"I can't wait to get back cooking," he said. "There have been a few delays because of the Covid lockdown, but we're now ready to go."

Mr Gittany said equipment delays and a lack of trades people meant family and friends had to step up.

"There were a few hurdles along the way that we needed to get over because of equipment delivery delays because of Covid in Sydney and tradespeople not being able to get here, but we managed to do some of the work ourselves," he said.

Timing couldn't have been much worse for Mr Gittany who had to take up a paint brush instead of a pastry brush.

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"We had painters lined up to do the inside and then they couldn't because of the lockdown, so that added a few more days," he said.

The kitchen took the most work with stainless steel replacing the tiles on the walls and a new epoxy floor for easier cleaning.

Regulars at the Railway Hotel in Millthorpe would remember the menu when Mr Gittany was there, and fans of his Lebanese dishes will be pleasantly surprised.

"I've added a few more traditional Lebanese dishes to the menu and Italian ones as well," he said.

Two of those are Loubyeh and rice, a dish of green beans cooked with tomatoes and Moujadra, a Lebanese style risotto with lentils, rice and onion.

At the moment the bistro is BYO but he'll have a full licence in weeks to come.

Tony G's Bistro, at 67 Adelaide Street, Blayney.

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