Rockpool Bar & Grill Sydney wins top international wine list award

Leading wine and lifestyle magazine, New York based Wine Spectator has announced Rockpool Bar & Grill Sydney as the first ever recipient in the Southern Hemisphere to receive a Grand Award in the recently published 2010 Restaurant Wine List Awards, which honour the word’s best wine lists.

Held by only 75 restaurants worldwide as of 2010, the Grand Award is given to restaurants that show an uncompromising, passionate devotion to the quality of their wine program. These restaurants all have passed rigorous evaluations, demonstrating that their wine lists, service, cuisine and ambience are worthy of the program’s highest honours.

Since its inception just over one year ago, Rockpool Bar & Grill Sydney’s has been the recipient of many prestigious wine and restaurant awards. The wine list features over 3,600 different wines, ranging on vintages as far back as 1795. Although many of the legendary wines of the 20th Century are represented on the wine list, over 400 wines priced below $100 are also featured.

Directors of Rockpool Bar & Grill Sydney, David Doyle, Neil Perry, and Trish Richards were thrilled with this award win and commended Sophie Otton and her team for their outstanding expertise, service and dedication to successfully presenting and managing the extensive list.

"To be one of 75 restaurants in the world and the only one in Australia in the 30 year history of the awards to receive Wine Spectator’s ‘Grand Award’ is a great honour and one that we are incredibly proud of," said Doyle. "It reinforces that Australia is firmly placed on the map in terms of being a world-class wine and restaurant destination."

Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne and Rockpool Sydney were also commended and received a ‘Best of Award of Excellence’, which is granted to restaurants that clearly offer a well-chosen selection of quality producers along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style, while Spice Temple Sydney won an ‘Award of Excellence’ for its concise wine list of 100 wines.

Click here to buy Neil Perry's great Cookbooks from cookbooks.com.au

Nobu Melbourne Welcomes New Chef De Cuisine Heather Zheng

Nobu Melbourne is pleased to announce the appointment of Heather Zheng as the award-winning restaurant’s new Chef de Cuisine.
Beijing-born, American-raised Zheng has recently re-located to Melbourne from Las Vegas where she has spent the last five years working in some of the city’s top restaurants. Zheng is no stranger to working with Nobu’s distinctive Peruvian-influenced Japanese cuisine as she has spent more than two years working at Nobu Las Vegas.

Most recently, Zheng was a sous chef at the acclaimed French restaurant, Andre’s. The multi-award winning restaurant was awarded a Michelin Star in both 2007 and 2008.

From late 2005 until early 2008, Zheng was a line cook and later promoted to be a sous chef at Nobu Las Vegas. During her time at Nobu Las Vegas the restaurant was awarded a Michelin Star.

Zheng was raised in Washington State and completed her culinary studies in San Francisco before moving to Las Vegas in 2005 where her first role was as a line cook at the French restaurant, Pinot Brasserie at the prestigious Venetian Hotel.

Nobu Melbourne’s menu will largely remain unchanged. However, Zheng’s interesting and unique background and varied experience in both French and Japanese cuisine brings a new dynamic to Nobu Melbourne, including the introduction of new dishes.

Robert de Niro, on his recent visit to Melbourne said he “has a love for the black cod with miso.”

Nobu Melbourne’s menus will reflect Chef Zheng’s arrival in the coming months.

Click here to buy now Nobu Cookbooks from cookbooks.com.au 

Bookings to the restaurant can be made by contacting Nobu Melbourne on  +61 (3) 9292 7879