THE WORLD’S FIVE BEST CELEB CHEF RESTAURANTS
ROCKPOOL Neil Perry
Celeb chefs are pretty polarizing: you either love ‘em or hate ‘em. It’s no secret that many of the food world’s most recognizable faces have earned the ire of critics whether through disappointing restaurants or unearned reputations. But, fortunately for foodies everywhere, there are a few eateries out there that actually live up to “as seen on TV” expectations. Here’s a list of our favourite celeb chef restaurants – no need to worry about overrated egos at these joints.
One of Australia’s most famous chefs with seven restaurants scattered between Sydney, Perth and Melbourne, Neil Perry has created an empire from his philosophy that includes a commitment to sustainable produce, world class service and a progressive, memorable approach to food. Opened in 1989, Rockpool’s recent move to the historic Burns Philp building on Sydney’s Bridge Street sees the restaurant serving up its classic modern Australian cuisine and award-winning wine list in grand quarters. Dinner guests choose between a bar menu or a nine or ten-course tasting menu, while lunchers can enjoy either one, two or three courses. Don’t miss the famous date tart petit four, which has been earning sweettooth praise since 1984.
Image: Mark Jordan
NOLA
CRAFT
Emeril Lagasse
Tom Colicchio
Located in New Orleans – Food Network fave Emeril Lagasse’s hometown – NOLA serves up Louisiana and Southern cooking in a renovated warehouse in the city’s famous and historic French Quarter. Chef de Cuisine John Laskay uses local and regional ingredients to prepare both iconic and unique Southern dishes like shrimp and grits, buttermilk fried chicken and a twist on the city’s favourite sandwich – a po-boy with Vietnamese barbecue pork, duck liver moose pate, pickled carrots and kimchee salad. Look for other local touches like fried tomatoes, corn maque choux and andouille sausage throughout the menu.
Craft lends credibility to Tom Colicchio’s tenure as a judge on popular American TV show Top Chef. Helmed by Chef de Cuisine Ed Crochet, the NYC restaurant’s daily changing menus feature seasonal and local produce alongside a list of all of the farms and producers involved in providing the night’s ingredients (all anti-biotic-free, of course). Lauded dishes include a pork trotter and farm egg first course, a braised beef short ribs main and a roasted hen of the woods mushroom side. Craft was the first institution of Colicchio’s now well-established Craft Restaurant Group and has been open since 2001.
Image: Ashley Palmer-Watts
Image: Sergio Coimbra
FIFTEEN
THE FAT DUCK
Jamie Oliver
Heston Blumenthal
In Islington, London, Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen aims to do more than just make great food – behind the restaurant is a program that trains unemployed and challenged youths to work the ins and outs of a kitchen and to produce the dishes on the restaurant’s daily changing menus, all with Jamie’s stringent standards in mind. The apprentices also receive mentorships and do college and personal development work, all while learning to run (and actually running) one of London’s most successful dinner spots. The globally-inspired menu is brought to life with British produce all under the watchful eye of kitchen lead Jon Rotheram.
The slight cost of £220 per person and 4.5 hours to kill on dinner will land you a meal at “kitchen scientist” Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck in Bray, England. Well, all that, plus some luck with reservations! The restaurant is one of only four in the UK to be awarded three Michelin stars and was named the Best Restaurant in the World in 2005. Working from cramped quarters in a 450-year old pub, Blumenthal aims to provide a multi-sensory experience for diners while keeping a careful balance between modern and historic influences – dishes like powdered anjou pigeon and mock turtle soup offer theatrical revamps on meals that go way back in British history. Blumenthal announced this year that the restaurant’s Bray location will close for renovations for six months in 2015 and will relocate for the limited time to the Crown Towers hotel in Melbourne, Australia.