Les Hill’s transformation from gangster hardman to burgerman

LES Hill is obsessed with burgers. After eating his way around the world, he’s come up with three rules for the perfect specimen.

HE stalked the dark alleys of Melbourne playing mobster Jason Moran in underworld drama Underbelly — now actor Les Hill has roamed the earth on a worldwide odyssey to hunt down, and build, the ultimate burger.

Meet the Hillburger — the result of a passion which has become a fledgling business for the 42-year-old actor, foodie and former chef.

What started as an excuse to eat burgers wherever he travelled became an obsession which transformed Hill into the ultimate burger nerd — although, as the Hillburger hits its first menu in Sydney, he prefers the term ‘Chief Meatsmith’.

“The eating odyssey has been lifelong — but a year ago I really stated to get serious,” said Hill over a taste test at home in his Coogee kitchen.

“I’d always loved burgers, but then just started this global quest to find the world’s best.

“I’d read a lot about the great burger quests — there’s burger blogs, appreciation societies. I’d follow in their footsteps and go to the restaurants they were going to.”

Hill trained as a chef in his 20s after waiting tables and working hospitality ‘as all actors do’, because he had a ‘food obsession’.

About 14 months ago, Hill and his girlfriend Jo were on holidays, consuming yet another burger, when she suggested he ‘should actually do something with my problem and make it into a capital venture’.

“It took 60 or 70 burgers, and a lot of soft-sand running in between,” says Hill of his tasty research tour. Picture: Supplied.

Hill took advantage of the green light to eat more than 60 different burgers under the name of research over the next year.

“Mostly I hit the US — because Americans make the best burgers,” Hill said.

“I ate from West Coast to the East Coast and down to Texas. It took a year-and-a-bit, 60 or 70 burgers, and a lot of soft-sand running in between.

“I ate burgers in New Zealand and the UK and a few other places, but the Americans pretty much do the best burgers in the world.”

Between burger binges, Hill hit his home kitchen, experimenting with mince blends, sourcing the right cheese and the ultimate burger bun.

When he couldn’t get the mince mix right, he bought his own grinder.

After many burnt buns, spice trials and attempts to prise recipes from the creators of his favourite special sauces, Hill reckons he’s finally cracked it.

“I knew I’d hit on something when we trialled them on Jo’s Dad,” he said.

“He doesn’t eat burgers. He thinks they’re disgusting. He’d clearly been told to be polite and eat it, so was following instructions.

“He ate two in one sitting — he asked for the second. At that point I knew we weren’t just being polite.”

THE HILLBURGER

THE burger is an American-style burger, with a hand-ground blend of two cuts of beef, topped with a slice of cheddar, and served with Hill’s special sauce, served on a burger bun — you decide on the pickle.

The cheese is a high-melt cheddar, sourced and imported from America, and the special sauce is Hill’s own trial-and-error creation.

The bun is a burger bun for now, but Hill has a recipe for a potato roll and is sourcing a baker to make it.

“It’s made with mashed potato in the dough mix, so it’s fluffier, and lighter, and that’s pretty much the world-accepted standard by burger freaks,” Hill says.

The burger mince is a blend of beef cuts, ‘a bit of salt and pepper and that’s it — no herbs, nothing’.

The secret sauce is handmade by Hill and is ... well ... a secret.

And don’t expect a golden ‘H’ sign beckoning you to a drive-through just yet.

For now, the plan is for Hillburgers to be offered on the menu at established cafes and restaurants: one a suburb, with Hill supplying all the ingredients, and the venue building them on site. First venue for a taste is Coogee’s Courtyard Café — where Hill has spent nights using their commercial kitchen perfecting his blend.

Early prototype: “It made the Grange taste even better,” says Hill. Picture: Supplied

HILL’S BURGER BIBLE

• “IF you can’t fit it in your mouth, it’s not a burger, it’s a food pile.”

• “IT should cooked medium rare — anything else, you lose the taste.”

• “DON’T crowd it, don’t complicate it — no lettuce, no tomato, not beetroot, no egg. It should be good enough that it doesn’t need anything else. Venues can add what they want, but I reckon if you want salad, serve it on the side.”

BEST SYDNEY BURGERS

“SYDNEY is really only starting to find its chops with burgers, but it’s finding them,” Hill says.

“Cheekyburger in Paddington, Burgers by Josh (which pops up in North Sydney), the Mister Gee Burger Truck which is going gangbusters, Bare Grill (La Perouse) — are all doing awesome stuff.

“My top three — in no particular order — are Neil Perry’s Burger Project, Justin Hemmes’ offerings at The Pavilion and Cheekyburger in Paddington. And Mary’s at Newtown I give total kudos to their quest for perfection because I know they have a baker making potato rolls.”

BEST OF THE U.S.

“SHAKE Shack in New York. Once you’ve been to the flagship in New York, there’s no point eating it anywhere else. I’ll be back there next month and that will be my first stop,” Hill says.

In LA he loves The Oinkster, Stout, and Father’s Office. And In-N-Out if you’re in a hurry.

“I like their (In-N-Out) principles — the family-owned restaurant — nothing’s frozen, there’s not a freezer on-site. The fries are hand-cut every day — that’s good policy.”

Originally published as Les Hill’s transformation from gangster hardman to burgerman