ESQ Bar + Dining - August dinner event.

Located in Sydney CBD’s iconic Queen Victoria Building, guests will be welcomed by super star Group Sommelier, Louella Mathews, one of Australia’s most renowned wine experts. She won the Australia Wine List of the Year 2020 Sommeliers’ Choice Award and was nominated for Young Sommelier of the Year in 2016.

Join us for this exclusive take-over connecting event, and enjoy a wonderful bespoke menu created especially for the evening.

Collabor8Women June 2023 will be held on Wednesday 7th over lunch at Redbird. A modern Chinese restaurant with hospitality power couple and Redfern locals, Rebecca Lines and Hamish Ingham at the helm.

Opening just six months ago, Redbird is a new kid on the block. Owners Rebecca and Hamish are Redfern locals and offer a fresh take on contemporary Chinese dining, showcases the perfect meeting of salty, sweet and sour tastes using local and seasonal ingredients.

Rebecca Lines is an award-winning restaurateur and sommelier, and together with her chef husband, is the co-owner of Sydney restaurants Redbird Chinese and Tequila Daisy. Having trained through the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), Lines has received a number of honours, including GT Wine List of the Year and Best Aperitif List, a three-glass rating from Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and many more throughout her career.

"My first Collabor8Women event was at Viand in June last year - I was introduced to the community by my dear friend Michelle from Love Fish at Barangaroo. As an advocate for championing the success of women across all industries, I'm personally delighted to open the doors of Redbird Chinese in Redfern for the next event." Rebecca Lines, Co-Owner & Sommelier, Redbird Chinese and Tequila Daisy.

This event is strictly limited so secure your seats early to avoid missing out!

After our sold-out event at NOMAD last year, we’re returning in May 2023, to show our continued support for female-led venues. Congratulations to executive chef Jacqui Challinor and her team for scoring Two Chefs Hats in the SMH Good Food Guide this year. 

Jacqui has been at Nomad since it opened in 2013 and is now Executive Chef overseeing three kitchen teams, two in Sydney and one in Melbourne. “I'm thrilled that Collabor8Women is returning to Nomad. We share similar values in support of women in business and bringing out the best in people. I'm proud that my kitchen is almost 50 per cent female, and the culinary creativity and confidence we encourage in our team, is reflected in every dish we serve.” Executive Chef Jacqueline Challinor, NOMAD Sydney, NOMAD Melbourne, and Beau Sydney

Nomad’s menu is inspired by the aromatic flavours of Spain, Morocco and the Middle East infused with the spices from Jacqui’s own Maltese heritage. Underpinning the cuisine is the back-to-basics ethos of making cheese, charcuterie and bread from scratch. The large wood-fired oven, at the heart of Nomad’s kitchen, plays an important part in the cuisine flavours.  

We will start promptly at 12.00pm, wrapping by 2.30pm.

In April we are pleased to host our first Collabor8Women dinner for 2023 at the celebrated Red Lantern Vietnamese restaurant.

Restaurateur, Pauline Nguyen, sister to chef Luke Nguyen and co-owner of Red Lantern, is a dynamic force of nature and will join us in welcoming you to her restaurant.

A renowned international keynote speaker, coach and best-selling author, Pauline has documented her turbulent childhood in Secrets of the Red Lantern. Her second book, The Way of the Spiritual Entrepreneur, combines her life story with advice on how to run a business without burning out.

Red Lantern takes you into a magical space where you can experience a taste of Indochine life, enjoying delicious Nguyen family recipes, amongst the old-world charm of family photographs and object d'art from a bygone era.

Collabor8Women March will be held on Wednesday 8th at Bistro Rex, Potts Point. We are thrilled to be returning to this venue in 2023, for what promises to be another extraordinary experience. Join us for International Women’s Day celebrations and collaborations.

Owner Baci Moore always dreamt of owning a restaurant. Baci has very clear ideas about how people should feel and be treated when they come into her establishment. You enter as a guest and leave as a member of the Bistro Rex family!

Baci's hospitality career highlights include two years at Tetsuya's, where she trained as a sommelier and waiter, then moved quickly into management. Having managed some of Sydney's hottest restaurants, including Cruise Dining and Bar, Tabou, and Longrain. She then went on to open Spice Temple with Neil Perry. This set her up to finally open her first restaurant with ownership - China Lane (she and her husband are part owners of China Lane & Mercado to this day).

After Breast cancer hit in 2012 , Baci took a break and came back to the industry, bringing us Bistro Rex in 2016.

Baci's passion for French bistro style cuisine began when she worked at Tabou - the Surry Hills restaurant responsible for reigniting Sydney's love affair with the French bistro - and culminated on a trip through France. "My wedding trip in 2007 was a gastronomic, 3 Michelin Star, embarrassment of riches but now I feel guests are looking for a dining experience where they feel just as important as the marvellous creation they are devouring," says Baci.

Wednesday Feb 1 will kick-start the year in style. We are pleased to announce an exclusive take-over lunch, on the terrace at the iconic Bathers’ Pavilion. Guests will enjoy the modern Thai flavours from Head Chef Ty Bellingham. The former 12-year head chef of seminal Sydney restaurant Sailor’s Thai and New York’s Kittichai, has brought his expertise to Balmoral Bathers’ Pavilion, upstairs at Betel Leaf restaurant.

FIRST RELEASE TICKETS ON SALE JAN 9, 2023

This is an invite only event so if you are new to Collabor8women please register your details to receive up-to-date information on events and priority access to first release tickets.

To mix things up a bit Collabor8Women takes a departure from our usual lunch time event and the November 2 event will be held over dinner at the chic waterside Italian restaurant, Il Pontile. Guests will enjoy delicious Italian cuisine staples with the famous Cowper Wharf and Sydney city views as a back drop to this stunning evening.

On October 5 Collabor8Women has the pleasure of inviting guests to experience Riley St Garage. An uber-cool Woolloomooloo hotspot inspired by New York’s Meatpacking District. Bringing 1930's glamour to the neighbourhood in a stunning heritage building, and featuring a Japanese-accented menu by head chef Ashish Karki (ex-Toko, Flying Fish).

The heritage Riley St Garage building originally housed Australia’s first full-service garage, with renovations paying homage to its history, and accentuating its art deco design into a grand bar and restaurant. The venue is distinguished by its enormous brass island bar, proudly taking centre-stage in the large industrial space.

In September we’re taking Collabor8Women to Melbourne and in another first, we’ll be hosting our event over dinner rather than lunch.

We’re thrilled to announce ATLAS DINING in South Yarra as our Venue Partner. Guests will enjoy a wonderful journey through the tastes of Colombia.

The restaurant opened its doors in 2016 with the idea of changing cuisine every few months. It’s since treated guests to cuisine from 14 different destinations.

Atlas Dining is globally inspired but sourced locally. The team works with the best farmers, foragers, and fishermen to create a seasonal menu using the best Australian produce.

Heading up the ever-changing feast is Head Chef and Owner, Charlie Carrington. He recently returned on a trip to Colombia gaining insight and inspiration for our Collabor8Women September feast.

Central to our mission to celebrate all things female, we also shine a spotlight on the dynamic Reisa Evans, Atlas Dining’s Restaurant Manager. She is also Head Sommelier, so we know that our specially selected wine on arrival will not disappoint.

Register your interest today in joining a table at our next Collabor8Women event.

After a winter holiday break in July, Collabor8Women has the pleasure of inviting you to experience the divine cuisine and hospitality of Bistro Rex in Sydney’s Potts Point, owned and operated by Baci Moore (pictured left).

Bistro Rex is a sophisticated Sydney take on a modern Parisian bistro. Head Chef Leigh McDivitt has a passion for local produce, a nose-to-tail philosophy and a love of cooking with fire, charcoal and using different woods for flavour.

Baci’s inviting atmosphere is based on her extensive experience managing some of Sydney's hottest restaurants, including Cruise Dining and Bar, Tabou and Longrain. She later opened Spice Temple with renowned chef Neil Perry. Baci has also travelled extensively, including across France, which provided the inspiration for Bistro Rex.

“I feel the guest is looking for a dining experience where they feel just as important as the marvellous creation they are devouring," says Baci.

In the spirit of Collabor8Women, Baci’s bespoke menu for our August lunch will include a selection of wines from Beautiful Isle, produced by leading Tasmanian female winemaker Cynthea Semmens. As a little girl she planted the first grape vine on her family estate (Marion's Vineyard) on the Tamar River in Deviot, Tasmania.

Our venue partner for our May event is Love.Fish Barangaroo. Owned and operated by Michelle Grand-Milkovic, we’ll be hosting five tables of diverse professional women in this stunning location on Gadigal Land of the Eora Nation, the traditional owners of the Sydney city region.

Barangaroo is named after a powerful Cammeraygal woman in the area at the time of early colonial settlement. Barangaroo’s second husband was Bennelong.

The sold-out event features a bespoke menu of sustainably sourced produce. We’ll be enjoying house salted dory taramasalata, chargrilled octopus, grilled fillets of barramundi and salmon, plus sides of watermelon and Persian feta salad as well as green beans with chilli and toasted almonds. To top it off, we’ll savour Love.Fish’s famous Banoffee Pie.

Our Venue partner for April is the divine restaurant Lana. Located at Hinchcliff House, a restored heritage wool store steps from the iconic Sydney Harbour and Circular Quay.

Our March event took place at NOMAD, Sydney, an upbeat restaurant in a converted warehouse serving contemporary cuisine with Middle Eastern accents.

Executive Chef Jacqui Challinor created a bespoke menu for our growing network. March featured five tables of 8!

As a venue partner, NOMAD helped to bring a unique and memorable experience to the event.