MANILA, Philippines - Who is the Melbourne-based chef known for his indulgent French fare in his Vue de Monde restaurant?
He plans to make Vue the first power neutral restaurant relying on solar, wind, and waste power instead when it moves to its new home on the rooftop of the Rialto Building in Melbourne.
He grew up in a small town called West Meadows and his culinary journey began at age 15 with an apprenticeship at the Hyatt in Melbourne under Roger Leinhard.
In his teens, he beat Australia’s top chefs in open competition, and with ambition coursing through his veins, he secured spots in Europe’s toughest kitchens.
Working under several of the world’s top Michelin starred chefs like Albert Roux, John Burton Race, Marco Pierre White, and Alain Ducasse in the beginning of his career; he also diligently studied and observed the works of chefs like Michel Bras, Michel Roux, Jr., Andoni Aduriz, and Rene Redzepi, sparking him to find and tell his own stories with his dishes.
“All those guys have their own story to tell,” he says. “ now know the answer to what a great restaurant is, and that really is to tell your own story. “ He found his voice after years of experimenting and pushing the boundaries of Aussie cuisine.
He returned to Australia, and in 2000 opened his first Vue de Monde in Carlton, and a few years later opened in Melbourne where he translates his background in classic French cuisine to an Australian setting.
“I like French food because of the techniques involved. The recipes are also so challenging, but yet so simple,” he says. “I feel French food is . . . there is no leeway on the technique side of things. So if you are off the mark when it comes to your technique, or off in your skill level, people can tell.”
He later opened Cafe Vue and Bistro Vue in 2006 at the same location. In 2009, the second location of Cafe Vue opened at 401 St. Kilda; shortly after the third was opened in partnership with the Heide Museum of Modern Art outside of Melbourne.
But restaurants aren’t his only pursuit. He counts cookbook and culinary travel guides as among his accomplishments. The second edition for his first book, My French Vue, was released in 2007. His second book, My French Vue was released a year later. In 2009, he wrote a culinary travel guide to Paris and is in the midst of researching for a New York edition.
While his newly opened Vue at the Al Bustan Palace in Oman will be accompanied by a 10-part television series, he is never one to rest on his laurels. In more recent years, he has increasingly embraced what Australia has to offer in terms of produce, proteins, and its mult-ethnic population. As he puts it, “I’m trying to get out of the mode of having a signature dish,” he says. “I’m trying to say that our signature is that we are serving seasonal food that tells a story. We are trying to focus on the local.”
Beyond discovering the culinary treasure trove of his native land, he’s also found the logic of more sustainable, ecologically sound restaurant practices, like composting, growing his own produce, and energy efficiency.
“I’m not one of those save-the-planet gurus,” he says. “I’m just a normal human being just like you. The main reason I’ve agreed to move the restaurant is to make a statement about sustainability. We can actually be the first power neutral restaurant where I can actually harness all the energy from the building itself — solar, wind and waste, and we can turn all of that into power and run the restaurant on that.”
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Last week’s question: Who is the 20th century American architect known for his many homes with Northern European and Early American themes — mostly cabins — in Minnesota?
Answer: Edwin Lundie
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