Great, great weekend in Mudgee, and thanks to Mrs Prick for organising it. More reports and reviews to come, but was sad to return to the news that Berowra Waters Inn and Pier are both shutting down:

ALREADY tracking as one of the worst seasons on record for upmarket dining, Sydney’s winter of restaurant discontent has claimed another high-profile scalp with Berowra Waters Inn serving its last lunch tomorrow.

The news came as Greg Doyle, the owner and chef at Pier, at Rose Bay, announced that restaurant would close. He will step away from the restaurant, which will become a more casual diner.

There’s still enough money kicking around Sydney to support a decent restaurant culture. I’m working on a longer piece about this, but I think the problem comes down to Sydneysiders being a bunch of restaurant sluts — happy to go have a series of hot first dates but unwilling to settle down in the sort of long-term relationships food businesses need to survive.