Look what’s cooking at Diggers!

Orange Ex-Services Club’s new Executive Chef Danny Evans has been busy in the kitchen!

Starting at the Greenhouse of Orange three years ago, Danny has worked his way up through the kitchen rank and was appointed the Club’s Executive Chef three months ago.

In that time, he has overseen some major changes to the Club’s culinary offerings, revamping the menus of the Greenhouse and coffee shop.

This week saw Danny and his team launch a brand-new menu in the Diggers restaurant, with a mix of old and new favourites sure to please all tastes.

“The Digger's Menu is not a whole new concept but just different to what we have been doing in the past,” said Danny.

“We have a whole new steak section, so a lot more grill options, and we’re going back to a lot more of the classic kind of meals — your Bangers and Mash and Lambs Fry and Bacon —then having really exciting dishes on the menu like the barbecue ribs and big, beef burgers with onion rings and smoky barbecue sauce!

“We are trying to bring more families into the club and just trying to please more people really.”

Building a brand-new menu from scratch is no small task, said Danny, who is exciting to be finally serving it up to customers this week.

“It is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time,” said Danny. “It's a huge job, not just for me, but everyone involved… from the planning, coming up with the concepts, coming up with costings, getting everyone on board — It is all well and good for me to have something in my head, but then I've got to be able to show 20 people how to put it on the plate, then serving to the customers and making sure every plate that leaves the kitchen is 100 percent the way the management and everyone else wants it and making sure it is all on point… It's been a challenge, but a good problem to have!

“And it has been a very rewarding and really pleasant experience so far; the club are a great bunch to work for!”

So what is it that really catches Danny’s eye on the new menu?

“I'm really excited about bringing back some of the old classics like your bangers and mash and all that stuff, but one of the dishes I'm most excited about is the pork steam buns, which is a starter of little bao steamed bun, hoisin sauce, crispy pork belly, some shallots and cucumber... I'm really excited for that one because it is something they haven't done here before,” he said.

Given the reaction to menu photos shared around our office, the Surf & Turf and Surf & Chirp also look likely to become crowd favourites.

“Some diners come in and they don't want to eat a big red meat meal, so we've done a play on our Surf & Turf with chargrilled chicken and then all the seafood —prawns, squid and Balmain Bug in a garlic sauce.  When it comes out to the customer it has that big Balmain Bug right on top, so it's a bit of a head turner!”