By Leigh O’Connor.
French-born Yonatan Rotner kind of fell into cooking…he loved helping his Mum in the kitchen. However, she was a terrible cook, always forgetting something was in the oven and burning it!
Obviously, this was not a trait Yona picked up in his journey to becoming a Melbourne Private Chef catering for fine dining experiences in client’s homes, delivering refined taste and a touch of Mediterranean flair to any occasion.
Covering Melbourne and wider Victoria, Yona's Kitchen is deeply engaged with an ongoing exploration of good, simple food. Whether you are hosting a large gathering at a venue or an intimate dinner in the comfort of your own home, Yona's Kitchen will amaze your guests with a unique combination of flavours and creativity.
With this new venture, Yona has travelled back to his roots, focusing on Basque, Spanish, French and Mediterranean cuisine delivering casual fine dining allowing one main ingredient to shine and not over-complicating the plate.
"My passion for the industry started at 17 when I began an apprenticeship at Hotel du Palais, a two Michelin-starred restaurant in the south of France,” he tells AGFG. "With a great focus on ‘produits du terroir’, the menu was an expression of using traditional products, local know-how and cultural identity.
"Working in a brigade of more than 50 Chefs was an eye-opening experience for a young Chef like me, from butchering a whole lamb to foraging sea herbs on the coast of Biarritz. The dedication, consistency and creativity were remarkable.”
After graduating, Yona moved to London where he spent two years working his way up from Commis Chef to Chef de Partie, learning in depth some amazing techniques and recipes from some of the best in the world.
"I decided to continue my travels and moved to Australia to learn about the culinary culture and discover the native ingredients. Once settled in Melbourne, I began working for Neil Perry at Rockpool Bar & Grill, where the cooking was centred around wood-fired grilling and smoky flavours created from native redwood trees.”
Deciding he needed a new challenge and wanting to work closer with local producers, Yona found the perfect position working for Andrew McConnell at Cumulus Inc, where great importance was placed on organic ingredients directly sourced from farmers, foragers, butchers and fishmongers.
In 2023 after a decade of working for some of the best Chefs in the world, he opened Yona’s Kitchen giving clients the luxury of a fine dining experience without leaving the comfort of their homes.
"Currently, I love playing around the wood fire with different wood trees – smoking and grilling, nothing beats primal flavours. I am obsessive about great service and immaculate organisation, I want guests to feel relaxed and everything is taken care of.
"I love the fact you will never get two similar days in this industry – the people you meet, the friendships you build, there’s nothing like it. I am surrounded by Chefs, food stylists, caterers and so many other people in this industry that all share the same deep passion for creating something magical each time.”
Yona shares his East meets West recipe for tuna tartare, wakame, radish, cucumber, spring onion, red vein sorrel, yuzu and miso emulsion with AGFG home cooks – a spectacular dish that makes for the most impressive Spring and Summer starter. However, it is Southern fried chicken with crinkle-cut chips and a pint of lager that takes his fancy when he doesn’t feel like cooking.
"Pickles on the side, obviously!”
As for the future, he dreams of having an organic farm where he can grow a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, with one long table where guests can come once a week for a degustation based on what’s good in the garden that day.
