Nicolas Gomez Duran - Profile    

I  was born in  Pamplona, Spain, and grew up on the North Coast of Spain. At the age of 17 my family and I moved to Bath, England. I attended Culinary College at Manchester Metropolitan University. Apprentice experience in France, Bordeaux area, and San Sebastian, Spain.  

Upon my return to the UK I started work in Oxford at Le Manoir aux Quat Saison, with Raymond Blanc who has two Michelin Stars; this is where I learnt to respect the true nature of produce and how to get the most from the produce. The Manoir has a fantastic kitchen garden on the property and Raymond’s respect and passion for food was truly inspiring. One of his mannerisms is to encourage everyone to always taste, taste, and taste. I worked Le Manoir   aux Quat Saison for three years and this was also the start of my working career with Orient Express. At the end of my tenure the opportunity was given to me to transfer to La Residencia in Majorca Spain.  

Continuing my career with Orient Express the chance was given to be Executive Chef at the award winning Maroma Resort and Spa in the Riviera Maya, Mexico. A whole new cuisine was encountered with Mexican produce and the foods from the Yucatan region. At Maroma I also had the opportunity to lead Cooking classes and demonstrations. 

After meeting my future wife at Maroma we decided to return to Australia. Here we were given the opportunity to open a new restaurant at Rainbow Beach, Qld called Waterview Bistro.  We won “Best Informal Dining” for the Sunshine Coast within 6 months of opening, and were a finalist in the “Best New Restaurant” category.  

We are now proud owners of Sandbar & Restaurant, Shaw’s Bay. Here I am able to showcase my heritage of Spanish dining with my love of local produce. I am looking forward to creating a destination restaurant that will rival anything in the area. I am enjoying hosting cooking classes and look out for our new range of chilli sauces and spice mixes.

Debra Rissmann - Profile

I grew up on the coast of Queensland and moved to the snow first chance that came along. After spending five years working in Thredbo this confirmed for me my love of hospitality. I have had the pleasure of working on the Sunshine Coast Noosa for much of my restaurant career.

I was given the opportunity to work on Australia's Orient Express Train which was running from Cairns to Sydney. This was the start of a number of years working for Orient Express first in Australia then with a transfer to Maroma Mexico to become the restaurant manager there. I met my husband in Mexico and after some time we decided to move back to Australia to start a family.

We now enjoy living in Lennox Heads and love our Restaurant. We are very proud of what we have achieved so far with Sandbar and love getting feedback from our happy guests.

I am a proud committee member of Northern Rivers Food and Nic and I are also proud members of the local Slow Food Group.