn Springs Ben, Jess, Wes and Madeleine.
Robyn Rogers is a Hepburn Springs resident, a member of The Wombat Post Editorial committee and a regular presenteer on Hepburn Radio.
