From France to Fryers St

Hailing from Strasbourg in France, in the historic and picturesque wine region of Alsace, Mrs Davies has worked in hospitality most of her life.

She studied the trade in France for a few years with the intention of becoming a chef, but said cooking under pressure in a commercial kitchen was not for her; rather, the management side of things lit her fire.

“Every time the doors open, it’s a new story, a new exchange, something new,” Mrs Davies said.

“Food and wine is definitely something that gets me going; that’s what I enjoy most in life, so it’s the interaction and the food and wine.”

Mrs Davies has lived in Australia for 14 years.

She had left France intending to travel the world and came to the furthest point away from home that she could, planning on working her way back there little by little.

As fate would have it, she got an opportunity to manage Spoons Riverside in Swan Hill, where it wasn’t unusual to serve up to 600 meals on a regular Sunday or 800 on a special occasion such as Mother’s Day, and stayed for seven years.

“I thought I’d jump on the opportunity and keep travelling later once I had a visa that allowed me to come back along the way because I really loved Australia from the day I arrived,” Mrs Davies said.

However, she said when she met her builder husband, who was a “Shepp boy”, the rest was history.

The pair, parents of five, also grow sunflowers and Christmas trees at their Shepparton East farm.

Mrs Davies spent time in hospitality management at Mitchelton Winery’s restaurant and event spaces where there were “lots of moving parts and bums on seats”.

She finished up there three years ago and decided to take a spell from hospitality after having her son and while COVID-19 lockdowns were wreaking havoc on the industry.

During that time she had fun running an antiques store in Rochester with her sister — who also fell in love with an Australian man on a visit and stayed — but faced another challenge when the store was flooded.

Despite recovering from that, the pair decided to call it a day when her sister was expecting a baby.

From there, Mrs Davies went on to work in the events department at council and has also been one half of the organising committee of the In Your Closet used clothing markets that have been held each season at The McIntosh Centre for the past year.

“I was missing hospitality, as crazy as I am,” Mrs Davies said.

“This opportunity came up and that’s what I really aspire to, so it’s exciting.”

She plans to bring The Collective back to life and is currently looking for more staff to join the team for a new concept she has in mind to hopefully be revealed in the high season, spring.

At the moment, she employs 25 staff across the three venues.

“You can do a lot of things, but if you don’t have the staff you’re just going to put more pressure on the staff that are here already,” Mrs Davies said.

“So we’re finding more staff, working on something bigger and better, maybe something completely different, and bringing it to life once we’ve got everything in place.

“There’s a lot to look forward to.”

The Collective is open for bookings for all kinds of occasions, whether you want a casual lunch, a fancy dinner or a large function space for a wedding or a party, it will be available between one of the three venues.

The Vault will host Craig McLachlan and Andy Penkow on their About Time tour on Friday, August 2. Tickets are available just for the show, or the show with a delicious dinner on the side.