“It’s been a hard year, especially getting through winter,” Mitch said. “Some days you do five people and some days you do 40.”

With staffing awkward due to the fluctuating demand, he’s ended up shouldering most of the load by himself, working 12 hour days when the restaurant is open and 60 hours a week on average.

“I’ve just been doing everything, and it’s been wearing me down,” he said.

When he moved to Bellingen with his family two years ago, Mitch had no intention of taking on another restaurant.

With fellow chef Claire van Vuuren, he also owns Bloodwood in Sydney’s inner western suburb of Newtown, and the tree change was about leaving the city and the chef’s life behind.

“I’ve been wanting to do something outdoors for a while,” Mitch said. “When we moved up we weren’t even going to open a restaurant, it sort of just happened. The space was available and it’s beautiful. But we hadn’t been in town long enough to realise the seasonal differences.”

Mitch will be going back to TAFE to study land and conservation management and is applying for entry-level positions as a National Parks and Wildlife Services field officer.

If all goes well, his goal is to eventually become a NPWS ranger.

“Just being outdoors will be a big thing,” he said. “I’m coming up to 20 years cooking in kitchens, so it’s time for a career change.”

But Mitch won’t be totally putting aside his pots, pans and knives.

He plans to continue cooking for the Bowl of Plenty, which provides free hot lunches for those who need them on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at the Senior Citizens’ Room next to the Bellingen Neighbourhood Centre.

Popla Bellingen is open from 6pm till late for the next few days and also on Sunday 12pm-3pm.

The final dinner will be on Saturday, and friends and colleagues from the Bloodwood restaurant will be present to mark the occasion.

“We’ve got about 25 staff down there and about 10 of them are coming up,” Mitch said. “We’re pretty much booked out for Friday and Saturday. There’s only a few tables left.”

The business is for sale, but there are also backup plans for it to continue in different forms if necessary, via pop-up dinners, catering, and stalls at markets and events.

“Since we announced we won’t be open any more, lots of people have come forward to ask about potential collaborations for the space,” Mitch said. “We look forward to new and exciting things at 2 Oak Street.”