Former Vulcan's chef returns to Blackheath to open Fumo restaurant

The Vulcan's scotch oven is set to fire again with a former chef of the Blackheath restaurant in control of the hearth.

Joe Campbell, who cooked at Vulcan's for 10 years under influential chef Phillip Searle, is returning to the site to open new venue, Fumo, on July 7.

Campbell is also the son-in law of Barry Ross, who opened Vulcan's with Searle in 1994. Ross could be found charming customers front of house, with partner Searle at the kitchen's loyal W.J. Amos wood-fired oven. (The site was a finger-bun slinging bakery before Searle took over to serve duckling sausage and his signature chequerboard ice-cream – a mad harmony of pineapple sorbet and star anise ice-cream fenced by licorice gel.)

"I always wanted the Vulcan's site," says Campbell. "As soon as it came up for sale I was going to buy it."

Campbell has spent the past 12 months raising a family and working on home renovations, and owned and operated the Red Door Cafe in Leura for six years before that.

The last service at Vulcan's was in November 2014. New owners moved into the Blue Mountains site a few months later and reopened it as Vesta, serving slow-cooked "mountain" food praised by the Good Food Guide. Vesta went on the market about three months ago and Campbell takes the keys on Monday.

"I'll give it a repaint and bit of a touch up before reopening," he says. "The walls and ceiling have been more or less the same moody-dark shade since Barry and Phillip had it, so I just want to lighten the room up a bit."

Like Vulcan's, Fumo (it's Italian for "smoke") will open for lunch and dinner Friday to Sunday only. Diners can expect a focus on Asian flavours and slow braises using brisket, beef cheeks and oyster blade.

"It will be a similar style of cooking to Phillip's," says Campbell. "It just lends itself to that oven so well. If I can get the right chef, there will be breakfast, too."

Sydney food fans keen to experience Searle's chequerboard ice-cream again might be disappointed – there are no plans to feature any of the old Vulcan's dishes, regardless of the family connection. Although Campbell says the old owners will "definitely" be popping in every now and again to say hello.

33 Govetts Leap Road, Blackheath