I
t’sbeen 12 monthssincefireclosedNomad’s
FosterStreetsiteinSydney’sSurryHills.At
thetime,executivechefJacquiChallinor
thoughtshe’dhitrockbottom.Littledid
sheknowwhat 2020 hadinstore.
“Nightmare,”shesayssimplywhenasked
todescribethepastfewmonths.“It’sbeenonething
aftertheother,aftertheother.”InNovember,
ChallinorandherteamrelocatedtoCommonwealth
StreettoopenthetemporarysiteNomadUpthe
Road,whilethefire-ravagedrestaurantwasrebuilt.
Atthesametime,plansfora Melbournerestaurant
progressed,withownersRebeccaandAlYazbek
announcingthenewsinDecember.
“Wehada greatChristmas.Wewereallreally
stokedandeveryonewasinhighspirits.Thenthe
bushfireseasonhit.Thatwasa catastrophe.”
Challinorsprungintoaction,mobilisingSydney’s
foodandhospitalityindustrytotakepartintheCook
fortheBushfundraiser,withmanyofthecountry’s
topchefsdonatingtheirtimeandtalenttotheevent.
“I presentedtheideaandit justsnowballedso
quickly,”recallsChallinor.“I’veneverdonesomething
onthatscalebefore.It wasamazingandsucha cool
thingtobepartof,butit wasalsoincrediblydraining.”
Havingraisedcloseto$150,000forthebushfire
appeal,Challinortooksomemuchneededtimeoff,
headingtotheMaldivesfora month.Bythetime
shereturned,theCovid-19pandemichadgripped
theworldandAustraliawaspreparingtoshutdown.
“Itwasfourmonthsfromwhenweunpackedtowhen
westartedpackingupagain.It waslike,‘Whatjust
happened?WhyamI puttingthingsinboxesagain?’
I wasquitenumbafterwards;it justdidn’tfeelreal.”
Aftersixmonthsofbattlingtokeepspiritsupand
keepNomadalive,Challinorgaveintothenewworld
orderandretreatedintoisolation.“I wasjustinsuch
a badspaceemotionally,mentallyandphysically.I was
done.I justneededtimetomend.Andit wasreally
nice.I gotthistimetorefreshandnowI’mreadyto
getbackintoit withfresheyes.”
Thosefresheyeswilloverseea newmenu,when
NomadreopensonSeptember1 at itsoriginalFoster
Streetsite.“Itwillbefamiliar,butit’sgoingtofeel
a bitmoreelegantanda bitlessindustrial,”shesays.
“Itstillhasthesamebones.Andnothing’schanging
aboutthewayI cookexceptthatI getmyfireback,
whichis exciting.”
Nomad, 16 FosterSt,Surry Hills, NSW, (02) 9280 3395,
nomadwine.com.au
