By Leigh O’Connor.
There’s a quiet confidence that comes from a life lived on the water - a steady calm that holds firm even when the world is pitching at thirty degrees. For Chef Ryan Fitzpatrick, that poise was forged over six extraordinary years as Head Chef aboard a superyacht, where every plate had to be flawless no matter how wild the seas became.
"Cooking at sea is equal parts adventure and chaos,” he says with a knowing grin. "You’re constantly balancing precision with unpredictability - rough seas, limited storage, sudden weather changes - and guests who still expect perfection.”
It was an education like no other. Each meal demanded resourcefulness and grace under pressure. Out there, you learned to make beauty out of limitation and to respect the season, the sea and the story behind every ingredient.
One memory still shimmers vividly in his mind - grating fresh coconuts on the back deck of a $50-million yacht, anchored off the crystalline Yasawa Islands. "I was making a Fijian kokoda with freshly caught wahoo. The water was glass, the guests were diving nearby and I made the coconut cream by hand. It was one of those pure moments where everything just belonged - the place, the people, the food.”
It’s that same purity - that reverence for simplicity - that now defines Ryan’s cuisine at Lanai Noosa, where he brings his ‘sea-to-shore’ philosophy home to one of Australia’s most stunning coastal dining rooms.
"The ocean still shapes everything I do,” he explains. "Life at sea taught me restraint. At Lanai, the menu is about clean, honest flavours - letting the ingredient shine.”
His current favourite? The ora King salmon poké with rice cracker, furikake, sesame dressing and ginger - a dish he describes as "light, colourful and quietly bold - it feels like Noosa on a plate.”
Set just across from the Noosa River, Lanai hums with that same rhythmic energy - the salt air, the glint of water, the coastal light filtering through every moment of the dining experience. "We design dishes that feel connected to that environment,” Ryan says. "It’s less about replicating the sea and more about evoking how it feels to be near it.”
That connection finds its spark in ingredients like Aunty Terri’s Davidson plums, which Ryan describes with the same affection as one might reserve for a muse. "They’ve got this wild acidity that wakes everything up - especially seafood. It bridges tropical brightness with native Australian character.”
Not that Ryan’s approach is ever overly serious. His sense of play is as much a part of Lanai’s soul as its elegant minimalism. Take his cheeky Mooloolaba prawn sanga, served with lemon myrtle aioli, potato crisp, pickled onion and Wonder White. "It’s playful,” he admits, "but balanced. I like surprising people just enough to make them curious, then showing them how those flavours naturally belong together.”
That balance between artistry and authenticity continues to guide both Ryan and Lanai into the future. "We’re always evolving - exploring new ways to express coastal cuisine,” he says. Next year promises deeper collaborations with local producers and Indigenous enterprises, expanding the restaurant’s mission to champion Australian ingredients and sustainability. "It’s all about authenticity and progression,” he adds. "Real food with real connection.”
As for what lies ahead for dining trends, Ryan sees the tide turning back toward coastal simplicity. "People are craving connection and honesty again. Native ingredients will keep growing, but used with more refinement and respect - less about novelty, more about genuine flavour and story.”
When asked for his best advice to home cooks tackling seafood, his answer is as pure and unfussy as his food: "Don’t overcook it. Treat it gently. Add acid - citrus, vinegar, native fruit - and trust the ingredient. If you start with something beautiful, your job is just not to ruin it.”
For Ryan Fitzpatrick, cooking is a form of storytelling - one that drifts between the waves and the shore, anchored by simplicity, honesty and a love for the ocean that continues to inspire every plate he creates at Lanai Noosa.
