Renowned Melbourne restaurateur and former Grub Food head chef Daniel Wilson looks back at his time at the eclectic Fitzroy venue and talks about the exciting new opportunity that has opened up.
It’s not often you get to make your mark at a venue from the very beginning. Many businesses have strict routines and policies that inhibit creativity and individuality. But Fitzroy-based cafe-restaurant Grub Fitzroy is not one of those. In fact, Grub actively encourages its head chefs to express their personalities; it asks new ones to bring with them “a solid, creative vision” to align with the venue’s “pop-up philosophy”.
It’s this flexibility that has attracted some of the country’s most creative chefs to Grub over the past decade. One of these is renowned Melbourne restaurateur Daniel Wilson, who worked at the venue in 2016 and 2017. During that time he created and oversaw a Japanese-inspired menu full of local, seasonal produce – think clean salads, bar snacks and hearty share plates.
With Grub Fitzroy currently on the lookout for a new executive chef, Scout sat down with Wilson to talk about his experience working at the eclectic Fitzroy venue, and why others should consider the recently advertised role.
JOB LINK: GRUB HEAD CHEF
Well, there was four words in particular that I was given: fresh, seasonal, relevant and appropriate. They also emphasised the importance of keeping the customers front of mind and staying in line with the style of the menu.
Wilson’s menu items included karaage chicken ribs with yuzu and togarashi mayo; sashimi tuna with shiso, wasabi, brown rice and snowpeas; falafel with baba ghannouj, harissa yoghurt, pickles and lettuce cups; and queso valdeon salad.
It was great to share my food philosophy with both the back and front of house teams and teach the chefs some new ideas and flavours. Hopefully I inspired them! Of course it was also fantastic to have the opportunity to create my own menu.
Grub is a unique and quirky Fitzroy institution. Tim and Mark [the owners] have worked very hard to grow the business into to what it is today. I would say it would be hard to find a similar style venue in Melbourne. I particularly love all of the greenery; it’s so fantastic to have fresh produce at hand to pick as needed.
Grub is a great opportunity for a head chef to really be creative and show their personality and style. While there is a formula to the make-up of the menu, the exact ingredients and dishes are open to the chef’s interpretation.
Very! Grub involves itself in waste minimisation and re-usage, uses water tanks, utilises a worm farm, and of course grows a lot of greenery. There needs to be more of this and it is really awesome that Grub is leading the way in their community.
I love its personality. It has such vibrancy about it – from the beautiful tree-lined residential streets with terrace houses, to the shops and nightlife of Brunswick Street. It’s also very accessible by public transport.
For more information on Grub Fitzroy, check out its Broadsheet profile
JOB LINK: GRUB HEAD CHEF
This article is sponsored by Grub Fitzroy.
