Shane Osborn, by anyone’s standards, is arguably Australia’s most successful contribution to world cuisine. But if you are using the Michelin star yardstick, there is absolutely no argument that he is our nation’s highest achieving culinary export. At the age of 31 — after taking over the helm of London’s ritzy Pied à Terre restaurant — he beat the odds to become the first Australian to be awarded a star in the famous Michelin guide.
Then he did one better, scoring a two-star rating. On the global food Richter scale that is big. When Gordon Ramsay admits to weeping when his New York restaurant, The London, was stripped of its two stars, it’s a sign of just how much weight the fine-dining bible carries.
But, until recently, even the most ardent chow hounds in our city would not have been able to quote the remarkable achievements of the young lad who left Willetton Senior High School to take up an apprenticeship at what was then one of Perth’s daggiest restaurants, Hilite 33.
Back then, he related the Michelin name with a tyre company, not culinary greatness. But now, just over two decades later, with a new life in Hong Kong where he heads up the kitchen at St Betty, he’s flying to Perth for a rare visit home. This time he’s bringing with him a swag of stories, a heap of enthusiasm for our food scene and finally, after 14 years, he’s wearing a long-overdue celebrity chef’s hat.
As special guest of Taste of Perth, a three-day upmarket food event at Langley Park, Osborn will be a judge on the Best in Taste awards panel. Local participating restaurants will offer their signature dishes for judging.
Osborn will also be doing cooking demonstrations in the Taste Kitchen when the world’s greatest restaurant festival comes to Perth for the first time. During the three days, May 2-4, the festival takes over Perth’s Langley Park where 40 restaurants will feature their special dishes and more than 60 artisan producers will offer tastings. It’s a formula for Brand Events and Virgin Mobile that has worked in 18 cities all over the world. And Osborn, who has been part of it in London, is thrilled to be making his second trip back to WA in six months. This time he is delighted to be able to focus on the Perth restaurants he missed out on last November when he was guest at the Margaret River Gourmet Escape.
“I only got to visit The Print Hall last time,’’ he says. “I am looking forward to going to Amusé because I’m a great fan of Hadleigh (Troy) and want to try Guillaume’s restaurant at Crown.’’
Osborn says Perth has become much more sophisticated since the ‘90s when he peeled potatoes and cut julienned carrot sticks at Hilite 33 when the revolving restaurant, now known as C Restaurant, was a favourite with tourists and the nanna set.
While working long hours there he soaked up everything he could about French cooking techniques before leaving to take on the world.
“It (Hilite 33) was quite a brutal kitchen. Rules were rules. I was just a 15-year-old kid. A chef there, Andre . . . took me under his wing and taught me a lot. At that stage I just thought I would learn to cook and end up working in the catering business my mum was working in doing weddings and Rotary dinners. But he encouraged me to go and travel.’’
In the early ‘90s, Aussie chefs were generally looked down upon by the Brits, says Osborn.
“They thought the Aussies knew nothing about French cookery,’’ he says. “We came with a different attitude. We were always asking questions whereas the British chefs were more steeped in tradition and would accept what they were told.’’
Even so, when David Moore, co-owner of Pied à Terre, asked him to take over from head chef Tom Aitken, Osborn at first refused.
“I declined because of the pressure,’’ he says.
His friends convinced him to give it a go. But, through no fault of Osborn’s, the restaurant lost a Michelin star during his first month as head chef. A year later he clawed his way back and another two years later he’d earned another one. The UK food aristocracy was unimpressed.
“I remember going to an awards night for the second one,’’ he says. “It was a really chilly atmosphere. Poms like to beat the Aussies.’’
But, overnight, Osborn became a UK household name.
Passionate foodies have followed him to Hong Kong to his 128-seater St Betty, in the Central District overlooking the harbour.
“St Betty is much more relaxed,’’ he says. “Not as snooty as London. That’s why I left Pied à Terre. I wanted to get away from all of that. A restaurant should be fun, not just about the food. You should be able to have a bit of a laugh. After all, it’s just food.
“Even so, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to earn another Michelin star here.’’
* See www.tasteofperth.com.au for more.