AUSTRALIAN GOOD FOOD GUIDE - Home of the Chef Hat Awards

Jared Jayson Peck

Jared Jayson Peck
Born: Johannesberg South Africa

History: From the age of 14, at school I loved cooking, I loved fresh food and making it taste great. After taking on a school based traineeship in grade 11 and 12 and later on completing an apprenticeship at Palazzo Versace and working with  the best mentors and chefs, I gained great knowledge in all types of international cuisines and loved creating my own dishes with the freshest local produce. Just after my apprenticeship I took on senior chef roles at other International Hotels, worked as a contract chef and opened up East Fusion Dining as a Sous Chef at age 22.

Have you always wanted to be a Chef? 

From watching my mother always prepare dinner, and from my first cooking class at school I knew I wanted to be a chef.

How would you define your style?

Adaptable to any situation and any cuisine but always using the freshest ingredients, I definitely love creating new flavours, very much like East meets West Fusion Cuisine. 

Obsessive compulsive about? 

Definitely seeing that I have pleased every customer, and if there is more than a few spoonfulls of food left on a plate I have to know if I didn’t meet their expectations or if they were hopefully just full.

Your greatest culinary inspirations/influences?

Donovan Cooke, Philip Edwards, Steve Szabo, Gordan Ramsay. 

What do you love about this business?

I love being able to cook all different types of cuisines and create dishes with any ingredients without any limit and get great customer feedback and satisfaction out of it.

An ingredient you can’t live without? 

At the moment Chilli, everything needs a bit of spice for me, its about igniting all your senses, not just your palate, It doesn't even have to be hot, just a little kick.

Most ‘eyebrow raising’ menu item?

At the moment it’s a Barbecue Beef Rib pizza, with roasted potatoes, spinach, onion, mushroom, shallots and aioli.

Signature dish:

I wouldn't want to just say I have one signature dish, I have many favourites, but my signature soup is a Pumpkin and macadamia nut soup.

Banana Bread Ice cream, would have to definitely be up there, but as seasons change and produce, I definitely always am working on something new.