VIP: Justin Hemmes to expand his empire, plus mid-winter ball, snow parties and smooth

THE country’s coolest restaurateur and bar-keeper, Justin Hemmes is set to expand his huuuuge empire.

River Cottage

THE countryÂ’s coolest restaurateur and bar-keeper, Justin Hemmes is set to expand his huuuuge empire.

The head of the Merivale group, looms set to open a Latin American-style restaurant/bar in the Manly Phoenix later this year.

Celebrating the launch of Clicquot In the Snow at his beloved Ivy venue this week – an initiative from the champagne house and ski resort Thredbo – Justin was also happy to celebrate two of life’s great pleasures, champagne and après skiing.

Justin, who has been behind some of Sydney's most high profile bars and muncheries including the Ivy, Establishment, Felix and Mr Wong told me November 1 looks set to be the opening date of his new Mexican-inspiring culinary digs.

While Manly has been on his agenda for a while – the Hugo’s boys set up their Manly biz to much acclaim a few years ago – the new venue for the Merivale boss is smack, bang waterfront.

"The whole thing is very different to anything we have done - that’s what I love about this world I’m in – and we’ll be adding to what is already a vibey and big bar and restaurant scene at Manly," he told me.

ivy

Justin was joined by Pip Edwards, Leah Simmons and Charlotte Holmes à Court gathered at the Den, Ivy’s intimate deco-inspired bar, which was transformed into a luxurious ski chalet, complete with ski bunnies and a Clicquot-inspired ice sculpture.

During the evening guests sipped on Veuve Clicquot and toasted the winter season as they heard how Clicquot in the Snow 2013 will see Thredbo turn “Clicquot Yellow”.

Anyone is invited (at a cost) to events like the Clicquot On-Piste Brunch Sessions at Kareela Hütte, the Clicquot Après-Ski Sessions, held daily at the Thredbo Alpine Hotel and The Denman Hotel and Clicquot High Tea Sessions at Eagles Nest, Australia’s highest restaurant with sweeping views of Thredbo.

Another addition this year is Clicquot Snow Croquet: played with hoops dug into the snow and Clicquot yellow mallets and balls. Lost for words. Really.

Take a look at http://www.thredbo.com.au/clicquotinthesnow

River Cottage

An Audience with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Seymour Centre ...

The new host of hugely success TV series, River Cottage Australia, Paul West was unleashed onto an appreciative audience.

The hugely attended event (Lifestyle Channels have taken on cult status) also included Hugh and Paul joined by chef's Matt Moran and Kylie Kwong.

Matt is in the middle of filming his series for LifeStyle, Paddock to Plate (bound to be a biggie judging by his brilliant Instagram posts) while Kylie brought along some of the insects she's cooking with at her restaurant Billy Kwong - woodhouse cockroaches, grasshoppers and meal worms. I kid you not.

The food gurus spoke on the first international franchise of River Cottage in Australia, food sustainability, ethical farming, seasonal cooking, native Australian ingredients and the future direction of food in Australia.

So popular, the queue for Hugh at the book signing after was enormous and lasted over an hour.
Aria catering catered the VIP event afterwards attended by Sarah Wilson, Lyndey Milan, Anthony Puharich (Ask the Butcher) and Shaynna Blaze (Selling Houses Australia), also Joanna Saville (Good Food), Danielle Oppermann (Delicious)

Mid-Winter Ball

Style Spy ...

No matter what your politics, our PM Julia Gillard, took the ‘mid-winter ball’ theme in Canberra seriously. Simply, she looked great.

Wearing a Carla Zampatti lace dress with a skin-colored underdress , her wavy hair and bold make-up was fantastic and the Gatsby vibe she channelled was appropriate and on-trend.

Also on a fashion note, industry veteran Jenny Kee took home the annual Fashion Laureate prize. Up against former Vogue editor Nancy Pilcher, sass & bide, Zimmermann and acclaimed teacher Nicholas Huxley, Ms Kee is a worthy recipient.

We can thank Jenny for bringing color, movement and exquisite print to our style landscape.

Gold stars all round.

smooth

Too Smooth

Smooth fm also celebrated their first birthday in the glamorous Ivy ballroom. The easy listening station has gone from strength to strength since launching 12 months ago.

Smooth presenters Richard Wilkins and David Campbell were the hosts of the evening.

A massive paella and antipasti station kept the crowd well fed, while hundreds of candles adorned the room and gave the space an intimate glow.

Happy birthday Smooth!