LOCAL LIFE
MY FAVOURITE PLACE : Evan Frost
by Greg Martin
Early in my interview with Evan Frost for this article , I quickly gained the impression that he loves living and working in the Hawkesbury , and that would be his favourite place .
As the interview progressed , other avenues for his MFP evolved – England , Darkest Africa and Europe .
Evan is the proprietor of popular North Richmond eateries , North Café and Kravings Bistro in the North Richmond Hotel .
“ OK Evan , I ’ m chafing at the bit wanting to know - which is your bloody favourite place ?” I quipped . “ That ’ s easy ,” he said .
” Berrara ” “ I give up – where and what is Berrara ,” I replied .
“ It ’ s down on the South Coast , a small community a couple of kilometres south of Sussex Inlet on the shore of Jervis Bay . My extended family has been going down there ever since my maternal grandparents , Joan and Bill Mara , put a caravan on their beachside block of land about 1960 ,” Evan said .
“ Over the following years , the caravan morphed into a beach house , and my parents , Malcolm and Rhonda , and my older sister , Alex , and I went down there every holiday throughout our school years . “ To us it was just so exciting being there – exploring through the bushland
Master chef Evan Frost doing that voodoo , that he do , so well !
and along the coastline , swimming , fishing , surfing – we all just loved the place . Now my little family – my wife Cassie , children , four-year-old Watson and Delilah , 2 , and I - get down there whenever we can .”
Well , so much for the excitement of a lion strolling past his tent in the South African veldt , and visiting all the great , historic places in Ye Olde England and on the continent !
Despite his love of Berrara and his interesting sojourns overseas , for Evan , Hawkesbury will always be home .
“ This is a fabulous place to live – we have the river , easy access to the city and our amazing wilderness areas , but .. .. ..” “ But what ? I asked . “ I just wish all of our community could embrace what we have here ,” he said .
“ A minority voice with their negativity have been disappointing and annoying- even infuriating their fellow citizens . For instance , all the unconstructive comments made about the proposed new bridge over the river at North Richmond is just ridiculous .
“ These adverse claims are just unhelpful - surely these pessimistic people realise that our little bit of heaven over this side of the river will change as our population grows .”
Yep , the ancient Greek philosopher , Heraclitus , certainly got it right when around 500 BCE when he wrote : “ The only constant in life is change .”
Life has certainly changed over the years for Evan Frost .
He is the son of Rhonda and Malcolm Frost – Malcolm is bit of a legend in the Hawkesbury for his business acumen and skills on a cricket field . Evan was not bad at the sports caper either , playing junior representative cricket , Aussie Rules , soccer and athletics where he shone throwing the javelin .
Evan did his learnin ’ at Colo High , departing that place in 2004 with his HSC . “ For two years prior to that , I worked as a part-time kitchen hand for Jock and Lyn Morthie who started the restaurant in 2002 ,” Evan explained .
“ By the time if left school , mum and dad had bought the business and I started a three-year indenture as an apprentice chef . When I came out of my time , I headed to London to further my career , firstly landing a five month stint as a sous chef with the Michelin-starred The Ivy before moving on as a chef at one of the famous Fuller ’ s Gastro Pubs .
Dear reader , gastro in this case was short for gastronomy , not you know what ! During short breaks between work , Evan had a bad dose of the wanderlust and spent time in South Africa and visiting most European countries where he , no doubt , increased his knowledge of all aspects of the restaurant business .
He was back home in Australia in 2010 , and his parents had no hesitation in appointing their son Kravings ’ head chef and manager .
Oh , we do like to be beside the seaside ! The Berrara Family Frost are obviously delighted to be at their favourite place . Evan is working the selfie for children , Watson and Delilah , and his wife , Cassie .
In 2019 , Evan also opened the popular North Café in North Richmond , overseeing both businesses and then a third when he opened a restaurant in the North Richmond Hotel .
“ In late ’ 23 I decided to close Kravings at Kurmond and took the name down to the restaurant at the hotel ,” Evan said .
Cassia and Evan have been married since 2019 – the pair literally ran into each other ( t ’ was a slight bump ) four years previous at 4 Beans Café in North Richmond . “ Love at first sight ,” I asked . “ Well , I suppose you could say that , but Cassie and I just clicked , and that was that – yep , it was certainly a meritorious bump ,” Evan replied .
Who warned , “ beware of bumps in the night !”
THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 178 // MARCH 2025 11