Lockington Hotel chef Simon Poynting and staff Joanne Kerr, Danielle Usherwood and Lincoln Cameron are on the road to glory.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
From a pool of 140 nominees across Victoria, the Lockington Hotel has been chosen as a finalist for two Victorian Australian Hotel Association awards.
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The hotel is one of 12 vying for the title of Best Chef of the Year and one of five for Best Bush Pub of the Year.
Lockington Hotel chef Simon Poynting said the team was proud of the achievement.
“We’re pretty proud and happy, if we get no further, I’m still so proud of how far we’ve got,” he said.
“I feel more alive than ever and stuff like this, it’s amazing for a little town like us to make the categories we’ve made.
“I’m so proud of the whole team, the front of house, the back of house, it’s a whole learning curve for us all and we’re keeping Lockington on the maps. That’s the main thing.”
With over 30 years of cooking experience under his belt, Mr Poynting brings a wealth of knowledge and creativity to the hotel kitchen.
However, cooking was not a job he intentionally sought out but one that fell in his lap at 21 years old.
In his home town of Apollo Bay, he became a fisherman straight out of school, going on month-long trips to fish in Tasmanian waters.
After long periods out at sea, he felt he was missing out on his youth, and so he decided to look for a new job.
Simon Poynting, at home on the kitchen.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
“I never thought I wanted to be a chef, I tried my hand at a lot of things,” he said.
“I was having a drink in the Apollo Bay beer garden and my mate’s parents owned it. He walked out one night and said, ‘we really need help tonight, mate, do you want to be a kitchen hand?’ and I did it and the rest is history.
“I just really enjoyed it and started to ask too many questions and the next thing you know, I’m an apprentice and it steam-rolled from there.”
After completing his apprenticeship on the Great Ocean Road, where he learnt to handle seafood, he moved to Melbourne to experience its vibrant food culture.
He worked in the city for around 12 years, gaining as much experience as he could in various kitchens and from chefs of different cultures.
Not long after meeting the woman who is now his wife, they visited Rochester for temporary work and ended up staying for 10 years and raising a family.
However, after the 2022 floods, they made the move to Lockington.
Now in his third year as the Lockington Hotel’s head chef, he has seen the establishment continue to grow.
“We’ve got people coming from everywhere, we’ve got such a name now,” he said.
“Especially our weekend lunches and our (dinner times), people are driving from all across the region because we have a name for what we’re doing with our food and what the guys are doing in the bar with their service.
“We’re just looking forward to the (awards) ceremony now and crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.”
Danielle Usherwood is one of the Lockington Hotel staff members who have made it the success it is today.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
Nominations for the awards opened in October 2024. Then there was a judging period, from Friday, January 10 until Monday, March 3.
During this time, secret diners were deployed across Victoria to assess the nominated venues.
Each business was evaluated on a range of aspects, including food, service and staff knowledge of local wines and produce.
Within the region, other hotels have also been named among the AHA Award finalists, including Echuca Hotel for Best Live Entertainment Venue Excellence in Service.
The American Hotel, Echuca has also been nominated for awards, including Best Cocktail List of the Year, Best Outdoor Experience — Regional and Best Pub Bar — Regional.
All the finalists will be attending an awards ceremony on Monday, May 19.
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