Newcastle chef Alex Hunter is passionate about Italian cuisine. 

From its cured meats, cheeses, and traditional pastas to its refreshing cocktails and fine desserts. 

Fresh from a recent visit spent soaking up the culture in villages that have won his heart, Alex is now preparing to share his learnings with Newcastle diners at Local Connections’ Italy on a Plate’ event on Friday 25 August. 

The three-hour dining experience, at University of Newcastle’s Callaghan campus, will feature a carefully selected range of dishes inspired by the food served on tables he shared with locals in the villages of Florence, Rome, Priano and the Tuscan region. 

The event will run from 6pm to 9pm. 

It forms part of the Local Connections project, whose ethos includes terms like quality, healthy, sustainable and local. 

“The menu is inspired by my recent trip to Italy,” Alex says. 

“Italian cuisine is definitely my favourite and I have spent a lot of time making pastas and learning Italian techniques over the years.” 

The Italian way of dining he has learned is also about sharing connections. 

And it is pasta that sits at the heart of his cooking. 

“Pasta is definitely a passion of mine and I always make it fresh, hand made here at the restaurant.  

“Gnocchi is probably one of my best, and my favourite.” 

Hunter started cooking in 2008. 

Since then, he has worked in restaurants in Newcastle, the Hunter Valley, Sydney and London, including the highly acclaimed Quay Restaurant, and Bennelong, located in the Sydney Opera House, as well as London’s Michelin star restaurant The Five Fields. 

The menu he has curated for the Italy on a Plate event will include a Limoncello cocktail, antipasti, an entrée, pasta course, meat course and dessert. 

The aim of the restaurant is to promote local suppliers, growers and producers by serving quality dishes in an on campus restaurant, aptly named Local Connections. 

The monthly evening dining experiences allows Alex to bring you the best of his experience in a relaxed, but fine dining event at the restaurant.  

It has been hosting the event each month since 2021 reaching above the daytime menu to connect food lovers with the produce and producers of the region. 

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