THE TWEED River Jockey Club is pleased to announced culinary artist and chef to the stars Nigel Coulson will take the club to the next level with 30 years’ experience in five-star hotels across the country including being the youngest ever sous chef in the Australasian Hyatt Hotel.
Nigel Coulson joined the Tweed River Jockey Club in April this year and felt immediately the devastation of the township and local area after the major flood event.
Nigel has since fallen in love with the Tweed Valley and is looking to call the Tweed River Jockey Club his home.
Nigel started with the Hilton Hotel, Sydney and finished his training in the opening team of Peppers on Sea in Terrigal.
Peppers went on to the Cosmopolitan in Double Bay where Nigel was part of the opening team and the rest of Peppers is history as they expanded across the country.
The world then opened up to Nigel, with experiences including the opening of a restaurant in Redondo Beach, Los Angeles and Chef de cuisine of the famed La Fontaine on Hayman Island.
Nigel came back to his homeland, opening his own restaurant on the famous fine dining strip of Tedder Avenue at Main Beach on the Gold Coast called Nosh, which received the Modern Australian Restaurant Award for Queensland after only eleven months of trading.
After a complete renovation to the Mermaid Beach Surf Club, on Hedges Avenue, known Australia wide as millionaires row, Nigel was offered the catering contract and spent four years modernising the dining culture of Surf Clubs on the East Coast of Australia.
Nigel’s “Chef to the Stars” name came about from having an interest in the music industry and catering for the likes of Madonna, Mick Jagger and Jimmy Barnes.
On the back of these experiences he became the “Chef to the Stars” including now catering for the artists at the Byron Bay Bluesfest.
Here at Murwillumbah the “Chef to the Stars” played a major part in the Tweed River Jockey Club’s inaugural 70 Club Sponsorship afternoon on June 4, with nothing but five-star ratings for his food.
Nigel is now preparing for the busy racing schedule going into Christmas including the Murwillumbah Cup on August 25, the traditional Melbourne Cup and of course everybody’s favourite the Murwillumbah Twilight in December.
Nigel’s passion is weddings and functions and is looking at using the magnificent facilities of the Tweed River Jockey Club to promote his modern fresh spin to cooking.
“Because of my experiences I can accommodate a broad range of menu options and any requests,” he said.
“I have a personalised approach to making special days simplistic. The Tweed River Jockey Club is completing the final touches to a fantastic new deck on course and has updated its lounge facilities and will now be making these available for the public at large to use on their special days.”
The Tweed River Jockey Club in conjunction with Nigel will hold its first A-la-Carte dining event on Friday, July 28, in the Lounge.
Nigel said he’s looking forward to showcasing all of his experience for Murwillumbah and the Friday in July will be the first of many dates.
“The opportunities here are endless and I could see nothing better than listening to some music on a Sunday afternoon, gazing at the beautiful backdrop the valley has to offer trying some of my famous tasting platters whilst enjoying some beverages,” he said.
If you are interested in making a reservation for Friday, July 28, please contact the Tweed River Jockey Club on 0408 627 573, numbers are limited.
