The Staff Canteen Live 2026: First Australian chef networking lunch held at Nel

Today (Monday, August 24, 2026), we held The Staff Canteen Live's first networking lunch in Australia, hosted by chef Nelly Robinson and his team at Nel in Sydney.

The milestone lunch took place at Nel, 75 Wentworth Avenue, Sydney. It is The Staff Canteen Live's first networking lunch to be held outside the UK.

The Staff Canteen launched chef networking lunches in 2016, later incorporating front of house events from 2020. The concept is simple: bring chefs and key industry suppliers together in an environment where meaningful conversations can happen away from the pressures of service.

The Staff Canteen launched in Australia in November 2025, with Rob Treacy, founder of Australian hospitality platform Life on the Pass, leading the expansion under The Staff Canteen Australia banner, supported by the UK editorial and commercial teams.

Chefs including Heston Blumenthal, Clare Smyth and Matt Abé backed the Australian launch at the time, with Clare saying The Staff Canteen “has been a place where chefs connect, learn and celebrate their craft” and that its Australian arm would support the industry and spotlight the country's culinary community.

Nel was opened by Nelly in Sydney in February 2015. He began his career at 14, working his way through professional kitchens in the UK before relocating to Australia.

The restaurant changes its offering four to five times a year rather than following a fixed tasting menu format, with Nelly building dishes around personal memory and storytelling. Native Australian ingredients have become central to that approach, reflected in the restaurant's menu, which included dishes such as bush tomato risotto and a pepperberry-crusted sirloin.

The guests

Sixteen chefs joined us today at Nel. They were:

Aaron Ward, executive chef, Bathers Pavilion
Allen Varghese, executive sous chef, Sheraton Grand Hyde Park
Aprill Gullo, executive chef, Zimi Restaurant
Danny Corbett, executive chef, Point Group
Danny Russo, chef owner, Russolini
Matteo Zamboni, executive chef, Civico 47
Jose Saulog, executive chef, Rivage
Josh Raine, chef owner, 40Res
Michael Lewis, executive chef, Sala
Michael Lo Presti, head chef and owner, Lo Presti's
Paul Farag, chef
Sarahjane Brown, executive chef, Cafe Sydney
Simon Sandall, chef owner, Sandall & Co
Wesley-Cooper Jones, head chef, ChezCrix
Yusuf Özyürek, executive chef, Efendy Group
Sam Tuchband, head chef, The James at The Langham

Simon Sandall, chef owner at Boronia Kitchen near Gladesville, who moved to Sydney from England in 1995, said: “Today has been about getting a lot of industry chefs together with suppliers, in an amazing venue at Nel.

“It's nice meeting in a relaxed environment, eating great food, drinking great wine.”

Josh Raine, chef owner at 40Res, added: “To have The Staff Canteen here in Australia is incredible, because I remember it back in the day in London and I loved the concept of bringing the suppliers and chefs together in the same room.

“It's not really been done here and it's exciting.

“It's a great platform for chefs and suppliers to showcase what they're about. We're all time poor, as chefs, so it's nice to get everyone in the same room and to have a different experience with those products that are available to us.”

Sarahjane Brown, executive chef at Cafe Sydney, concurred, saying: “I've been following The Staff Canteen UK religiously for many years now and I'm really grateful you guys have brought the platform over here.

“There is a real gap in the market and we need it. I'm really grateful we have this sharing device now. It is going to make us and the industry better.”

The sponsors

These events would not happen without the generosity of our sponsors. Supporting today's lunch was Jack's Creek, Huon and SevenRooms.

Jack's Creek is an Australian producer of wagyu and Black Angus beef, supplying the sirloin served as today's main course.

Reflecting on the event, Leon Zagel, sales manager at Jack's Creek, said: “It's been about the people. Getting all those chefs in one room is an achievement in itself.

“Having that much talent in the room, and for us as a supplier and producer, being able to talk directly to chefs and get that feedback is something that's really valuable to us. It's something we don't usually get, because we're not supplying the restaurant directly, so that was really valuable.

“Being able to talk directly to around 20 chefs in one place, rather than having to reach out to them in their restaurants when they're busy, is a fantastic opportunity to network.”

Huon is a Tasmanian salmon producer, whose smoked salmon and caviar featured in the entrée.

Terri Awad, business manager at Huon, said: “What I've got from it is meeting chefs, knowing their passion, their stories and how they operate, getting the synergy between what we do and what they do.

“I found a lot of common interest and guys interested in our product, which is very good for what we did here today.”

Asked whether he would recommend The Staff Canteen's networking lunches to other brands, Terri said: “Absolutely, without a doubt. I look forward to the second one, because I found it so beneficial. Not just for my company, but myself as well, so I absolutely recommend it.”

SevenRooms provides guest experience and reservation software used across the hospitality industry.

Anand Krishnaswamy, senior sales rep at SevenRooms, said: “It's been about listening and learning. Trying to understand what is most important to chefs, what's scaring them, what's exciting them, what they think about the future and what they want to know more about their customers.”

The menu

Roaming canapés

Fermented chilli macaroon

Seated experience

Bush tomato risotto with spanner crab

Pork hock charcoal chip with goma hollandaise

Rye bread with red currant jelly and smoked butter

Entrée

Huon smoked salmon with asparagus, pea and Huon caviar

Main

Pepperberry Jack's Creek sirloin, beef fat sauce, celeriac purée, watercress

Dessert

Peach melba with strawberry gum