Fine dining runs through the veins of Peter Gilmore, executive chef of two of Australia’s most awarded restaurants, Quay Restaurant and Bennelong. So it comes as no surprise that he thinks fine dining is alive and well, and not a dying art in Australia what with rising costs of living and the hospitality industry skewing ever more heavily towards a more casual approach.
“There are times where, economically, there are not as many fine dining restaurants around,” Gilmore tells SBS. “Right now [may be one of those times] as the cost of living is really high for everyone. But I do think there is a place for fine dining in our culture.
“I guarantee you that every five years or so, journalists say ‘fine dining is dead or dying’. But it hasn’t died yet.”
Peter Gilmore, executive chef at Bennelong (pictured) located inside Sydney's iconic Opera House. Credit: Nikki To
It is this fascination for produce and farming that has led him to swap city life for a humble rural destination south of Hobart in Tasmania once every six weeks or so. It’s here that he spends his time growing fresh produce that he either eats himself or distributes to his restaurants.
He is not the only chef to make the tree-change to Tasmania. His former protege Analiese Gregory who once worked at Quay also has a farm in southern Hobart, and the two – who have remained friends – exchange stories and notes on pushing their sustainable food game forward in Season 2 of Gregory's show,
Other well-known chefs and food personalities who have also made the move to Tasmania include Rodney Dunn, co-founder and executive chef at The Agrarian Kitchen, and Matthew Evans, who is a fully fledged farmer now.
Peter Gilmore and Analiese Gregory are former coworkers, friends and now, neighbours in Tasmania.
“On my farm, I'll grow different varietals of things like ancient Japanese white turnips that have a unique flavour and colour,” he says. “They might have beautiful leaves that you can sauté as well.”
“In a few years’ time, I wouldn't mind moving to Tasmania permanently. I just love the fact there are four distinct seasons there. It’s great for growing beautiful produce – and that’s important to me.”
Gilmore explains the Tasmanian attraction for chefs with one word, which interestingly, connects right back to his fine dining food philosophy – produce.
“There are so many small producers and farmers in Tasmania that are growing produce for three-to-four restaurants. They might be breeding heritage pigs or have incredible vegetables in their garden. Access to produce and personalised relationships with small-scale farmers is what I believe makes Tasmania quite special.”
Relationships, like those that Gilmore has with small-scale farmers in Tasmania, also help to develop Australia’s food scene. “Fine dining chefs support producers to grow unusual items that aren't found in the supermarket, like an heirloom carrot variety that’s 300-years-old and has an amazing flavour. Because I'm willing to pay a little bit more for it, that makes it viable for that small farmer to grow it.
Peter Gilmore in Tasmania: "I just love the fact there are four distinct seasons there. It’s great for growing beautiful produce – and that’s important to me.”
Creativity is key to all quality dining experiences. If restaurants just did the same food all the time, he says, “life would be a lot more boring. We need a few leading lights in the industry to experiment with food, push the genre forward and create new ideas and new dishes”.
The purpose of fine dining: innovation
One such new idea is Analiese Gregory's new 10-seater farm-to-table eatery, which debuts in the final episode of .
Gilmore says her eatery is an innovative fine dining model. “Fine dining has got a couple of different directions it can go in. One of them is a smaller restaurant that focuses on locally sourced ingredients. The service side of Analiese’s eatery will be more relaxed but the food itself will showcase her [fine dining] expertise and the beauty of the area. If you get a booking, you’ll be in for a very special experience.”
Gilmore emphasises the role of the word ‘special’ in high-end dining. He says all fine dining meals should have a ‘special’ quality, no matter if they are served from a small home-based eatery in Tassie or at a three-hatted restaurant in Sydney.
“Fine dining might not be something you do every day of the week, but having a beautiful meal at nice restaurant can make people feel quite special.”
Essentially, it’s the diners, innovative food experiences and quality produce from farmers across Australia that will keep fine dining alive for a long time to come. “An older person might go to a fine dining restaurant to celebrate their birthday and say ‘that was the best meal of my life’ after the main course. Or a couple might get engaged at your restaurant and return to celebrate their anniversary.
“To me, the value of a fine dining meal is the experience and memories that it creates. That’s special from a cultural point of view.”
