From the Editor, Leigh O’Connor.
At The Chef’s Table, every dish tells a story — a whispered memory of the places, people and passions that shaped it. Here, culinary mastery meets raw emotion; flavours aren’t just combined, they’re composed like symphonies.
From the flicker of the flame to the final flourish on the plate, each creation reveals a Chef’s soul — a delicate balance of craft and courage. A drizzle of truffle oil may echo a childhood forest; a caramel glaze might recall a first love’s sweetness.
Around the table, time slows. Guests lean in, captivated by the artistry unfolding before them — a dance of texture, scent and taste. These are not just signature dishes; they are edible memoirs, shaped by fire and feeling, plated with precision and served with heart.
The Chef’s Table invites you to savour more than a meal — to taste the story behind every bite.
Australia’s dining scene is evolving — not through imported trends or fleeting fads, but through the voices of Chefs who are finally cooking from the heart. This is the era of plated identity - a moment when the country’s most exciting kitchens are telling personal stories through food, weaving cultural roots and modern creativity into dishes that feel both deeply intimate and universally appealing.
Gone are the days when fine dining meant white tablecloths and European formality. Today, Australia’s culinary vanguard is rewriting the script. They’re plating stories of migration, memory and belonging - one dish at a time.
Each year, AGFG’s Chef Chats uncover the stories, inspirations and culinary philosophies shaping Australia’s dining scene — and 2025 delivered some of our most memorable conversations yet.
Join us as we revisit five of the most inspiring voices in Australian cuisine, each bringing their own journey, heritage and creativity to the plate in truly unforgettable ways.
Every Chef has a moment - a dish that defines them, that captures the essence of their story and philosophy on a plate. It’s more than technique or flavour; it’s emotion, memory and mastery entwined.
For five of Australia’s most celebrated Chefs, these dishes are love letters to their journeys - symbols of who they are and what they stand for.
In New Zealand, dining isn’t simply a meal - it’s an immersion into landscapes so vivid they feel alive, a sensory connection between the land, the sea and the spirit of Aotearoa. Across its islands, the art of destination dining captures something deeper than flavour: it’s about place, provenance and the unspoken poetry of nature.
From alpine peaks to sunlit coastlines, New Zealand’s Chefs have long drawn inspiration from their surroundings. They cook with the rhythm of the seasons, guided by Maori principles of kaitiakitanga - guardianship of the land and its bounty. Every plate tells a story of where it came from, who nurtured it and why it matters.
Join us at the table as we dish up how to host a Chef Hat dinner party, a serve of nostalgic Chef-hatted recipes and take you beneath the Hat, unveiling what it really takes to win a Chef Hat in 2026.
