15 Most Famous Australian Chefs

Australia by Joey Csunyo/Unsplash

15 Most Famous Australian Chefs

Originally published by Norah M on September 2022 and updated by Vanessa M in May 2024.

As a modern nation of large-scale immigration, Australia has absorbed culinary contributions and adaptations from various cultures worldwide.

Australia has a rich Indigenous food culture and a bounty of Pacific produce all influence an exceptionally diverse diet defined by cross-cultural exchange.

There’s no denying it, Australia is a melting pot of nationalities, cultures, and customs. Australia has no shortage of iconic snacks and unique dishes.

Australian foods bring plenty of unique flavor combinations, intriguing stories, and lots of nostalgia to the table.

Australia has an abundance of ‘clean and green’ food of incredible variety, and healthier food options are always available.

1. Curtis Travis Stone

Curtis Stone by Joseph Trotz/Wikimedia Commons

Curtis Travis Stone is an Australian celebrity chef, author, and television personality. Stone has been the fresh food and recipe ambassador for Coles Supermarkets in Australia.

Curtis Stone began cooking at The Savoy Hotel, in his hometown of Melbourne Australia, at the age of 18.

Curtis was included in a book about London’s finest chefs titled “London on a Plate”. The book led to Curtis getting an agent and several opportunities within the media.

Curtis’ restaurants have been honored with top accolades including Restaurant of the Year, Best New Restaurant, and Best Restaurant.

Most Beautiful Restaurant in the Country, while Curtis himself has received awards such as Chef of The Year 2016.

2. Kylie Kwong

Kylie Kwong by Eva Rinaldi/Wikimedia Commons

Kylie Kwong is a third-generation Australian; she has drawn on her southern Chinese heritage to reinterpret Cantonese cuisine.

Combining the use of uniquely Australian ingredients with traditional Chinese cooking methods and flavors.

Kwong’s professional cooking career began at Neil Perry’s modern Asian restaurant Rockpool in Sydney, where she was a head chef for four years.

She opened the original Billy Kwong in Surry Hills in 2000, a small and energetic place that breathed new life into Chinese dining in Australia.

Time Out Sydney’s Chef of the Year 2016, she was also the recipient of the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide’s inaugural Sustainability award in 2009, and the Innovation award in 2014.

3. Pete Evans

Pete Evans is an award-winning Australian chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and TV host. Born in Melbourne and raised on Australia’s beautiful Gold Coast.

Pete’s food career began at the tender age of 19 when, with his brother Dave, they opened their first restaurant, The Pantry, in Melbourne’s bayside suburb of Brighton in 1993.

Pete has opened six award-winning restaurants and written seven best-selling cookbooks, including the Australian barbecue bible My Grill.

His latest project is the award-winning documentary film The Magic Pill which shows the impact food can have on people’s health, now streaming globally on Netflix.

4. George Calombaris

George Calombaris by Unknown Arthur/Wikimedia Commons

George Calombaris is a very famous chef in Australia. He was one of the three judges for the TV show Master Chef Australia and is the owner of seven restaurants.

George Calombaris has rebuilt his life from rock bottom of his failed restaurateur career after his friend Australian television presenter Eddie McGuire helped him get a new job.

Chef George is among the ten richest chefs in Australia. As of 2021, George Calombaris’ net worth sits at $4.5 million.

George’s wife is Natalie Tricarico, the couple finally decided to tie the knot in 2018, George and Natalie have two children.

5. Emma Dean

Emma Dean in Masterchef kitchen by Steven Crossin/Wikimedia Commons

Emma’s beautiful cooking style is inspired by a combination of her regional upbringing and her enthusiasm for urban foraging.

Emma Dean is an Australian chef and television presenter, who came to prominence as the winner of the fifth series of MasterChef Australia.

Driven and ambitious, Emma is not afraid of the hard work ahead and seems to succeed at anything she puts her mind to.

Emma’s passion for food began in the paddocks and kitchen of her regional Victoria childhood home.

6. Adam Liaw

Adam Liaw by Eva Rinaldi/Wikimedia Commons

Adam Liaw is a cook, writer, and television presenter based in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of five cookbooks.

SBS’s Award Winning Destination Flavor host and winner MasterChef Adam Liaw is one of Australia’s favorite chefs, authors, and television presenters.

In 2010 Adam won MasterChef Australia. His victory is still the most-watched non-sporting television event in Australian history.

Adam Liaw is married to his wonderful Japanese spouse, Asami Fujitsuka, He and his better half have three kids together.

7. Adriano Zumbo

Adriano Zumbo is one of Australia’s most celebrated pâtissiers. His swiftly expanding empire began in 2007 with his Balmain shop front.

The V8 cake, fairy house, and croquembouche tower are just some of the desserts Adriano is renowned for after starring on MasterChef Australia.

He became the owner of several Australian patisseries, starred in a short-lived reality series called Zumbo, and published a book titled Zumbo Book.

8. Matt Moran

Matt Moran is one of Australia’s most renowned and recognized chefs and has long been a champion of seasonal, local produce growing up on a farm in western Sydney.

Matt opened his first restaurant at 22 and now owns some of Australia’s most celebrated venues which are part of the Solotel group.

Matt Moran is known for his gorgeous red meat dishes, and this mustard-crusted veal rack is no exception.

Moran is married to lawyer Sarah Hopkins and they have a son and daughter, he has a net worth of $5 million.

9. Neil Perry

Neil Perry is the iconic Australian chef. A multi-award-winning chef and owner of many of Australia’s leading restaurants for more than 25 years.

Neil’s passion and the importance he places on quality produce are evident in all his dishes and the business projects he undertakes.

Neil Perry, one of Australia’s best-known chefs, announces his retirement after 40 years in the kitchen.

10. Peter Gilmore

Peter Gilmore is the Executive Chef at two of Australia’s most exciting and dynamic restaurants; Bennelong at the Sydney Opera House and Quay restaurant across the harbor in The Rocks.

Peter is now one of the most awarded chefs in Australia taking the helm of the kitchen at Quay in 2001.

One of Gilmore’s favorite new dishes is raw seafood. It’s straightforward: hand-harvested seafood from the most pristine areas of Australia.

Peter is proud to be an ambassador for Tourism Australia and works in pivotal roles for the Restaurant Australia campaign.

11. Frank Camorra

Frank Camorra is an Australian chef, restaurateur, and author. He owns several restaurants, including MoVida and Paco’s Tacos. He has also written several cookbooks and appeared on multiple cooking shows.

Frank opened his MoVida restaurant, which won ‘Dish of the Year’ at The Age Good Food Guide awards in 2007 for the ‘Cecina’, a dish of air-dried Wagyu with poached egg and truffle foam.

Frank’s first book, MoVida, Spanish Culinary Adventures was published in 2007 and won the Australian Food Media Award for ‘Best Cookery Book by a Chef’.

In 2009, he repeated his success at the Age Good Food Guide awards, with MoVida receiving two Chef’s Hats and Frank receiving Chef of the Year. MoVida’s success continued in the 2010, 2011, and 2012 Age Good Food Guides, where it retained the Two Chef Hats award.

12. Maggie Beer

MBC Foods, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Maggie Beer is an Australian culinary icon whose love of food brings joy to many Australians. Maggie focuses on using seasonal ingredients and educating people about making informed food choices.

In 1979, she opened the well-known Pheasant Farm Restaurant. Maggie and her husband ran it for just under 15 years, winning numerous prestigious awards before focusing on gourmet foods.

She opened an export kitchen in 1996 to produce preservative-free gourmet foods for the national and international markets, and in 1999 she returned to the Pheasant Farm’s original location and reopened Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop, completing a full circle.

She has written seven books, Maggie’s Harvest being named the Australian Publishers Association’s Illustrated Book of the Year. She also co-hosted ABC’s cooking show The Cook and the Chef and collaborated with Stephanie Alexander to promote the Kitchen Garden Foundation. Maggie Beer hopes that by sharing her love of food, she can inspire Australians to reconnect with it and appreciate what they eat.

13. Luke Mangan

Alpha from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Luke Mangan OAM is an internationally renowned Australian restaurateur and chef. Luke’s Australian restaurants range from fine dining to more casual fare, and he is known for his unexpected creations that combine his French culinary training and Asian influences with fresh, clean flavors.

He has five best-selling cookbooks and an autobiography called ‘The Making of a Chef’, as well as his own line of gourmet products and frequent TV appearances.

The fact that Luke has been asked to cook for former US President Bill Clinton, Sir Richard Branson, actor Tom Cruise, and the Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary’s wedding speaks volumes about his talent.

Luke was also awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on Australia Day 2019 in recognition of his contributions to the hospitality industry, tourism, and charity.

14. Shannon Bennett

Shannon, who was trained by some of the world’s greatest chefs, including Marco Pierre White and Alain Ducasse, is now one of Australia’s most prominent chefs, and his restaurant, Vue de Monde, perched atop Melbourne’s Rialto Tower, is renowned worldwide for its considered fine dining menu with a distinct Australian influence.

Shannon is also a regular on TV’s Masterchef, the author of numerous cookbooks and travel guides, and resides in Melbourne with his wife Madeline and their six children, making him well qualified to share family-friendly recipes with delicious food in his newest feature.

15. Guillaume Brahimi

Photo by Rene Asmussen from Pexels

Guillaume Brahimi, a French native, is one of Australia’s most well-known and respected chefs. He studied under Michelin-starred chef Joel Robuchon in Paris before relocating to Sydney in the 1990s.

Guillaume won the prestigious contract to take over the Sydney Opera House’s flagship restaurant, Bennelong, in late 2001, and opened this spectacular venue as Guillaume at Bennelong in November 2001, following a refurbishment. The restaurant went on to receive nearly every major award in Australian cuisine, as well as international recognition.

Guillaume and his team regained their three-hat status in the 2014 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide in 2013, after holding two Chef Hats in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide in 2003.

That same year, he received the Vittoria Legend Award for his outstanding long-term contribution to the restaurant industry.