The Zin House has been a staple Mudgee tourist destination for years and last week was awarded its fourth consecutive chef’s hat from the Sydney Good Food Guide.

Speaking to the Mudgee Guardian, Kim Currie said the award was vindication for all the hard work her and the team put in.

“We work hard but so does everyone else in the industry,” she said.

“It’s a nice acknowledgement of all the hard work that the whole team do that also doesn’t just include the front and back house people but the gardeners, people in the office who keep us on the straight and narrow.”

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“It’s daunting because it’s got tougher each year to be awarded a chef’s hat and there are many many excellent restaurants who have had who have had hats and who haven’t achieved it..”

Kim said she thinks they aren’t ‘just another restaurant’ – to their credit.

“It’s nice to know you can go against the grain and do something that you believe in and follow your principles and still be rewarded in this mainstream kind of award system”

The Zin House was awarded a score of 15.5 which is as high as you can go before a business is awarded 2 hats. “It’s perfect for us, it’s where we want to sit,” Kim said.

“The whole business of awards and hats can be a trap - people keep going and going and they get caught up in reward system rather than what you want to do as a business or personally.”

Despite all this success, it’s not all roses at Zin House.

After being in the industry for four decades and working at Zin House for five years, Kim has made the tough decision to walk away for a well-deserved break.

“I’ve decided that from December 30, I am closing Zin House for six months,” she said.

“Given the issues we’ve had this year, we decided we would refocus and remember the things that were most important in life, and value the friendships and focus on all of the wonderful support we get from people.”

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“We just worked harder than ever, and I think sometimes it’s necessary to step away from that to get perspective.”

Kim will also be spending her time away from the daily grind of maintaining and managing a business such as Zin House.

“I’m going to do a lot of travelling and eating, but with enough distance to really decide what changes I may or may not make in the business,”

Zin House is slated to reopen in July 2019, with Kim utilising the lessons she learned on her travels and time away from the daily grind.

Kim says the time off will dictate exactly what that is, so she can’t share any info yet.