It's winter and the sun is always shining on Jonah's Restaurant & Boutique Hotel. As we get back to Sydney for our "Petite Bouche Chef of The Month" awards, we have nominated Executive Chef Matteo Zamboni as he brings his Italian influence to this iconic Whale Beach establishment.
Matteo says Matteo says "The Petite Bouche produce has always inspired me, and we now get to grow some of our garnishes in the new Jonah's garden. It is a chance for my chefs to experiment and play. We will always need Petite Bouche to deliver that consistency and variety"
Andrew Gunn is our final Petite Bouche chef of the month for Queensland until 2019 as we move the award back to New South Wales. It has been an inspirational journey with some fantastic QLD chefs.
Andrew is the new Executive Chef at Urbane Restaurant and Euro in Brisbane CBD. As he takes the reigns from Alejandro Cancino, he plans to maintain the systems that chef Alejandro put in place and bring a modern French twist to Urbane.
Cucinetta is about the revival of the old, classic and ancient. Vincenzo’s passion in food derives directly from a love of reviving forgotten methods. From traditional slow cooking, cheese making, fresh pasta techniques and preserving Vincenzo aims to continue these traditions by hand with great respect to the way cooking used to be and how he can used them in today’s kitchens.
Located in the heart of Broadbeach, Old Tom Restaurant and Bar is the Gold Coast’s newest fine dining and classic gin bar. Old Tom pays homage to the 18th-century prohibition era in the United Kingdom. In 1736 a Gin Act was established to try to stop people excessively drinking gin by adding a hefty tax to purchases. To get around the tax, public houses would have a tomcat carving outside of their business and people would place a coin in the cat’s mouth to receive a shot of gin. Thus Old Tom was borne.
Meet Mo Rickard he is the chef and co-owner at Sum Yung Guys on Duke Street in Sunshine Beach, Queensland. He is our Petite Bouche chef of the month for April and what an operation they have at SYG. It was a real pleasure to see this band of hospitality brothers making waves in this tourist hub paradise.
SYG is the hub of the operation, and the three chefs, Mo Rickard, Jerimiah Jones and Mat Sinclair are all co-owners, along with Dylan Campbell.
It gives us great pleasure to award the March Petite Bouche chef of the month to Matt Kemp. He is a real legend in the industry and has achieved so much in his career. It's lovely to see him settling into his new life in Byron as the Executive Chef of The Byron at Byron Resort and Spa.
The food takes a pure approach sourcing the very best local produce from the surrounding area.
We will see more from Matt Kemp this month with our "Talking Shop" episodes with Export Fresh & Petite Bouche owner Tony Mann.
A massive congratulations to this months Petite Bouche Chef Of The Month Scott Webster from Billykart West End in Brisbane.
Scott is the Head Chef at the funky west end restaurant of restauranteur and celebrity chef Ben O'Donoghue..
We caught up with this humble English Chef to find out how he is settling into the Australian life and what his favourite Petite Bouche Produce is at the moment.
It gives us great joy to kick off 2018 with Will Cowper as our "Petite Bouche Chef Of The Month."
Sydney born and raised, Will kicked off his career working in European style restaurants in Sydney and eventually joined The Fink Group 10 years ago working at Otto Ristorante Sydney under James Kidman and Richard Petacnik.
Will has been a dedicated chef to "The Fink Group" and been given the opportunity to shine as the head chef of Otto Ristorante Brisbane.
Brendon Barker is the Executive head chef of Madame Wu and Chu The Phat in Brisbane. His food combines his passion and thirst for Asian cooking from places he has visited such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. Chef Brendon has been immersing himself in Asian food for many years so he can cook just like the locals, which is his aim when perfecting a dish.
Since opening his classic Edward Street restaurant in 1999, Javier Codina, Chef de Cuisine was quick to establish a reputation for cuisine which is distinctive and highly awarded. His menus are created using the best local produce and by blending influences from France, Italy, and his native Barcelona.
Combining a diverse array of flavours with delightful imagination, he produces a harmonious blend of classical and new cuisine, which has brought high praise from critics and patrons.
Simon started his career in Newcastle and then went onto to work in the likes of Bacca's, Urbane and Gerards. He now runs the highly respected Ecco Bistro in Brisbane. Simon focuses on bistro dining with a modern twist allowing the produce to sing and dance on the plate.
Ecco Bistro, owned by the legendary Philip Johnson brought his food and passion to the Australian restaurant scene many years ago gaining him an enormous amount of respect and had seen many young chefs flourish in his kitchen.
At 26 Anthony was awarded his first chef hat from Brisbane Good Food Guide while running the kitchen of "Deer Duck Bistro". He has since gone on to be awarded 1 AGFG Chef Hat and secured "Deer Duck Bistro's" position on the financial review top 500 Australian restaurants list in 2016.
In early 2017 Anthony took on the new challenge of running "The Thomson Reserve". A small, sophisticated restaurant at the base of "The New Inchcolm Hotel."
Most recently Anthony was also a state finalist in the "Electrolux Australian Young Chef Award". A real testament to his hard work, dedication and professionalism to the industry.
Export Fresh is very excited to bring you our very first Queensland "Petite Bouche Chef Of The Month".
First up is the extremely talented Ben Williamson. He is the Head Chef and owner of Gerard's Bistro in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.
The last Petite Bouche chef of the month for NSW this year will be the joyful and hardworking Roy Ner. Back in 2006, the Israel-born chef intended to kick off his career in the United States but the universe directed him towards Australia. Roy was accepted to Sydney's Le Cordon Bleu.
