Chef Peter Gilmore promises a feast for the eyes

ONE of the great chefs of the world is to take on one of its most famous buildings.

Restaurant Australia launch

ONE of the great chefs of the world is to take on one of its most famous buildings.

Peter Gilmore and his backers at Quay restaurant at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal will open a new restaurant at the Sydney Opera House next June.

The announcement came a day after the annual report for the NSW government-owned Opera House was tabled in state parliament revealing a $9.2 million increase in operating revenue, amounting to 10 per cent.

The income boost was derived from forecourt concerts, including popular outings by The ­National, the bustling commercial area and sponsorship and ­donations aligned to the building’s 50th birthday.

Bennelong was vacated by Frenchman Guillaume Brahimi at the start of the year, triggering a hit-and-miss campaign to find a new tenant for Sydney’s most ­visible restaurant site.

The Sydney Opera House Trust has accepted a tender from The Fink Group, which is behind several of Sydney’s best known restaurants, including Quay, The Bridge Room and Otto.

A spokeswoman said the ­arrival of Fink Group would not represent a turnaround from the trust’s aim of having an ­affordable eatery beneath the iconic sails.

“The variety of options are very well suited to both Bennelong’s tri-level layout and the Opera House’s role as one of the busiest performing arts centres in the world,’’ she said.

“The new Bennelong Restaurant, as it will be known, will include a signature Gilmore dining room, and a less formal restaurant bar on the upper level.’’

The trust’s plans for a restaurant tenancy at the estimated $1m-a-year site were thrown into disarray earlier this year when the Melbourne-based Stokehouse group was forced to abandon plans to open at Bennelong following a fire that destroyed its St Kilda mothership.

The Opera House has forgone considerable rental income in the time since Brahimi left the building. His restaurant is understood to have paid about $500,000 a year, but it is believed the Stokehouse deal was anticipated to return more than $1m annually.

The spokeswoman said functions at the venue have partly made up for lost revenue.

Gilmore said last night that differentiation between the Quay and its new twin would become clearer as the doors opened.

The Fink Group says it will begin a multi-million-dollar refurbish­ment of Bennelong in mid-January, with the new restaurant due to open by June.