About me

I am a Sydney based chef, recipe developer and cookbook author. Feeding people delicious, seasonal, responsibly sourced food and teaching people how to make the same delicious food for themselves is my purpose in life.  

I learned about the central role that food plays in our lives as a child cooking alongside my mother and grandmother.  They always had a pot on the stove and an extra seat at the table.  Somehow imbuing the feeling of love and family in everything they made, there was not a person who knew them who wouldn’t of been happy to sit at their tables.

From here to professional chef involved a few detours along the way including a degree in Art History from the University of Florida, but once I made the decision to enroll in culinary school, I never looked back.  My first restaurant job was at famed, 3 Michelin starred, The French Laundry in the Napa Valley of California.  Here, I got to see and taste vegetables pulled straight from the garden, I learned about the importance of food and wine and I began to understand the importance of quality.  Later I moved into San Francisco, continuing to work and cook with top ingredients, visiting farmers and farmers markets and always dreaming of working at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, the much revered restaurant led by Alice Waters. Alice is a pioneer in the food world.  She changed the way many Americans saw food and restaurants and is largely credited with beginning what we now call “farm-to-table” cooking.  In 2010 I secured a job at Chez Panisse and it was the best cooking job I ever had. In this kitchen I learnt about responding to the seasons and trusting my intuition to cook with a menu that changed daily. Here I found my confidence as a cook, doing everything from cooking over fire, making pasta, butchering fish and whole animals and learning how to properly dress a salad.  It was old-world techniques, making things from scratch, and not least of all, learning how to taste, adjust and evolve. This job didn’t just teach me about cooking, it was also filled with valuable lessons about how growing food affects our land, our climate and our societies.

I brought these lessons with me to Sydney in 2014, when (after a serendipitous encounter) the Merivale Group asked me to head up and design the kitchen in what was to become the strikingly beautiful Paddington restaurant, Fred’s. The restaurant won fast acclaim – and was quickly rated among the best in the country.  I couldn't have been more proud. 

Here, I assembled a team of like-minded chefs and staff, and carefully curated a list of local farmers – fruit, vegetable, dairy, poultry, fish and meat suppliers – who provided the bulk of ingredients on the always changing menu. The restaurant was built around a large open kitchen, and was designed to feel like home, and it was mine for many years.  It was bold, theatrical and I loved leading this team. 

Here is what my bio (written by someone else) will tell you about Freds:

In 2020, I wrote my first book, Always Add Lemon.  In 2021 and 2022 I co-hosted a TV show, called The Good Food Kitchen with Adam Liaw. And somewhere in there met my wonderful partner Dan.  Together, we have a King Charles Cavalier named Ripley who I lovingly refer to as my son.

In 2022, following six years at the helm of Fred’s, I decided to press pause on restaurant life. I’ve now written my second book, Recipes for a Lifetime of Beautiful Cooking, which was released in Australia, the UK and the US on October 31st, 2023.  I continue to be a regular contributor to Good Weekend Magazine and love to post recipes and videos on my instagram and on this site.

In September 2023 I was appointed the new Culinary Director of the Event spaces of the Sydney Opera House. In this role I write new and bespoke menus for the private event spaces in the House such as the Yallamundi Rooms, Utzon Room and Northern Foyers. I will also be curating special ticketed food events in these spaces so watch this space for more.

In this time away from the restaurant I have continued to feed people through collaborations, corporate and brand partnerships and small cooking classes.  If you value delicious, responsibly sourced food and want to work together, get in touch!