5 star chefs taking over the kitchens of local clubs and RSLs
They are usually found in some of the state’s high-end restaurants. But top chefs are now running the kitchens of suburban clubs and RSLs, giving locals five star grub without the heartburn-inducing bill. INTERACTIVE: TOP CHEFS AT YOUR LOCAL CLUB
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Once only seen in high-end restaurants — or on television shows — our finest chefs can now be found running the kitchen at your local club.
While clubs long ago lost the old stereotype of schnitzels and roasts, this new shift has taken their food to a whole new level.
And, while the clubs gain a valuable new attraction, the chefs find they are not only earning more money but have a better work-life balance.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that Stefano Manfredi is among a slew of top-name chefs set to sign a deal with Rooty RSL to open an outpost at its new West HQ precinct in June.
He is set to be joined by the owners of acclaimed Woolloomooloo eatery China Doll as well as several other “high profile” celebrity chefs who remain in negotiations with the massive Western Sydney club.
It comes on the back of a shift from high-end restaurants to suburban clubs made by a string of big names recently, including ex-Aria and Sake head chef Richard Slarp.
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Last year Mr Slarp left Sake At The Rocks — arguably Sydney’s highest-profile Japanese eatery — to take up the head chef role at the family-friendly Lane Cove RSL, which has since been renamed The Alcott.
Another, Freddie Salim, left Longrain for a role at the Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL while acclaimed Italian chef Giovanni Pilu — of Pilu at Freshwater — oversees the menu at the renovated Harbord Diggers.
“My last kitchen was at Sake At The Rocks and there was no real quality of life there — all you do on your days off is recover,” Mr Slarp said.
“Here I am much happier. I have a happy little group of chefs who work four days on and three days off.
“Admittedly it’s not as fashionable as restaurants but you also don’t have that high stress environment, which isn’t healthy for a lot of people.”
Then there’s the money. In most cases the club’s eateries are propped up by poker machine revenue, so they can offer a higher award wage than restaurants.
A chef de partie at The Allcott takes home $62,700 a year compared to the same role at Sake ($55,000).
“And the guys here only work four days a week, so it’s a no-brainer,” he said.
Canterbury Bulldogs Leagues Club recently poured just over $100 million into upgrading their food offerings which was, according to club GM Greg Bygraves, inspired by the pub makeovers of Ivy’s Justin Hemmes.
“I saw what he was doing and we sort of took our cues from that,” Mr Bygraves said.
“I think what he has done with his venues is amazing. But just in Sydney in general the food scene at pubs has been really growing in the past few years.
“Especially around the inner west. So we tried to replicate that in a way but on a bigger scale.”
When Pilu announced a partnership with Harbord Diggers back in March last year, the industry was shocked at one of Sydney’s most decorated chefs setting up in an RSL.
Even Pilu’s wife Marilyn Annechini admitted she and her husband had their reservations given the world-renowned reputation of their fine diner Pilu at Freshwater.
“When we were first approached by the Diggers, I have to be honest, our first reaction was: ‘Oh god, why would we want to go into a club’?” Ms Annechini said.
“But once we saw what they had in mind and started to see the design and vision come together, it was just phenomenal.”
A year on and Ms Annechini said the experience has been such a positive one that she and Pilu would be open to more club collaborations.
“If the right situation came along … absolutely.”
Originally published as 5 star chefs taking over the kitchens of local clubs and RSLs