First Look: Ali Currey-Voumard Runs a Record Store and Bar in Castlemaine

Ali Currey-Voumard is one of Victoria’s most established young chefs. She worked her way up from volunteer to head chef at renowned Tasmanian cooking school and restaurant The Agrarian Kitchen, a role she left in 2019. From there she went to lead the kitchen at Hot-Listed Public Wine Shop before moving to regional Victoria in 2023 and starting a pop-up at Castlemaine’s historic hotel Temperance House (now home to Dutch Indonesian restaurant Voor Ouker).

So when she opened a record store called Table Records in February, after 15 years in kitchens, it was a somewhat surprising move. But now Currey-Voumard has turned it into a hybrid record store and bar that’s drawing locals from the town’s thriving music community in for vinyl by day, Martinis by night.

“Records aren’t always financially accessible for a lot of people, even if they’re crucial to the music industry,” Currey-Voumard tells Broadsheet. “So I wanted more of the community to have a way to use the space.” She now works solo out of the kitchen at neighbouring Tortoise Espresso – only separated from Table Records by a soundproof curtain – to deliver an offering she describes as “minimal but intentional”.

For Currey-Voumard, Table Records isn’t about leaving the kitchen behind, it’s about expanding what hospitality can look like. “It’s definitely a change after 15 years in the kitchen,” she says. “But there’s plenty of crossover, especially now that the bar is running.”

That crossover is what makes the space tick: part record shop, part bar, part community hub. With monthly calendars now outlining events, DJ sets and collaborations, the future feels wide open. “It’s very exciting to continue to realise the potential of what we can do here,” she says.

The bar opens from around 2pm from Thursday to Sunday. Currently, there’s a carefully composed spread of the kind of food designed to sit alongside a drink and good conversation. Find local cheese, crudités with curd and tapenade, house-made Bundarra pork terrine, anchovies laid over organic lemons, and handcut De Palma salami from New South Wales. Plus, a crisp aperitivo plate with olives, guindillas (pickled green peppers), marinated anchovies and hot sauce, as well as potato chips served with hot sauce for snacking.

Currey-Voumard hasn’t left her chef’s instincts behind. Seasonality and organic farming are central, and while there are no immediate plans to expand into full dining, pop-up dinners and collaborations with friends are on the cards.
Her partner Mali Mitchell-Court works front of house, pouring glasses and bottles from small winemakers, such as Australia’s Dilworth & Allain and Minim, and French producers including Etienne Mangier and Marie et Vincent Tricot.

There are classic cocktails – Negronis, Martinis, Margaritas and a Japanese whisky highball – and aperitifs such as Argala pastis, and Suze and tonic. Plus a rotating spritz with options such as yuzushu or umeshu. The non-alcoholic list sings with house-made chinotto and a bitter almond and lemon spritz.

The bar itself is intimate, with room for about 25 inside and up to 20 outside, weather permitting. But records are still the heartbeat of the store. By day, you can browse and listen, by night, the records give way to cocktails, conversation and the occasional dance. Shelves carry an ever-shifting mix of international finds and releases from Melbourne’s thriving scene, with DJs often spinning during service.

Table Records
16 Hargraves Street, Castlemaine
No phone

Store Hours:
Thu & Sun 11am–6pm
Fri & Sat 11am–11pm

tablerecords.com.au
@table.records