Chef Josh Raine flies solo with a $200 six-course degustation, while Corey Costelloe escapes uptown for his first venture at the former STIX Cafe site.
The former Tetsuya's chef is opening a pop-up at Surry Hills restaurant Blue Door while the owners go on holiday next month, and Sydney hospitality star Alex Cameron has turned the downtown by the beaches, buying the 23- year-old Wet Paint restaurant in Bronte. Welcome to the left-field ways that “gen next” is getting their foot in the door on their way to opening their first solo ventures.
High rents, rising costs and an oversupply of restaurants make launching a new venue a daunting proposition. Chef Josh Raine, who earlier this year called time on his six years at the soon-to-be-shuttered Tetsuya's, dreams of opening his own pub-style restaurant with a small upscale restaurant. For now, his ambitions are a bit more pragmatic.
“This is a way to test the waters before you jump in,” Raine says of his four-week residency, which begins Wednesday, July 3. A spot of rain at Porta Blava. “Homeowners need a well-deserved short vacation, so this is the perfect opportunity to use someone else's space.”
With a six-course tasting priced at $200, Raine hopes to find out if there's an appetite for what he'd like to become a permanent restaurant.
Alex Cameron cut his teeth as group managing director of hat-wearing Sydney venues Franca and Parlar in Potts Point and Armorica in Surry Hills, but deliberately ignored those heavier suburbs for his first restaurant.
“It's not an area with a lot going on, but the fact that Wet Paint lasted 23 years is a good sign,” says Cameron. It will reopen the space in August com table manners, with dishes such as brioche and crab à la carte.
Cameron was drawn to the store's double space and, as a local, saw the area's potential. There is also a 12-seat bar where you can have a post-swim drink and a sandwich.
Chef Corey Costelloe has also shunned uptown for his first venture since leaving Rockpool Bar & Grill, where he was culinary director, earlier this year.
Costelloe settled in Marrickville, where 20 Chapel opens at the end of this month. Part of the appeal was inheriting an existing space, where his business partner Dave Allison previously ran STIX Cafe, while keeping the launch budget low.
Attracted by Marrickville's vibrant hospo scene, as well as lower entry costs, Costelloe will still bring plenty of luxury to the launch. The chef will be using top-quality produce and admits to going a little overboard, ordering steak knives hand-carved from Portuguese wood that he hopes will arrive before 20 Chapel opens on Friday, June 21.
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Scott Bolles writes the weekly Short Black column at Good Food.
