The Izzillo brothers have gone back to their family roots for Bar Benevento, a new all-day Italian bar now open in Sydney’s CBD. Brothers Anthony and Julian Izzillo, behind de Vine Food and Wine and former restaurant Wildfire, have teamed up with cafe operator Kosta Papanikitas on the new venue, which is named after the small Campanian city where their father was born. “Our nonno came to Australia from Benevento in 1953, post war, and spent five years working and saving before he could bring our nonna, dad and uncle over,” said Julian Izzillo. “So much of what we grew up eating came from those early years, when they started with nothing and slowly built up a life here, so bringing those flavours into Bar Benevento feels like a special way of carrying that story forward.” That family connection runs through the room as much as the menu. Old-school Italian music, retro Benevento posters, vintage art, delicatessen goods and collected wine bottles fill the space, while a giant bottle of Strega liqueur at the entrance nods to a drink that has long been part of the Izzillo family table. The herbal digestif was created in Benevento in the 1800s and remains closely linked to the city. Bar Benevento has secured exclusive importation rights to 10 different variations of Strega, with the liqueur appearing across both food and drinks. Co-owner and head chef Tim Fisher has used the family’s childhood memories as a starting point for the menu, keeping the flavours recognisably southern Italian while giving some of them a more playful Sydney spin. Breakfast includes an oversized ricotta and egg-yolk raviolo with Strega-infused hollandaise, tagliata steak and eggs and a breakfast antipasto with a six-minute soft-boiled egg and Strega-infused salmon gravlax. The cannoli has gone savoury too, with crisp house-made pastry filled with truffle mortadella and provola cheese. Lunch moves into weekly old-school pasta specials, chicken cotoletta, panini and a spread of stuzzichini, meats and cheeses. Elsewhere on the menu, taralli are boiled and baked in a similar style to a bagel for a softer texture, while tiramisu swaps coffee for wild mint and saffron Strega. “We’ve tried to create hero dishes that haven’t been done in Sydney before, whether that’s boiling and baking our taralli like a bagel so it’s soft and warm for dipping, or swapping coffee for wild mint and saffron Strega in our tiramisu,” said Fisher. It’s never too early for a cocktail The drinks list keeps the same energy, with lighter, aperitivo-style cocktails designed for the morning and made with either Strega or amaro. The amaro connection also links Bar Benevento back to de Vine, where the collection runs to more than 300 bottles from around the world. “It’s an important part of our DNA and we wanted Bar Benevento to share in that too,” said Anthony Izzillo. Wine comes from all 20 Italian regions, with extra attention paid to the south, alongside native Italian grape varieties grown in Australia. In a small detail that feels more enoteca than polished wine bar, prices are written directly onto the bottles. Bar Benevento sits on the ground floor of Adina Town Hall Hotel and is open for breakfast and lunch from 7 am to 3 pm Monday to Friday and 7 am to 11.30 am on weekends. Dinner is expected to follow in the coming months. Source: Wine Glass Media Find more dining out updates on Crumb Wire.

Pappa Flock is tasking customers with the finishing touches on its chicken tenders, taking the self-serve Flavour Up station first tested in Parramatta across its national network. The stations are stocked with honey, hot sauce and classic and spicy pickles, giving customers a mix of sweet, sour and heat to add to their tenders at no extra cost. Food court locations will skip the self-serve setup, but the same toppings can still be requested at the counter. The idea started at Pappa Flock’s Parramatta store during an April refurbishment before being expanded across the wider network. “The QSR industry is built on speed and quality, and we deliver on both. But what sets Pappa Flock apart is our vision to create the most memorable chicken tender experience possible, and the Flavour Up station is how we continue to bring that to life. For us, it isn’t just toppings; it’s an invitation to customise, to play, and to make it your own,” said Rachel Korbel, Chief Marketing Officer at Pappa Flock. “We initially created the Flavour Up station as a special feature in the O.G. restaurant in Parramatta as a part of the full refurbishment in April. Since reopening, we’ve had an overwhelming response; we knew we needed to make a permanent Pappa Flock experience for all Flockers, no matter the location.” The rollout gives Pappa Flock another point of difference in a crowded chicken category, with the brand putting more emphasis on customisation rather than adding another permanent menu item. Eddie Cofie, Head Chef at Pappa Flock said “We’ve built Pappa Flock around freshness and quality, and the FlavourUp station is a natural extension of that. When you’re starting with the best ingredients, great flavour combinations aren’t just possible, they’re the whole point.” “As a chef, I know the right flavour pairings can change everything. It can turn a meal from something you ate to something you experience. A hint of honey, a bit of heat, the crunch of juicy crispy chicken – you can’t beat it. Being able to layer your own range of fresh toppings means every Flocker gets their tenders exactly the way they like it.” Pappa Flock now has 12 restaurants and has served 3.2 million customers in three years. Across that network, the team has hand-breaded four million chicken tenderloins and squeezed one million lemons for its lemonade, while growing to a crew of more than 500 people nationwide. Find more food and drink news on Crumb Wire.

Nan’s biscuit tin has always been a bit of a wildcard, and Drumstick is tapping into that familiar bit of family folklore for its newest flavour. Drumstick Anzac Biscuit launched earlier this week, turning the buttery, caramel flavours of the classic biscuit into a frozen dessert with a biscuit-flavoured centre, Anzac biscuit pieces, caramel syrup and extra biscuit crumb on top. The launch arrived with a fresh look at what Australians actually remember finding in those tins. Peters Ice Cream commissioned Pureprofile to survey 1,000 Australians aged 18 to 35 in September, with only 32 per cent associating Nan’s tin with biscuits or cookies and 21 per cent thinking first of sewing supplies. The stranger memories included emergency cash, jewellery, ramen noodles, magic tricks and one particularly committed stash of “100,000 knitting needles”. “Drumstick has been part of Aussie summers for more than 60 years, so we love finding new ways to bring familiar favourites into the cone,” said Andrea Hamori, Head of Marketing at Peters Ice Cream. “Drumstick Anzac Biscuit brings together two nostalgic Aussie favourites in a way that feels familiar, but completely new. It’s buttery, sweet, packed with biscuit pieces and, most importantly, it’s a treat you’d actually be happy to find waiting in Nan’s biscuit tin.” Unboxing the unexpected Queenslanders were the most likely to remember finding something unrelated to food, with 34 per cent mentioning a non-food item, while NSW Nans were more dependable when snacks were involved. Around 63 per cent of NSW respondents mentioned food or biscuits compared with 59 per cent nationally. Peters Ice Cream also secured the appropriate permit from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to use the word ‘Anzac’ for the new flavour and has made a donation to Legacy Australia as part of the launch. “Legacy Australia is very grateful to Peters Ice Cream for their generous donation in celebration of the launch of their ANZAC biscuit inspired Drumstick. Peters Ice Cream has been an iconic part of Australian family life, and we’re proud to have their support. “This kind of generosity makes a real difference to the work we do every day, helping Legacy strengthen the wellbeing and connectedness of veterans’ families through enduring relationships,” said Graham Boyd, CEO of Legacy Australia Inc. Drumstick Anzac Biscuit four-packs are available now at Coles, Woolworths and independent grocers for RRP $9.90, with individual cones landing in convenience stores from October 19 for RRP $5. Source: Wired Co. Find more food retail updates on Crumb Wire.

Forty years ago, a group of sailors drank The Lord Nelson completely dry. The Rocks pub responded by brewing its own beer, and it hasn’t stopped since. This October long weekend, The Lord Nelson is celebrating four decades of brewing under its historic roof with a new anniversary ale, free 40th beers and three days of festivities from October 3 to October 5. The story goes back to 1986, when a particularly thirsty group of sailors cleared the bar of beer and the next delivery was still days away. The solution was to start brewing on site, turning a supply problem into a tradition that now sits at the heart of the pub. Today, natural English-style ales are still made in The Lord’s microbrewery at the back of the hotel using malt, hops, yeast and water. The beers are unfiltered and unpasteurised, travelling only a few metres from mash tun to tap. The anniversary ale still needs a name Head Brewer Gus Krug has created a limited-edition English ale for the anniversary, which will be unveiled at 11 am on October 3, but drinkers will have a hand in deciding what it is actually called. A naming competition will invite beer lovers to christen the anniversary brew, adding their own contribution to The Lord’s 40-year brewing story. The pub will also be buying a few rounds. Between 11 am and 2 pm on each day of the long weekend, every 40th beer poured will be free. When number 40 hits the bar, a bell rings, the count resets and it all starts again. The weekend kicks off a full year of anniversary celebrations running through to October 2027. Only 200 coins are up for grabs The Lord Nelson is also launching a Coin Bearers Club for the anniversary, with 200 commemorative coins available. A coin can be secured by buying a case of Three Sheets and Old Admiral from the pub or attending Sydney Beer Week’s ‘5 Ingredients of Ale’ event. Rather than sitting in a drawer as anniversary merch, the coin comes with perks for the year, including 25 per cent off food on the holder’s birthday for groups of up to eight, 10 per cent off an accommodation booking and a complimentary side or dessert with The Lord’s Shared Roast. Coin Bearers will also have their name and individual coin number added to an honour roll inside the pub. The brewing anniversary is only part of The Lord Nelson’s much longer history. Established in 1841, the Georgian building began life as the private residence of William Wells, a raconteur, highway robber and convict turned gentleman publican, before becoming The Lord Nelson Hotel in 1842. More than 185 years later, it remains Australia’s oldest continually licensed hotel operating in its original form and the country’s oldest brewery hotel. What started with an empty bar and a delayed beer delivery has lasted four decades, with the ales still being brewed only metres from where they’re poured. Source: Pendulum Communications Find more dining out updates on Crumb Wire.