How Heston’s Melbourne venture became a hot mess
It was Melbourne’s most expensive and exclusive restaurant, but an investigation into its collapse reveals how unsustainable its model was. And you won’t believe how long it took to make the mustard.
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A mustard that took four-and-a-half hours to make but often ended up in the bin is an example of the extravagant dishes that appear to have helped break the Heston Blumenthal-fronted Dinner by Heston concept.
Considered Melbourne’s best restaurant when it opened in October 2015, the company that ran the restaurant — Tipsy Cake — crashed into administration late last year and dished up its last service on Valentine’s Day, leaving behind debts of more than $10.8 million.
It collapsed amid revelations it underpaid employee entitlements for four years until June 2019. It owes staff about $4.4 million in back pay.
Sources close to the now defunct restaurant said while it served some of the best food in Australia, the business model, which included a large number of highly skilled chefs working long hours, did not seem sustainable. “The mustard sauce, it would take a bloke about four-and-a-half hours to make,” they said, “and about 65 per cent of it would be thrown out.
“Historically, they never had the costs right.”
Page 13 was told it was a “trading model suited to a city the size of London”, with its population of nine million people and a well-heeled portion that includes more than 90 billionaires. It was less suited to Melbourne with its five million people where diners go out less for a degustation. A degustation meal at Dinner by Heston could cost $295.