Tasmania’s most influential chefs: 18-13
THEY are Tasmania’s top culinary creatives making their mark across the state. We continue our count down of Tassie’s top chefs.
Taste Tasmania
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TASMANIA’S enviable access to small growers and artisan producers has catapulted our island state onto the foodie world stage. No longer the culinary backwater, Tassie’s “beyond organic” produce — thanks Tetsuya — is emptying planeloads of epicureans onto our tarmacs and into our restaurants.
In this five-day series, we continue to count down of the top movers and shakers in the Tassie food industry, chosen for their influence on shaping the state’s dining scene.
18 ANDRE KROPP
Wrest Point, Sandy Bay
A stalwart on the dining scene, Kropp — the executive chef presiding over Wrest Point’s offerings — is as much admired for his abilities at the hotplate as he is for his pivotal role in training the next generation of chefs.
As the executive chef at Wrest Point, it’s not unusual for Kropp to cater for groups up to 700 in a banquet, which he handles with aplomb. But he still finds time to mentor the many young hopefuls that make up his brigade of chefs at the Federal Group-owned behemoth.
Trained in Cape Town, South Africa, Kropp was an inaugural member of the Henry Jones Art Hotel team on Hunter St and has competed in international tournaments including two culinary olympics, held biennially in Lyon, France — helping to raise Tassie’s profile on a world stage.
17 TOM WESTCOTT
Tom McHugo’s, Hobart
The word around town is that gastropub Tom McHugo’s is where Tassie’s top chefs love to eat. So what is it about this former Franklin chef Tom Westcott that makes his peers head his way for a cheese bread and a pint?
To start, Westcott blends his Pigeon Hole, Franklin, Westend Pumphouse and Mona teachings from a former life into a menu that balances bold pairings with good, dependable comfort food.
There’s a dedication to seasonality in his offerings that has earned him a swag of gongs.
For Westcott, it’s all about small producers. He’s been around the traps long enough to know all of them by name and what he can source from them. It’s this locavore approach to the many accessible farm gates across our island state that packs a punch in his dishes.
16 LUKE BURGESS
Watch this space
Instagram nearly goes into meltdown every time a Luke Burgess hashtag is trending — and with good reason. The trailblazing chef of former Hobart favourite Garagistes — now sadly closed — was well ahead of his time when he began promoting Tassie’s fresh produce in innovative ways.
For Burgess, a single food crop could have multiple transformations using plant parts that would otherwise have been discarded. This creative and playful way of looking at food has kept him at the top of the game.
In the Garagistes glory days, Burgess’ exciting food pairings and commitment to local produce helped cement the city as a serious food destination.
Having trained in Sydney under the gaze of industry heavyweight Tetsuya, and with a short stint at Noma in Copenhagen – the four-time winner of Best Restaurant in the World by Restaurant magazine – Burgess is an institution in himself.
While Burgess has been quiet of late, rumour has it that we’ll see his name charting the top of a menu soon.
15 JOSH RETZER
New Sydney, Hobart
If you’re after fine dining on a beer budget, you could do worse than to pull up a stool at this popular pub specialising in craft brews. Retzer is developing a near-cult following for his brash, ever-changing menu, with offerings including Tassie calamari, a whitefish popcorn and crispy pigs’ ears.
Propelling Retzer’s quick rise to fame was his nomination last year for the Best Chef Rising Star award, held in Warsaw, Poland, where he was one of only nine global finalists.
Formerly of North Hobart eatery Born in Brunswick, Retzer has taken his trademark boundary-pushing ideas to the New Sydney on Bathurst St, where his wild abandon in the kitchen is winning many fans.
The Mercury has heard it said that Retzer delivers the best pub grub in the nation. That’s a big call, but it’s probably not too far off.
14 IAIN TODD
Saffire, Freycinet
For Todd, his best culinary creations are not the dishes with the most expensive ingredients but rather those with simple ingredients presented in new ways.
The former owner of Hobart restaurant scene darlings Ethos and Piccalilly, who has also graced the kitches at Frogmore Creek vineyard and Mona, Todd is no stranger to notoriety but he takes it in his stride.
He consistently delivers when it comes to producing some of Tassie’s most innovative dishes, and his national profile — thanks partly to a stint on MasterChef as a mentor in a team challenge — has greatly raised Tassie’s foodie profile.
“I really want to champion what we do well here,” Todd says. “I think Tasmania is an absolute paradise so the more people that can come and learn about that, the better.”
13 PHILIPPE LEBAN
A Tiny Place, Battery Point
The founder of this petite eatery nestled among workers’ cottages in Hobart’s Battery Point has a CV that’s far from small. Before making a run of it on his own, Leban was at the helm of Mona’s The Source for six years. And before that he spent time in Europe honing his craft, which included stints working in France’s top restaurants alongside kitchen superstars, such as three-Michelin star restaurateur Alain Passard.
Leban remains a strong go-to voice on the Tasmanian hospitality scene, and in March this year formed part of the judging panel of the Delicious magazine Tasmanian produce awards.
Leban isn’t afraid to lend his weight to environmental causes either, becoming an ambassador for Environment Tasmania to raise the profile of sustainably-reared salmon.
“People are spoilt for choice when it comes to standout food in Tassie and this makes competition fierce,” Leban says.
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