Chef Josh Niland’s favourite foodie destination
The Fish Butchery co-founder is a fan of one particular country and he goes back there again and again.
It comes as no surprise that Josh Niland is often led by his stomach when it comes to his travels but he is also guided by something deeper.
“To tangibly engage with the people and products within different parts of the world is incredibly inspiring and thought-provoking,” he explains. “I feel a sense of responsibility to my family and my team every time I travel, that I bring back these experiences and interpret them into something special.”
Forks at the ready then, for Niland’s travel schedule is looking busy: he and his wife Julie are heading to Japan on their first overseas trip with their young children.
He is also off to Peru this month in his capacity as member of the international board of the Basque Culinary Centre. Alongside chefs Rene Redzepi, Mauro Colagreco, Pia Leon, and Massimo Bottura, the council will convene in Lima and Cusco.
Since opening Saint Peter in Sydney’s Paddington in 2016, Josh and Julie Niland have changed perceptions of what can be done with seafood: the dizzying multitude of ways it can be butchered and aged, prepared and presented, respected and enjoyed.
It’s the only Australian restaurant to make the 2024 World’s 50 Best Restaurants longlist, praised by judges for taking “the great Australian seafood tradition to previously unexplored heights”.
Their burgeoning, yet carefully calibrated empire includes Petermen in St Leonards and Fish Butchery in Waterloo (they recently shuttered Fish Butchery Paddington and Charcoal Fish in Rose Bay). Last year, they opened their first overseas outpost, FYSH at the Singapore Edition hotel, where “I absolutely love the intensity of the city and the diversity of the restaurant industry,” says Niland.
Come July, the doors to the hotly anticipated new iteration of Saint Peter will swing open not far from the original, relocating to Paddington’s Grand National Hotel and promising greater scope for the chef to play out his sweeping seafood vision in more expansive digs; including a bar with an Australian rock oyster-focused menu, and boutique accommodation.
For all the international opportunities on the table and Niland’s attention to detail and perfection; the desire to keep learning is what fascinates him: “It may seem boring, but I do enjoy returning to certain places so I can explore them further,” he says, “as my travel is always quite short.”
My first travel memory
It was going to Chicago in 1997 with my family for my Starlight Children’s Foundation Wish (Niland had childhood cancer). My wish was to see the Chicago Bulls play and meet the team. It was an extraordinary experience and I really fell in love with travel at that time.
Chefs travel differently
Yes absolutely. I think cooks find the food first and then, probably due to curiosity, ask questions and gain further insight into where to have their next meal or their next coffee or a late-night drink, and then that leads to the next adventure.
While bookings are critical for most restaurants around the world, I feel cooks like to leave some fat in their schedules to go with the flow and discover where the local hospitality folks go.
I always walk when I travel, too, which gives me the ability to see the region I am in and gain clarity of thought, which inevitably fuels the inspiration for new ideas, along with some much-needed exercise between meals.
My favourite hotel
Edition Singapore. I mean there are not too many other places in the world that get close to the natural beauty of the Singapore Edition, and I feel spoiled to be a small part of that offering. Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris is also up there. We didn’t stay there but Julie and I had the best breakfast of our lives there over 10 years ago.
My top food destination
It has to be San Sebastian. While there are so many extraordinary destinations all over the planet, I feel incredibly connected every time I’m there. San Sebastian and the entire Basque Country have some of the best produce in the world, matched with some of the most talented cooks. My favourite things to eat there include percebes (a type of barnacle), anchovies, tomatoes, and of course the incredible jamon (ham).
The country that influences me
The cuisine of Spain is one of the most inspiring I’ve experienced. I’m nearly certain it’s because, like Australia, the country is incredibly blessed with the best produce (Barcelona markets, pictured). It is then our responsibility not to mess with the ingredients but to showcase their innate beauty.
Where to next?
Peru! It’s surely one of the food meccas of the world and is filled with the most wonderful people. There is so much inspiration and history (Lima, pictured) and I can’t wait to be there later this month.
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