Kim Currie opens restaurant in Mudgee

Kim Currie, the one-woman powerhouse who built a food empire in the central west with a catering truck and an acclaimed foodstore-eatery, before taking on Brand Orange, jumps back in the restaurant game over Easter with the launch of Zin House, overlooking the Lowe Wines Zinfandel vineyard in Mudgee.

"I want to create the restaurant that has been in my head for a number of years. That means shorter opening hours, specialising in lunches (no to weddings) and getting into the garden to grow the food I cook with [its six course set menu is $75 a person]," Currie says.

With her plantings of blood oranges and feijoas, along with 40 laying hens and her own hives, she has plenty of ingredients to hand.

She's also excited to launch a restaurant without tending to another new family addition.

"At least this time round I don't have to breastfeed on location," she says.