Jarrod Walsh

Born: 

Port Macquarie, NSW. 

History: 

I started my apprenticeship when I was 15 in a brasserie in Port Macquarie, after completing my apprenticeship, I moved to Sydney to better myself as a Chef. I began working at the Intercontinental Hotel, where I worked in all areas of the hotel. 

After leaving the Intercontinental as a Sous Chef, I moved to the newly opened Automata restaurant and this is where I really learnt about how to respect produce, it opened me up to a whole new level of cooking. 

I moved from Automata to QT Hotel in Sydney, where I was Senior Sous Chef and learnt how to manage a multimillion-dollar venue. From QT, I found myself in buzzy Newtown at Hartsyard as Head Chef, where we relaunched Hartsyard 2.0 under Gregory Llewellyn. At the start of 2019, my partner and I, with 12 years of experience in the hospitality industry, decided to purchase Hartsyard and we threw our style into it. 

Have you always wanted to be a Chef? 

Yes, ever since I started doing food tech at high school, I thought I was good at it and my brother-in-law was a Chef and I wanted to be better than him! 

How would you define your style? 

Looks simple, but it’s anything but! Strictly seasonal and fresh. 

What is your feature flavour these days? 

Seaweed. 

Obsessive-compulsive about? 

Messy benches. 

Your greatest culinary influence? 

Gregory Llewellyn. 

What do you love about this business? 

Having no restrictions on what we can do and having such a great customer base means they love trying new things. 

An ingredient you can’t live without? 

Salt. 

Most ‘eyebrow-raising’ menu item? 

Blackened carrots with burnt coconut and whipped cashew cheese. 

Signature dish: 

Smoked pork jowl, tomato vinegar, preserved cucumber and black garlic.