Dining with a view. Photos: Supplied.
Simone Langdon says hospitality has been in her blood from as long as she can remember.
As Hospitality Manager at Pialligo Estate, Simone brings a wealth of expertise with her, established initially through her family’s involvement in the food industry and extended through considerable experience in restaurants in Brisbane and Melbourne.
Simone remembers as a young girl, completing her school homework, then off to polishing cutlery and scooping butterballs at a restaurant managed by her mother on the Brisbane River. She dabbled in law at university before realising her true passion was hospitality, as it combines two of her favourite things: food and people.
Simone began working in elite restaurants in Brisbane. Working alongside acclaimed manager and award-winning sommelier, Shawn Gomes, she quickly learned what real hospitality involved. Moving to Melbourne and working for a world-renowned restaurant required discipline and finesse. Simone was taught the finer details of service. She learned how to care for guests in an authentic manner.
An entirely different opportunity at Melbourne’s Trunk Restaurant & Bar taught Simone how to work with greater volumes of food for large crowds.
Simone says, “It’s working with these kinds of influencers that has established a platform for me to work in such a prestigious place as Pialligo Estate.”
Simone Langdon, Hospitality Manager, Pialligo Estate.
It was whilst working in Melbourne that Simone began to develop her food philosophy. She says, “It was through exposure to native foods and ingredients at that time that I shaped my thinking about food.
And this resonated with the philosophy at Pialligo. As Simone recalls, “It was the connection to sustainable farming and foraging that influenced my love for a ‘paddock to plate’ philosophy. Seeing how elated our guests are with the story, the ethos and how it all comes together, this is what makes it most worthwhile at Pialligo.”
And this is what Executive Chef, Darren Perryman, and Simone do. They carry a philosophy seeped in a commitment to bring great food to the table that is carefully watched and grown, from beginning to consumption. According to Simone, “We both bring our own passions together to deliver an experience for our guests that is different, memorable and delicious. My role is to bring the estate to our guests.”
The pride and commitment is evident as Simone explains: “I’m often walking people around or taking them through the herb garden. To be able to point at the olive grove and say, ‘That’s where our Estate Olive Oil was grown that you tasted today,’ is such a pure and surreal experience for our customers. We can do this with almost anything on our plates: peaches, pomegranate, zucchini flowers, sage. The bounty of growth in the paddocks at the moment is striking. I love having the opportunity to make all of our customers feel a part of that.”
Pialligo Estate diners enjoy the indoor-outdoor atmosphere.
As Hospitality Manager, Simone wants to make Pialligo’s guests feel at home. “It’s like they’ve been invited to a big dinner party hosted at our house. The service is warm and personable, the ingredients picked fresh from the garden, the wine grown locally or even in our own Estate. We welcome families, those here for a special occasion, or a casual afternoon wine tasting. I would like people to feel at home when they’re at Pialligo, like they can explore and enjoy delicious food. Everyone is welcome and everyone is looked after.”
Pialligo Estate benefits from the insight and dedication of Simone Langdon. In turn, guests can indulge in an experience that is uniquely Pialligo Estate.
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