Hairdresser turned into Macleod’s first bar

A hairdressers has been turned into the northern suburb’s first bar, stretching over two levels with a cocktail program geared at training hospitality up-and-comers.

Macleod hairdresser Frank Ciccone, pictured with wife, Helen, is transforming his salon of 25 years into a bar. Picture: Alex Coppel

“DON’T you dare.”

Hairdresser Frank Ciccone is either bold or brave for ignoring his wife’s warning about his next business move.

The man-about-Macleod was meant to be giving Hair By Ciccone a little cut and colour in lockdown but instead uprooted his salon of 25 years to open the suburb’s first bar.

“We were getting ready to renovate and once I saw that red brick wall, I thought ‘this looks like a bar’. My wife said, ‘don’t you dare’,” he said.

Bar Ciccone has been popping up inside the Aberdeen Rd salon since last year, but in February will come into its own, stretching across two levels.

A strong local ethos will result in Victorian wines and local beers poured (but not on tap, it’s not a pub), with a cocktail program geared at training hospitality up-and-comers.

Food won’t be made in-house, instead supplied by the local pizzeria and chicken shop and ordered via QR code from your mobile.

“There are no bars in Macleod,” Ciccone said.

“If you want to go out here people usually stick to their own sporting and social clubs.”

Ciccone hopes the bar will upskill local kids and give them a place to work post-lockdown.

“Nobody is giving these young kids a go and I wanted to give them an upstart in the industry,” he said.

“We’ll give them the opportunity to get their RSA and teach them the craft of making cocktails in the bar.”

Ciccone, who helped launch the city’s DaHa club, plans to have live music in the space.

Hair By Ciccone will reopen on nearby McNamara St.

400 Gradi's Johnny Di Francesco and Pav Queen's Nerida McPherson. Picture: Lisa Pignataro

PAVS BY THE THOUSANDS

If you rocked up at Nerida McPherson’s house on Christmas Eve five years ago, you’d be served a traditional roast pork dinner with all the trimmings and trifle for dessert.

Things will be a little different this year for the presenter-businesswoman, who six months ago launched Alphington pavlova shop Pav Queen.

McPherson will be pumping out ‘thousands’ of orders for her latest Christmas-themed pavlova creation which she’s made with 400 Gradi founder Johnny Di Francesco.

“We thought we’d marry a traditional Italian Christmas dessert to a traditional Australian dessert, so we came up with the pandoro pavlova,” she said.

Pandoro is a star-shaped Italian sweet bread, similar to panettone, eaten in the festive season.

McPherson’s version will use Gradi pandoro and take on Peach Melba vibes with raspberries, peaches and white chocolate.

Admittedly, McPherson is new to the Italian cake game.

“Our lovely Italian friends and neighbours have been gifting us cakes for Christmas,” she said.

“Panettone and pandoro are nice alone, but when they go stale make the most beautiful bread and butter puddings. Nothing goes to waste.”

The dessert will be available as a dine-in special from Saturday at 400 Gradi in Brunswick, Mornington and potentially Crown.

Pre-orders for single and family-sized pavlovas also open on this day, with the pandoro pavlova joining 400 Gradi’s dessert menu from December 18.

Details:pavqueen.com.au

Florescence Gin is the official gin of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

GARDEN’S BOOZE MOVE

George Clooney, Kendall Jenner and The Rock are known for their boozy side hustles, now Victoria’s Royal Botanic Gardens can add a gin to its name.

Florescence gin was made by Geelong’s Anther Distillery and released to the public late November.

The garden’s botanists invited founders Dervilla McGowan and Sebastian Reaburn to create a gin from more than 10,000 plant varieties grown at the Melbourne and Cranbourne sites.

Don’t worry, it still tastes like gin with traditional flavours such as juniper, orange, lemon peel and coriander seeds at the fore, with nuances of native Tasmania xerophilia (alpine pepper), Kunzea parvifola (violet kunzea) and Baeckea gunniana (alpine baeckea).
Details: Florescence Gin, $90, anther.com.au

Two Wrongs owners Zachary Riggs and Isaac Constantine will take over the Golden Fleece in December.

GREEK HOLIDAY

Some eagle-eyed readers may remember from earlier this year founders of Chapel St dive bar Two Wrongs’ Isaac Constantine and Zachary Riggs were opening a mystery new venue in South Melbourne.

This month the duo will bring a slice of Santorini to the Golden Fleece Hotel, on Montague St, with a Mediterranean feel and airy rooftop bar.

Think Greek-style pizzas, pastas and tapas such as saganaki, salt and pepper calamari and arancini, alongside pub classics for the food and a mix of Med and Aussie wines.

The pub’s bottle shop will also have a subscription service allowing you to order your favourite drinks and have them delivered to your door monthly.

The Golden Fleece Hotel will open in December.

Eureka! The best sausage rolls in Australia can be found at Sovereign Hill. Picture: Eugene Hyland

BAKERY ON A ROLL

Looking for Victoria’s best sausage roll? Set the GPS to Ballarat.

Hope Bakery, inside tourist magnet Sovereign Hill, took home the gong at this year’s Official Great Aussie Pie and Sausage Roll Competition.

The bakery won the same award in 2014.

Other Victorian winners include Ocean Grove’s Rolling Pin Pies and Cakes for the best Gourmet Shepherds/Potato Top Pie category, while Springvale’s Cobb Bakery cleaned up for its lamb, minted pea and potato entry.

Tatura Bakery and J & M Catering, also in Ballarat, were among the other Victorian winners.

Judges tasted more than 1500 pies, sausage rolls and pasties from 200 bakeries nationwide for this year’s event.