Hello my loves,

I'm very delighted to announce new intimate winter dinner dates for July 💛. We have two sittings available, on Friday 10 July and Friday 24 July, where we'll be serving an incredible seasonal set menu, packed full of local and sustainably sourced winter delights. I'm absolutely loving these dinners, the menu is just soooo damn delicious, and winter is such a beautiful season to sink into the candle-lit glow of the feasting table and be nourished.

If you've been thinking about coming along, I'd encourage you to lock in a date sooner rather than later. This is for two reasons: firstly, my lease on Hearth ends in September, so there's just a couple more months left to enjoy all her wonders. And secondly, I haven't released as many public sittings as I initially thought I might, as we have had a lovely spike in private events taking up some of those dates. If this year has taught me anything it's never say never, but if I had to pull a number out of a hat I'd say there are probably a maximum of six or seven public sittings on the way, including the two I'm releasing today, before I close Hearth's doors for good, and move on to my next offering. So if you've been wanting to experience one last dose of lovingly-prepared deliciousness, right in the heart of Newtown, now is the time. And I have to say, this menu is one of my best. It sails from zesty and fresh to warm and nourishing, with a gorgeously decadent finish.

Our feasting table offers a birds-eye view of my open kitchen, where you can watch me prepare all your delights, and I'll personally introduce your meal on the night, running you through the provenance of the ingredients and the inspiration behind each dish.

Tickets are $88 each for your three course meal, which includes:

A glass of gorgeous prosecco or a beer on arrival
Entree: Sustainably-sourced kingfish ceviche with citrus and thyme granita, olive oil and black salt
Main: Pasture-raised lamb breast braised in anchovy, garlic and rosemary
Main side: Roasted local pumpkin with tahini miso dressing and caramelised walnuts
Dessert: Spiced sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce and cream

A vegetarian menu is also available and all dietary requirements can be accommodated, but must be advised at the time of booking. You can purchase your tickets here.

Last Friday also marked the end of a mini-era, with our free food offering coming to a close. Thanks to the hugely generous contributions of many of you, and our community of incredible suppliers, we were able to run for 13 weeks, throughout the entire period of the most severe restrictions, offering weekly nourishment to anyone who needed it.

It was such an incredibly beautiful time at Hearth & Soul, and the love that poured forth from our community to support those who'd been left reeling by Covid will not be forgotten. I am so incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed donations or supplies, to our amazingly dedicated crew of volunteers who fronted up every single week to serve their community, and to everyone who gave themselves permission to receive what they needed and came along to avail themselves of some nourishment. I've quite simply never seen something more beautiful.

I do just want to do one final recap of all of the key businesses who stepped forward to support what we were doing. We would never have had the longevity that we did without them. It was such a crazy time for everyone and I think it's really important to note the people and businesses who chose to respond with generosity and love for their community. So, I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to:

QE Foodstores for their incredibly generous financial support (a whopping $1,000 donation!).
Sydney Sprouts for providing gorgeous, chemical-free, INCREDIBLY FREAKING DELICIOUS fresh lentils, endless other food supplies, and so much weekly love. Kim is such a gorgeous person, and her products are beautiful. I strongly suggest sprouting some of her lentils and using them in a nourishing winter braise, just like we did.
Touched by Olivia and Harris Farm for their hugely generous weekly contribution of fresh produce - so much produce in fact that we couldn't cook it all (!!), and so were able to have a weekly fresh food offering alongside our pre-prepared meals. Just like at the shops, only FREE!!!!! Justine who coordinated all of this is also an incredible human who does an enormous amount for her community 💜.
Feather and Bone for their ongoing provision of the most beautiful pasture-raised meat.
Westholme Beef for their donation of a whopping 30 KILOS of gorgeous wagyu, fit for a queen and very much enjoyed by our community.
Pendulum Communications who swung into action to spread the word far and wide, as only they can do (if you need THE BEST PR in the world ever, these are the ladies for you 💛).
Jo Chunyan who created our online experience (if you need the most beautiful, intuitive, incredibly talented branding designer and creative, Jo is the lady for you 💙).

So, off the back of that glorious outpouring of love and support, on we sail into our weekends. I'm looking forward to a gorgeous private event tomorrow night, some crisp winter walks with my beloved, and the general joy of cosiness. Until next week my loves 💛.

Love, Rachel xxx