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History: I grew up on the
From here I travelled to
Heron Island working for P&O
Resorts for eighteen months and then to Delgany’s in Portsea under the famous
Hermann Schneider, before moving to the city and working as Sous Chef under
John Gallagher at the Stokehouse. My first Head Chef role was openingSanto
Blue on
From
It became a reality in
July 2007, when we found the space at
Have you always wanted to be a chef?
Yes! My mother is
Filipino and father, German. Mum is amazing in the kitchen. There are always
ten dishes on the go, different flavours, textures and to this day, she loves
to try something new. I also
wanted to study art but the “abstract” of the ‘80’s wasn’t what I was really
interested in anyway. So cooking won.
How would you define your
style?
Modern-Australian, very
Contemporary; Asian flavours dominating the warmer months and becoming more
French-Classical in the depths of winter.
Obsessive compulsive
about?
Presentation, freshness
and balance.
Your greatest culinary
inspirations?
Marcella Hazan, Micheal
Roux Jr. and Stephanie Alexander.
Most “eyebrow-raising”
menu item?
Whole King George
whiting, with sandcrab and ginger, fried in a crispy chickpea batter, with a
fennel, baby caper and pink
grapefruit salad. It always gets
a good response!
Signature Dish: We’d be in trouble if
we took it off the menu –the customers share it, have one each, order it in
main size... It is