PENINSULA PEOPLE The Pouliers from Stillwater IN thE bEgINNINg.....
A love of food and hospitality has been central to the life of this dynamic couple since their earlyteens.
growing up around bendigo, Jacqui has always been around hospitality washing dishesin hotels as a young teen then starting a Chefsapprenticeship.
Moving on to complete a businessdiploma, she was employed in management areas oftop restaurants around Melbourne.
It was during thistime that she first met Zac however they both lostcontact with each other over subsequent years.
Zac started his career at the acclaimed Rockman s Regency hotel training under Chef trevor bilney and progressed to the role of Executive Sous Chef.
Originally a Frankston boy, he travelled to the UK and worked as head Chef and Sous Chef in quality London establishments including harvey Nichols 5th floor and Pacific Oriental.
Moving onto the position of personal chef to Russell Crowe, he then toured many parts of the world filminggladiator and other movies.
It was in London in 1999 that Zac and Jacquihappened to reconnect again and it wasn t long before they were travelling together as a couple.
Working in Mexico, the greek islands and Cayman islands, Zac continued his chef work while Jacquiearned her living as a scuba diving instructor.
Dreams of owning their own restaurant were bornover this time and upon returning to Melbourne, they started looking at new ideas and venues.
the opportunity came up at Crittenden Estate and theysaw the possibility to return to Zac s roots and create the restaurant and lifestyle they had dreamed about.
68 Peninsula Visitor .
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April to October 2014 thE REStAURANt AND vENUE.....
In October 2004, they started at the venue and withthe use of solid marketing strategies, it wasn t long before word of mouth was spreading about their newventure.
the first few years were hard as no one knew about us but we invested in our marketing and startedgetting weddings and large events.
Now we re one of the busiest restaurants down here says Jacqui.
Over the next six years, they did a lot ofrebranding which included the name change toStillwater.
A complete refit was done two years ago and the venue is constantly being reinvented to keepthings new and fresh.
In the restaurant business, you ve got to keepahead and invest in the latest trends.
Listening toour customers and ensuring we deliver a consistentproduct is paramount says Jacqui.
travelling overseas each year, they are constantly researching the latest food movements and alwaysreturn with fresh ideas.
Follow their travels on their wine list as every bottle has been selected from awinery they have personally visited.
Different and unique experiences are always on offer such as their amazing tomahawk beef .
Served on the bone, carved at the table and massive enough toserve up to four people it always sells out and getsa huge reaction says Jacqui.
FAMILy AND FRIENDS....
According to the Poulier s, one of the best things about running Stillwater is the joy they can bring toall their guests.
they love to see families out having lunch together and welcome children of all ages.
We re huge believers in families eating together and we love seeing babies and children arrive.
We look after the kids as we know if they re happy, the adults can relax and enjoy.
It s easy to see why Stillwater at Crittenden has gained such a strongfollowing and fabulous reputation sinceZac Jacqui Poulier created it tenyears ago.
Their passion and focus onproviding an exceptional experienceusing quality food and service is evidentin everything they do.
Recently winningthe RACV tourism awards for restaurants and catering in Victoria and also a Silver Medal in the National Qantas Tourism Awards, their venue stands out as one of the best on the Mornington Peninsula.
With breezy beach house styling overlooking a tranquil lake, winery andspacious lawns, there s no doubt you ll feel relaxed from the moment you arrive.
Zac and Jacqui s two daughters, Zara 8 years and Evie 5 years , have grown up at Stillwater and arevery knowledgeable about the dining industry.
Each week Jacqui helps at Zara s primary school teaching cooking classes and loves sharing her food passionwith the students.
Over the years, many regular guests have becomeclose friends and it s very common for couples who celebrated their wedding here to return on theiranniversary year after year.
ZAC AND JAC S KItChEN PRODUCE Since 2010, a range of gourmet products have beenproduced in small batches from their Stillwaterkitchen.
hugely popular and now available in places like thomas Dux and Eden gardens, these products use only locally sourced ingredients and do a greatjob of promoting the Peninsula region.
Anyone who has tried their dukkah, olives or relishesor spreads will know how good these products are.
their strawberry jam is packed full of whole Sunny Ridge strawberries and their spiced pears containonly the best fruit from Delgrosso Orchards.....
just divine Many of my friends have been happyrecipients of these delicious goodies at gift givingtimes and the fact that they use nothing artificial andare completely gluten-free is an added bonus.
UPCOMINg EvENtS.....
Easter is huge at Stillwater and after indulging lastyear, I definitely plan on returning.
good Friday sees them open for both lunch and dinner with someamazing seafood platters on offer.
Easter Saturday isalso open for lunch and dinner and it s interesting to note that they don t take any large function bookings over this time.
there s nothing worse than coming to the Peninsula as a visitor and finding everything isalready booked out.
We want to promote the region and be available for visitors to get a seat over busytimes Jacqui says.
Easter Sunday is an amazing day where families arewelcomed and the kids are kept happily entertainedwith roving entertainment and their famous Easteregg hunt at 3pm using only quality chocolate eggs.
A perfect way to celebrate this special day, everyone can indulge in some of Zac s amazing cuisine while chilling out with live music and a lakeside view.
thE FUtURE.....
We want to continue to be one of the best restaurants on the Peninsula to do that will involve keeping on par with food trends remainingpassionate and focused on the most important thing serving our customers says Jacqui.
With plans in the works to also expand Zac and Jac s produce line plus get involved in outdoor and in-home catering, this couple look set for someexciting times ahead.
We just love what we do, the Peninsula has an incredible amount of like minded foodies and producers and we are very lucky to be involved insuch a wonderful region says Jacqui.
- Linda Ryding 068.indd 1 30 03 14 10 04 PM