When you think of Château Élan in the Hunter Valley, you’ll likely conjure images of cosy accommodation, treatments at the luxury day spa, and leisurely days on the golf course.

While an experience of luxury and leisure is what you can expect at Château Élan, the resort also houses Legends Restaurant, a glass house-style dining experience that showcases the best of Australia’s abundant and quality natural ingredients.

The menu at Legends Restaurant has recently undergone a transformation, with Chef Praveen Leelavathy moving away from the South American share style menu to a fusion of flavours from across the globe.

What hasn’t changed, though, is the focus on quality, seasonally-available produce. 

“The concept behind Legends Restaurant is an evolving culinary culture focused on updated food trends, while sourcing and incorporating the best seasonal produce from the country,” Praveen explains.

“We’re focused on sustainable seafood, and the best cuts of meat, game and poultry. We aim to showcase our food by keeping its natural identity in an elegant, sophisticated way.”

A menu that fuses global flavours is a logical step for Praveen, who has over two decades of experience cooking in professional kitchens in Asia, the Middle East and Australia. 

Praveen has a particular love of French, Mediterranean, South East Asian, Indian and South American cuisines, so it makes sense that these flavours have influenced the new menu at Legends Restaurant.

Praveen’s menu highlights are the Seared Hokkaido Scallops with a burnt lime peach reduction and parsnip; Torched Tasmanian Salmon with cucumber, Oscietra caviar, vanilla and bulls blood; Sticky Pork Belly with gochujang, bamboo shoot and snow peas; and the Choc Peanut Tart with salted dulce ice cream for dessert.

Other dishes to look out for include the Pressed Lamb Shoulder, with mint jus and peas, to start; the White Stripe Lamb Three Bone Rack with Dutch carrots, blanched broccolini and red wine jus, from the grill; and Grilled Pineapple with coconut ice cream, lychee jelly and cashew praline, to finish your meal.

With sustainability, seasonality and quality at the heart of the menu of Legends Restaurant, it makes sense that the team source produce locally as much as they can.

“Several of our main meat cuts are carefully selected from the Hunter region, especially the signature cuts. We use hormone-free, grain-fed beef, plus New England lamb,” Praveen said.

You can also expect market catch seafood from the Newcastle region depending on availability, with a Market Fish of the Day with broccolini and pico de gallo a staple on the menu. 

With 180 degree views of The Vintage golf course, enjoy a refined, immaculately-presented dining experience at Legends Restaurant.