As Crown Sydney makes its debut, Culinary Ambassador Guillaume Brahimi and Culinary Director Sarah Briegel talk local provenance and showcasing the best of New South Wales.
For a hotel that’s been a decade in the making, having first been talked about in 2012 before receiving final approval in 2016, Crown Sydney opened with relatively little fanfare. This low-key, mid-pandemic debut has been far from under the radar amongst locals however, with Sydneysiders flocking to the property before the borders reopen.
“It’s like we’re doing an opening for the locals, for the Sydney people who are usually travelling and instead having a staycation,” enthuses the brand-new property’s Culinary Ambassador, Guillaume Brahimi. “Now, the borders of the other states in Australia have opened too, so we’re starting to see people from South Australia, Brisbane, Queensland. We’re slowly opening to the rest of Australia and it’s going to be amazing when we’re able to welcome people from across the world to see what we’ve created.”
Crown Sydney is certainly impressive. Located on the Barangaroo waterfront, the landmark skyscraper by British architectural firm Wilkinson Eyre is the tallest in the city – rising to a lofty 275 metres – and offers panoramic views across the famous bridge and harbour. Inside, the hotel encompasses 349 guestrooms and suites, along with butler-serviced villas and an expansive spa. What is perhaps most exciting though is its ambitious culinary offering and world-class chef line-up. Overseen by Culinary Director Sarah Briegel and championed by Brahimi, a long-time friend of Crown Hotels, the property showcases some of Australia’s greatest culinary talent, significantly enhancing Sydney’s already compelling dining scene.
“For me, there really is nothing else like Crown Sydney,” says Briegel. “It’s an amazing location and it has spectacular views. It’s a beautiful building and when the light catches it, it shines in the most incredible way. Every restaurant concept is so different you really could come here for days and have no need to step outside.”
Brahimi is equally passionate about the venture. “I’ve been lucky to open a few restaurants in my lifetime but here I’m a part of not one but ten restaurant openings,” he adds. “Being a part of so many venues is overwhelmingly exciting.”
Guests are able to dine at Italian restaurant A‘Mare of Sydney chef and restaurateur Alessandro Pavoni; they can visit the newest Australia opening of Nobu Matsuhisa; sushi master Ryuichi Yoshii is inviting gourmands into his ten-seat Omakase; and award-winning culinary duo Ross and Sunny Lusted are hosting at Woodcut, their latest restaurant celebrating Australian produce.
“For me, there really is nothing else like Crown Sydney. It’s an amazing location and it has spectacular views. It’s a beautiful building and when the light catches it, it shines in the most incredible way. Every restaurant concept is so different you really could come here for days and have no need to step outside.” – Sarah Briegel
And the line-up continues. Diners can tuck into Cantonese plates at opulent fine-dining venue Silks and indulge in the glut of global flavours from the open kitchens of Epicurean. Teahouse offers decadent bites, specialty teas and cocktails in a lounge inspired by a Chinese teahouse; 88 Noodle is reminiscent of the noodle houses found in Shanghai; while TWR serves classic dishes along with afternoon tea and time-honoured cocktails in a glamorous space aiming to rival the world’s best hotel lobby bars. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s more to come. The Italian café and pizzeria Il Caffé is next to make its debut, along with the eagerly awaited rooftop bar Cirq. The first Australian restaurant of Clare Smyth, Encore, is then due to open mid-2021, following in the footsteps of her newly three-Michelin-starred London restaurant Core.
As Culinary Director, Australian-born chef Sarah Briegel is charged with overseeing the restaurants, drawing on 27 years of experience working in kitchens across the world to come up with new ideas, create menus and lead the general day-to-day running of each venue. “I’ve taken inspiration from my journey and sprinkled that across the hotel,” she says, recounting her route from kitchen to kitchen. Before taking up the role at Crown Sydney, Briegel lived and worked in food capitals including London, New York, Dubai, Hong Kong and Bangkok, most recently making a mark as the Executive Chef of Mandarin Oriental in Shanghai. “Every outlet draws on my own experiences and a lot of them feature my favourite dishes from different parts of the world,” she continues. “I love to share those experiences with staff and get them excited about what they’re doing.”
Brahimi meanwhile supports Briegel through his culinary ambassador role. Before being appointed, the French-born, Sydney-based chef, who originally trained under Joel Robuchon, had established a number of acclaimed restaurants including Guillaume at Bennelong, located at Sydney Opera House, and his two eponymous restaurants at Crown properties in Melbourne and Perth. At Crown Sydney, he’s able to draw on his now extensive culinary network. “I am a French man in Australia, but Sydney is my hometown,” he explains. “Part of my role involves connecting with local suppliers and producers and thinking about how we can showcase more of this great state. Crown Sydney is like a window for New South Wales; we can support the local growers, winemakers and fishermen.”
As international as Crown Sydney’s culinary offering is in gastronomic styles, the common thread running through all of its food-driven venues is a reverence for Australian produce. The hotel celebrates the nation’s abundance of fresh products in menus, fusing authentic recipes from around the world with local identity, giving a sense of place. “We’re big on sustainable produce,” says Briegel. “Australia now has a number of small farms that specialise in a specific product; it’s nice to be able to spend time locating those farms and promoting the people who put all their time and dedication into what they do.”
The restaurant of Ross and Sunny Lusted, Woodcut, epitomises this culinary philosophy. Here the husband-and-wife, chef-and-restaurateur team showcase a wealth of Australian produce cooked with wood, charcoal and steam, evoking the earthiness of meals cooked in over an open fire. Menus drawing on fire, steam, smoke and ice feature delicacies such as Sydney Rock oysters from the seafood counter, along with local seafood and meat that’s raw, cured and ash- or wood-grilled.
“Part of my role involves connecting with local suppliers and producers and thinking about how we can showcase more of this great state. Crown Sydney is like a window for New South Wales; we can support the local growers, winemakers and fishermen.” – Guillaume Brahimi
“At Woodcut, it’s Ross’s approach that really makes the food stand out,” Brahimi explains. “He lets the produce do the talking, sourcing the best ingredients from season to season and avoiding using too many ingredients.” Briegel picks up: “Ross is about finding the small producer; he looks for those with a story behind what they do and who just turns out small amounts – he loves it when he can get exclusivity on something. His food is honest and it’s beautifully cooked.”
The hotel’s Nobu restaurant also takes pride in instilling a sense of place through its food, with the head chef Harold Hurtada – who was previously head chef at Nobu One & Only Cape Town, and before that, Nobu Dubai – combining signature Nobu dishes and his own inventive creations with local flavours. “The Nobu philosophy is there – you have classic dishes like the famous black cod – but chef is working with local products,” says Brahimi. “That’s where I think the success of the brand comes from – wherever you are in the world, you’re eating local.”
The eating local philosophy is one that touches every restaurant with the hotel. “Around 95% of the fresh produce comes from New South Wales and that’s a credit to Sarah’s effort in sourcing this produce in the months before opening,” Brahimi enthuses. “Here, we are proud to be a part of Sydney, a part of New South Wales and a part of Australia.”
Elsewhere in the hotel, Alessandro Pavoni is making waves with the Italian dishes of A‘Mare, pairing Australian produce with home-style Italian cooking – his pesto, which is made tableside, is already a classic on Sydney’s dining scene. And at Yoshii’s Omakase, Ryuichi Yoshii is turning heads with his continually changing menus incorporating the very best ingredients growers and fishermen bring each day. From delicately crafted dumplings to freshly baked focaccia, craftsmanship shines through in each of the restaurant’s dishes.
Now, the hotel is preparing to welcome Encore by Clare Smyth, where the acclaimed chef’s culinary innovations will again reflect local flavours. “We’re really looking forward to having Clare here,” concludes Briegel. “Having followed her work for years, I’m excited to see her work in person. It’s a really exciting venture for the hotel.”
