James Egan

Orange, NSW 

I grew up in and around kitchens. My mother was a Chef and this is where my passion for food came from. My earliest memories are of sitting on a bench watching the busy kitchen and being handed delicious morsels to snack on. 

From the age of 12, I would help in the evenings washing dishes and doing light preparation jobs for some extra pocket money. From here, I decided that school was not for me and dropped out to start a baking/pastry apprentice at age 15.

After completing this apprenticeship, I went into hotel chains as a Pastry Chef and subsequently completed my commercial cookery before moving on to luxury lodges with much more refined offerings.

I spent a lot of time on Lord Howe Island where I started to refine my cooking and use more native and local ingredients, changing menus daily was a huge help in my creativity and I believe this was where I started finding my style.

I then had the opportunity to move to Orpheus Island Lodge where I was working under Paul Wilson, who showed me an immense amount of new techniques to help me further my cooking style and myself.

After some time, the role of Executive Chef was open at Orpheus Island Lodge where I stayed until moving on to the Daintree Ecolodge, another resort within the Northern Escape Collection as Executive Chef.  

I always had a great passion for food due to my Mum’s influence and could not see myself doing anything else. 

Modern Australian, refined simplistic. 

There isn’t one specific flavour, I enjoy using a range of native ingredients to complement classic flavour profiles. 

Treating ingredients with respect – no matter if plant or protein, it was once a living thing. We need to respect that.

There are so many - my mother for teaching me the basics, all the talented people I worked both under and with for their knowledge and creative input; and Chefs like Sean Brock, Daniel Humm, David Kinch, Simon Rogan, Christopher Kostow, Martin Benn and the list goes on, for constantly pushing the boundaries and sharing their ideas with us all. 

The camaraderie, giving people a memorable experience, bringing people together and the creative aspect always keeps the work interesting. 

Eggs – from pastry to savoury, they are an endlessly versatile gift.  

I wouldn’t say eyebrow-raising, but we are constantly trying to incorporate classic flavour combinations with local and native ingredients. Whether it’s the use of strawberry gum in desserts, or green ants on ceviche, there are plenty of surprise combinations to be experimented with. 

No signature dish, I believe that dishes can always evolve to become something greater.