They’re young and hip and grooving up their town of Mudgee

Mudgee may be 3½ hours away from any cool inner-city suburb but the small country town is experiencing a radical foodie transformation.

Sydneysiders Sophie and Nick Storey bought Mudgee’s Blue Wren Farm and transformed it into a vibrant restaurant. Picture: Nick Cubbin

Mudgee may be 3½ hours away from any cool inner-city suburb but the small country town is experiencing a radical foodie transformation usually associated with the likes of Marrickville or Fitzroy thanks to an influx of passionate young people to the area.

A new generation of committed restaurateurs, winemakers, producers, architects and artists is bringing a fresh energy to the town of 12,000 and putting the once poorer winemaking cousin of the Hunter Valley firmly on the gastronomic map.

These young people have moved out from big cities during the pandemic, chasing their passions. And not only do they want to produce the best food and wine, they want to eat and drink it themselves as locals.

There are also families who have been in town for decades longer and set up key wineries and whose children have left, lived around the world and are now coming back home to take their family businesses to the next level.

“A lot of people are moving up here and setting up businesses, whether it is breweries or restaurants or producers and you can tell they are passionate about it, which is great,” says Edwina Yeates, who now works with her parents at Mudgee’s award-winning winery Yeates Wines after spending years overseas.

“I think the influx of the people from the city has really lifted the standard for the locals. It has also brought an energy to the town that we need to be a bit more competitive.”

In the October issue of WISH magazine, out with The Australian on Friday, we head to Mudgee and talk to the people who are shaping the town and turning it into a regional foodie hotspot.

Edwina Yeates of Mudgee’s award-winning Yeates Wines. Picture: Nick Cubbin

We also get the locals’ guide on where to eat, drink and sample the best wines.

One such couple who saw an opportunity in Mudgee and jumped on it are Sophie and Nick Storey. The pair had a corporate events catering company in Sydney for a decade before the pandemic hit and made it untenable.

When they were trying to figure out what to do next, the wedding venue Blue Wren Farm came up for sale in Mudgee.

The Storeys saw the potential to turn it into something much more – a produce-driven restaurant that offers something in-between the region’s fine dining restaurants and more casual pubs and cafes.

After two years of renovation, they opened last month.

“I think Mudgee is a really exciting place to be for people in the hospitality industry,” Sophie tells WISH.

“It’s also a really evolving place. When we first moved here, there wasn’t a good sourdough bakery or a bakery where you could get decent croissants, and now there are two.

“I think it is constantly changing and there are a lot of young people trying new things.”