Chef Colin Fassnidge linked to The Castlereagh in Sydney's CBD

Hot on the heels of news that he's set to star in the Gordon Ramsay role in a local version of Kitchen Nightmares, chef Colin Fassnidge is already up to his elbows getting a professional kitchen shipshape. His own.

Word on the eats streets of Sydney's CBD is that Fassnidge has been poking around at The Castlereagh, part of the City Tattersalls group of clubs. The Irish-Australian chef has been given the keys to the eatery at the Castlereagh Street venue.

Fassnidge couldn't be reached for comment, but a redesign of the space is currently under way. The pub-style bistro will open late March.

Located next door to the Church of Scientology HQ, The Castlereagh is in a part of town starting to catch the attention of Sydney chefs. In mid-February, Luke Mangan opened Luke's Kitchen a couple of blocks away on Pitt Street.

In late January, Fassnidge hinted he planned to open a new venue after concluding his consultancy deal at the Terminus Hotel in Pyrmont, where he and his team cooked for close to four years.

No word on the menu, but if his grub at the Banksia Hotel is any indication, city diners are in for chicken schnitty with mushroom sauce and suckling pig sausage rolls.