It’s been a year since The Collective led the charge of the ‘Palmie Army’ of restaurateurs, changing the Palm Beach dining scene forever. Jeremy Davidson, his partner Chloe Hubbard and her father, property developer Wayne Hubbard, made a huge investment of faith and money to launch their creative concept, a collective of chefs working together; five menus from five kitchens and two bars, all under one roof. We spoke to Jeremy about dining in his home suburb.
Why do you think Palm Beach has taken off as a dining destination?
I think it’s down to both a pent up local demand for exciting dining options and some really great operators all opening at the same time. It was a perfect storm with the housing market starting to go well in Palm Beach, and a variety of great restaurants opening together.
What does The Collective offer diners that’s different to other venues?
As a family, we love food and eating out. We have always craved somewhere that offers a variety of choices of different cuisines in a restaurant service style environment. Having five restaurants combined under one roof means that our diners have a huge selection of dishes to choose from that will suit all tastes, ages, dietary requirements and occasions.
Couple that with an environment that truly makes the most of the beautiful South-East Queensland climate with alfresco, rooftop, or garden dining areas and two bars producing a range of both classic cocktails and some new Collective creations…they’re all reasons for success.
What’s your favourite dish on The Collective’s menu?
Our Tuna Poke dish from The Kitchen is an absolute winner. It is both Chloe’s and my favourite dish on the menu and will be with us for a while. For a naughty lunch, the Big Poppa Royale with extra crispy bacon from Luckies is my ‘go to’ burger.
When you’re not working at The Collective, what other places in Palmie do you enjoy dining at, and what’s your favourite dish there?
Oh! That’s a tough one as there’s so much choice!
We love what the guys at 8th Avenue Terrace are doing. Fine food with cocktails and wines to match means that we always have a great time there. San Sebastian is another of our local favorites. You must try their quail egg pinxtos, and they have some really fun regular activities like bingo. Also, you can’t go past Lester and Earl‘s amazing ribs for a guilty smoky BBQ feed!
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NOTE: Published in The Sun on 6 December 2017.