How a former IBM executive redefined Australia’s restaurant scene
This boy from Geelong grew up in a pub, studied to be a chemist, sold computers and opened his first eatery at 35. Now he’s one of the biggest figures in hospitality.
Chris Lucas is at the helm of a restaurant group that employs more than 2500 people across the country. Eamon Gallagher
When Chris Lucas was 10, he visited a hotel kitchen for the first time. It changed his life.
“I remember seeing amazing desserts, towers of cakes, croquembouches, ice sculptures,” he told The Age. “It was like a fancy show. We couldn’t afford to go to anything like that. We wouldn’t even have thought of it. That’s where my first inklings about restaurants started.”
Iona RennieProducerIona Rennie is a producer at The Australian Financial Review.
Lauren SamsFin editor, deputy editor AFR Magazine and fashion editorLauren Sams is the editor of Fin Magazine, The Australian Financial Review’s luxury quarterly edition. She is also the deputy editor at The Australian Financial Review Magazine and the fashion editor. She writes about the business of fashion and beauty. Email Lauren at lauren.sams@afr.com
