By Leigh O’Connor.
From a humble family of unadventurous cooks in the United Kingdom, Nelly Robinson left home to travel to Australia with $140 in his bank account. He stopped off in Singapore on the way through, spent all the money and arrived Down Under with the sum total of $2!
He is now owner and Executive Chef at 16-hatted Nel Restaurant on Wentworth Avenue in Sydney where you’ll discover fine dining with an irreverent attitude and an ever-changing 11-course degustation-themed menu.
"With hard work, dedication and determination you can do anything and I think I am proof of that,” Nelly tells AGFG. "It has been the journey of a lifetime.”
When he was 14, Nelly's father told him to get a job and he became a kitchen hand at Michelin-starred Northcote Manor:
"I loved every second of it – watching these Chefs running around creating amazing food. At the age of 15, I was offered an apprenticeship and trained under Chef Nigel Howarth and the likes of Mark Birchall, Lisa Goodwin-Allen and Warwick Dodds. I got the best training anyone could ask for in a kitchen, it was tough, it was disciplined but most of all, it was fun.”
In 2010, Nelly decided to move to the other side of the world – Australia – where he was fortunate to get a job at the Sydney Opera House and experienced catering for the first time, which in the future, helped him curate his own menus.
A short stint in Hong Kong followed before Nelly returned to Sydney and opened the doors to Nel Restaurant just shy of 10 years ago.
"Guests can expect to have fun at Nel. We’re a little different to what you get around the rest of Australia. We create stories around food, from everything like the plate ware to the music, it all comes together with the theme we are doing at that time.
"We are very passionate about Australian produce from native ingredients to those nobody else in the world can get. We turn them into the style of menu that we are creating; using things like wildfire spice, lemon aspen and other First Nation ingredients is absolutely sensational and I am always willing to learn more about them.”
Nelly recalls a dish that really raised eyebrows on the restaurant menu:
"We served a venison dish that the diner could season with a shotgun pellet full of spices. We don’t like to take things too far, but some of the utensils and crockery we use from natural elements of the world really surprise people. We will always continue to push the boundaries in the way that we love to serve our guests.”
As for an ingredient he can’t do without, Nelly points to the humble potato.
"Growing up in the UK, potatoes are fed to you every single day. The versatility of the potato is exceptional and when you get an amazing chip or mashed potato, it’s one of the best things in the world. I absolutely love it.”
It is his recipe for a classic fish pie that Nelly shares with AGFG home cooks:
"It's a dish that's very close to my heart that is local to where I am from in the UK. I just love the memories of eating this with my father - it's his favourite dish - and sitting there on a cold Winter's night warming our bellies with amazing prawns, fish and smoked haddock, topped with cheesy mashed potato. I would love for the readers to be able to cook this dish at home.”
Nelly confesses to a particular love for Indian cuisine and his go-to meal is always an Indian dinner.
"Indian food is my favourite in the whole wide world and it is so comforting. I just love the spices in the gravy and the different meat that you can get that is slow-cooked and delicious. A good old papadum and naan will always be on my plate.”
With a motto of ‘a clean kitchen is a happy kitchen’, this is one Chef, who is obsessed with cleanliness along with giving good quality human beings a chance in the industry – at Nel, there is always an opportunity for somebody!
