Jessica Shirvington became a force in the Sydney dining scene, without relying on her name, or connections
As lauded UK restaurant L’Enclume prepares for its second blockbuster residency, the Bathers’ Pavilion co-owner reflects on her secret ingredient.
Step inside Balmoral’s culinary crown, the waterfront Art Deco Bathers’ Pavilion, and on the left you’ll spot a set of stairs leading up to its mezzanine level. Here, surrounded by artworks and away from the buzz of the main floor, the restaurant’s co-owner Jess Shirvington is politely wrapping up a phone call, waving me over to a largish table positioned in an alcove that overlooks diners below and Sydney Harbour’s North Head beyond. This, she explains as we take our seats, is the unofficial “family table”.
“The kids eat here quite a lot. They don’t always want to eat exactly what’s on the menu,” says Shirvington, taking her seat. “Sometimes they bring their books if they have homework to do, or whatever, and just have some food. It can feel a little bit like the family dinner table sometimes.”
Perhaps it’s family as much as its breathtaking view and award-winning menu that is the not-so-secret ingredient to Bathers’ Pavilion’s success over the years. Shirvington’s father, Ian Pagent, the auto dealer who found fame with MG Garage showroom and restaurant in Surry Hills, has been part of the Bathers’ journey since 2019, co-owning and operating it alongside his daughter. Today, he’s on the floor overseeing operations during a particularly busy lunch rush at the harbourside gem. Shirvington’s 16-year-old daughter Winter occasionally balances shifts between Bathers’ kiosk and its Thai eatery Betel Leaf, slotting work between school and a packed rowing schedule. Lincoln, seven, is a familiar face around the restaurant. “He loves it here,” Shirvington says. “He’ll run around, high-five people and then come into the office like he owns the place.”
Eldest daughter Sienna, 18, is also a regular presence downstairs, waiting tables and learning the rhythm of the industry first hand. “She’s way better at all this than I ever was,” says Shirvington. “But I don’t know if this is what she wants to do.”
If she has an ounce of her mother’s decisiveness, she may already have plans in place. Shirvington was the same age as her eldest when, after only two weeks, she decided that university wasn’t for her.
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“I’d enrolled at the University of Sydney, and, at the time, I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” she recalls. “So I chose to study art. My father was not happy.”
The pivotal moment came as the deadline for her first assignment approached. She noticed another deadline: the final day to withdraw from her course without financial penalty. “So I left. But I knew I wanted to work and I still needed a job,” she says.
Her first real taste of hospitality came from working at a small café in Neutral Bay. But it wasn’t until she landed a role at Rockpool Catering under Neil Perry that she realised how exhilarating the industry could be. “I went straight to Neil’s door basically asking, ‘Can I please have a job?’,” she recalls. Soon, she was juggling shifts between MCA, Star Room and the MCA Cafe. When her father opened MG Garage in 1997, she joined him, starting as a food runner and working her way up.
She quickly learned the highs and lows of working in a family-run business. “When I discovered the … complications that might come from working in a family business, I decided that maintaining an independent position at that time might be a good idea!” she says.
She returned to Perry, working at Wokpool Darling Harbour restaurant, but eventually found herself drawn back to MG Garage, this time leading the charge with Fuel, a bistro concept next door. “I was working half with the Rockpool group and then half at MG because I wanted to keep my independence,” she explains.
Those early years, working for Perry and watching her father switch from auto dealership to running one of Sydney’s most in-demand dining spots, were formative for Shirvington. It also – “complications” and all – laid the groundwork for her current position co-running Bathers’ Pavilion with her father. “Dad’s just so clever. He didn’t start out in hospitality, but he understood how to make a business work,” says Shirvington.
Speaking of those early days working together, Pagent says that while there’s little point in comparing MG Garage with the grandeur of Bathers’, the model for success remains the same. And it’s a model that Shirvington has worked with gusto to emulate. “I think what was at our core then remains now: strive to offer the best product, whether at a casual or fine-dining level,” Pagent explains. “Be ready to evolve and always remain customer-focused. I’m proud to know that is our shared goal.”
It’s a commitment confirmed by Shirvington’s husband, former Olympian turned television host Matt Shirvington, who describes his wife’s work ethic with one word: “Unwavering,” he tells WISH. She balances work, family, and everything in between, he says, and never does things by halves.
“When she commits to something, she’s all in, and I honestly can’t think of a single time she hasn’t succeeded,” he says.
The fiercely private Shirvington rarely gives interviews or insights into her various worlds – home, work, or success as an author of young adult fiction.
So why now, I ask? “Since you so kindly asked,” she says.
“Matt and I have been together since we were 17 and 18 years old, and we decided a long time ago to only engage in things that really meant something to us,” she explains. Early on in their relationship, she says, the couple decided to keep their private lives separate from public attention. Matt’s experience as a young athlete in the lead-up to the
2000 Olympics reinforced this mindset. “I also made a conscious decision that I’d never trade off Matt, my family, or anything they’d done in business.”
And the Bathers’ family is still growing. This July, Simon Rogan – one of Britain’s most celebrated chefs – is rejoining the fold, bringing his three-Michelin-starred L’Enclume back to the Sydney restaurant for a six-week residency from July 16 until August 24. The return follows a wildly successful 2023 partnership that cemented a deep connection between Rogan and the Bathers’ team.
“Bathers’ Pavilion is the only place outside Cartmel [the quaint English village where the flagship restaurant is based] that has served a L’Enclume menu,” Rogan says. “This is because of the depth of trust and collaboration we have in our relationship with Jess, director of operations Tom Sykes, and their exceptional team.”
The 2023 residency ended with a waitlist of 2000 people, and this year promises something even more special. “We are approaching the menu as if L’Enclume had been created in Sydney,” Rogan explains. The result is an all-new 14-course tasting menu featuring some of Australia’s finest ingredients, including marron, snow crab and quandong. “During my time in Sydney, I fell in love with Australian produce – it’s honestly some of the very best in the world.”
For Shirvington, welcoming Rogan back was an easy decision. “The Rogan Group now has more Michelin stars and accolades than any other British restaurant group,” she says. “Since the appointment of Aaron Ward as executive chef, our restaurant has only strengthened and grown in its future ambition.”
Just as Bathers’ has always been a family affair, Rogan’s return feels like a homecoming – building on that key ingredient in the restaurant’s ongoing success.
Yet despite her deep commitment to hospitality, writing remains another of Shirvington’s passions. The best-selling author of the Violet Eden Chapters series initially turned to writing when she and Matt moved back from London.
“For the first time since I dropped out of university, I wasn’t working a ridiculous amount of hours every week,” she says. What started as a creative outlet became a career, with her first manuscript completed in just six weeks. “I printed it out, put it down in front of Matt, and said, ‘Hey bud, this is crazy, but I think I’ve written a book’.” His response was simple: “You should go for it.”
Though writing has taken a back seat to running Bathers’ for now, it’s never far from her mind. “Jess will always have a passion for the restaurant world,” Matt says. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if, down the track, the pull of writing draws her back in. She is always quietly tinkering with the next idea.”
For now, Shirvington is focused on Bathers’ Pavilion, where there’s a lot going on, and more to come. “I do see the later part of my career as a writing time and I think that’s how I am OK with not writing right now,” she says. “Because you know what it’s like when you write – you feel that need to write. And I miss it. I do. So I picture myself in a period of time, back in my pyjamas, in my comfortable chair, writing my epic fantasy with a coffee ready.”
This story is from the May issue of WISH.
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