BeanScene Magazine

As if two restaurants, book demands and the filming of the third series of MasterChef wasn’t enough for 2011, Gary Mehigan says he’s starting to think about yet another new project. “Another restaurant maybe, a bar, or pub even?”

While his life and recognition has changed enormously since the MasterChef phenomenon hit our screens, he hasn’t lost sight of the fact that its is the restaurants that remain at the core of “what I do and stand for.”

“The pleasure for me personally is that I have two workplaces. There’s my businesses where I have one team and one type of creative people and then there’s the TV team, which is a whole other kettle of fish,” he says.

Gary and the other MasterChef personalities take a great deal of pride in the fact that they are influencing so many people, particularly children, to take to the kitchen and appreciate great food. “Matt (judge, Matt Preston), George (Chef George Calombaris) and I joke that in 20 years time there is going to be a middle aged Australia that cooks brilliantly and remembers the three chubby guys who were on that MasterChef – what a legacy!” Gary says.

However, the rise to stardom hasn’t been without some painful hurdles. Gary trained at the renowned The Connaught and Le Souffle in London. After arriving in Melbourne in 1991, he headed kitchens at Browns, Burnham Beeches, Country House and the Hotel Sofitel. In 2000 he opened Fenix in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond and followed it six years later with Maribyrnong Boathouse. But, in 2007 Fenix closed and it took a reinvention to get it up and running again. Gary openly outlines where it went wrong and it’s a salutary lesson for anyone harbouring the desire to enter the tough world of hospitality at this level. “We had made some critical mistakes that cost us dearly. But, there is no greater teacher than failure,” Gary says. The events side of the business was strong. “But, there was something missing. The restaurant was the heart of Fenix. It made it feel alive. I missed the constant to and fro of people, the activity and a sense of creativity that running a restaurant engenders.” Once it reopened, Gary says his focus this time is about staying true to himself. It was about opening a place that “is comfortable, honest, a meeting place and a place to visit for many reasons.” Fenix now offers a good coffee from 8.30am, breakfast, light lunches, a shared table available on Sundays and special nights out.

The Maribyrnong Boathouse started as a café concept, but has had enormous success with its core of regular patrons, coffee, woodfired pizza, slow cooked comfort food or chargrilled Mediterranean fare.

It is a reflection of the formative influences on Gary’s culinary life. “I talk about my Australian journey and my English soul,” he says. After 19 years in Australia, Gary loves it and believes Australian food is a reflection of our environment and society. “It doesn’t always conform. It has a richness to it, a palette of colours like nowhere else on earth. I think that is reflected in our cuisine. It is unfettered by rules and draws the best ideas, flavours and textures from so many different places.” Gary’s English soul comes from his childhood. The comfort food that his mother and grandfather prepared. “It is comfort food that is wholesome, from the garden, honest, home cooked and jam packed full of flavour.”

Part of Gary’s personal daily ritual revolves around good coffee. “I love the ceremony around a good espresso and a good latte. I have my favourite coffee haunts and I will travel for them,” he says. His perfect breakfast is a fast first coffee and a read of the newspaper while the caffeine kicks in. Until that has happened, he doesn’t feel inclined to eat. “If I walk into a café and I can hear the scrambling, frothing milk on the wand, I order tea! Why bother for a cup of boiled milk?”

Gary’s day includes a latte in the morning, tea in the afternoon and an espresso after a meal. During a visit to London this year, he took the time to check out Monmouth Coffee at the Borough Markets. He says he enjoyed the pour over concept that has been gaining in popularity. “It reminds me of the bottomless cup of coffee, but one that tastes good too. Freshly roasted, super fresh and a seasonal blend.” Gary has introduced a Veneziano seasonal blend at Fenix.

And, as for trying to take life a little easier in 2011, Gary can’t see that happening. He is working on another book with fellow MasterChef, George Calombaris. They have already released “Your Place or Mine” together. The restaurants will continue to be a major focus. “They continue to be at the centre of what I do and stand for. The plan is to make them better, focus on an evolution and to have fun with it too,” he says.