Toowoomba chef Kyle ‘Zev’ Zevenbergen reflects on two decades of hospitality across Queensland

From working in a Chinchilla pub to opening his own hatted restaurant in Toowoomba, Kyle ‘Zev’ Zevenbergen has fed thousands of diners and last month celebrated 20 years in hospitality.

Kyle 'Zev' Zevenbergen celebrates 20 years in hospitality

For as long as Kyle ‘Zev’ Zevenbergen can remember, he has always loved cooking.

A self confessed “big kid” who loved eating, he fell in love with hospitality while watching his parents host their friends for dinner and would spend his nights in front of the TV watching cooking shows.

Starting as a school based apprentice at 14 in Chinchilla, Zev later moved to Toowoomba and opened Zev’s Bistro in 2016 which became the city’s first hatted restaurant the following year.

Celebrating 20 years in hospitality earlier this year, Zev’s passion for cooking hasn't dimmed and his restaurant, now called Host, is one of Toowoomba’s finest restaurants that continues to grow and evolve.

Zev celebrates 20 years in hospitality

“I was fortunate enough to work in the same establishment throughout my whole apprenticeship at the Great Western and when I moved to Toowoomba I was fortunate enough to land a senior chef role for about four years,” Zev said.

“I grew up in Chinchilla and The Great Western was a restaurant attached to a 26 room motel. When I tell that story it sounds a little ‘how you going’ like a country pub chef but it wasn't like that, I was fortunate to have a really great boss and she paid to have really good chefs there so I had good mentors from the start.

“I was pretty lucky in those early years of my career.”

At the young age of 25, Zev was left with a decision: go travelling or use his money from years of working and open his own restaurant.

Luckily for Toowoomba diners he chose the latter.

“I think every chef wants to own their own place, I was saving for travel and personal development trips overseas and I decided to put that money into my own place and I ended up where I am with Zev’s and now Host,” he said.

“When I started I thought why not, I didn’t really have a two year goal or a ten year goal I just said what’s the best I can do to make it work.

“I’ve always said I’d rather close the doors with integrity then go against what I believe in and it's got me this far.”

Zev's Bistro opens in July 2016

When Zev first opened Zev’s Bistro almost ten years ago there were very few restaurants of its kind in the region and introducing Toowoomba residents to higher-end dining was not without its teething pains.

“There are a few great restaurants in the region that operate at a high level and we are all unique in our own right but it is hard regionally,” he said.

“The catchment area of Toowoomba is more country orientated and a lot of that clientele like to save money, they might not see the value is this type of dining, which I respect.

“It is hard standing alone in those situation because when people don't have a comparison they might hold you to a higher standard because of what they see on social media and that’s why we make our food approachable and make sure people have a good time.”

Zev acknowledged one of the issues facing high-end dining was the price and said it was important to ensure that diners left happy after spending their hard-earnt money.

“An issue we dealt with it when we opened and we still deal with it a bit now and that’s price point, quality ingredients and wine comes at a cost to the establishment so there has been push back at times,” he said.

“We stand by it though, we offer reasonable mark-up on everything and offer high end products.

“We learnt pretty quickly that we couldn’t push the boundary too much but what we could be is an introduction into higher end dining for Toowoomba diners.”

Zev celebrates 20 years in hospitality

Twenty years on since a teenage Zev first put on an apron his passion for providing diners with amazing experiences remains as strong as ever.

“You have to be dedicated to your craft, it can be just a job but it's a pretty tough job if you're just wanting to pay the bills,” he said

“You need to approach it from a point of passion to get the most out of it and make it a real career.

“If you don't love what you do then it doesn't translate to the customer and at the end of the day that's what we are in it for, to offer hospitality to our customers.

“It’s about offering a real experience rather than just cooking for someone, statistically speaking if a diner has a flawless experience their likelihood of returning is about 40 per cent so I think being consistent is the biggest thing.

“How you do anything is how you do everything.”

Zev celebrates 20 years in hospitality

Zev said had seen the industry change a lot over his time and offered advice to other young chefs to looking to dip their toes into hospitality.

“You have to get in there and do the work, so much has changed in hospitality for the better in the last 10-15 years,” he said.

“Most environments are very accepting, a little calmer, the appearance of hospitality of being this demanding scary place to work has changed.

“There are now more opportunity for people to educate themselves in the craft.

“The other thing I believe in is to cook in as many places as you can and eat in as many places as you can.

“You can never learn too much.”