Richard’s got passion, experience and an amazing vision for the Highlands food scene
From Sunderland to the Southern Highlands, we’re thrilled to have Richard Robinson in our community!
His passion for cooking, sparked by his dad, is making delicious waves in the local food scene with his fantastic catering company. Now he’s bringing us a fabulous cafe and event space at Fitzroy Falls.
Richard has worked in some incredible places, from Michelin-starred restaurants to cooking for Elton John and Snoop Dog – so you know he’s got the skills!
Check out our chat with Richard about his journey, vision, and all the tasty things he’s cooking up for us Highlanders!
1 // Hi Richard, tell us where your passion for food comes from?
My passion for food started because of my dad. My dad was a foodie even before the term foodie was around. He was always cooking and always interested in trying weird and wonderful foods.
I remember sitting on the kitchen bench watching my dad cook curries and stir-fries. I was the kid who came to school with Kung Pao chicken and prawn crackers instead of a sandwich. I grew up in a town called Sunderland, in the northeast of England, and there wasn’t a lot of exotic food around at the time.
I remember once, when I was 6 or 7, he sent me to school with frog’s legs in my lunch box. I had them dancing across the table, I’m sure it gave the teachers a fright haha.
I was always amazed at how food could get a reaction out of people from absolute disgust to pure bliss, i thought that was powerful
2 // So you always knew becoming a chef would be your career?
It didn’t hit me right away that I should become a chef, even though it was super clear in hindsight.
After finishing school, I kicked off my apprenticeship at a pub before moving to a Marriott Hotel. That place really opened my eyes to all the incredible things you can do with food.
That lead me into fine dining, where i worked 16 hour days in some of the UK’s best restaurants and hotels, and did stints for the likes of Gordon Ramsey and Simon Rogan.
In 2014 I completed an internship at The French Laundry in Napa Valley California, a 3 Michelin Star restaurant which was named the best restaurant in the world in 2006. They worked me hard, but I learned a ton there.
3 // Wow, you’ve done some pretty exciting things! When did you make the move to Aus?
I had a family friend who was a chef [Tony Gibson] in Australia. He worked at The Star Casino as head chef at Astral and Sean’s Kitchen. I originally thought it would be more of a working holiday, but I fell in love with Australia and decided to get my permanent residency.
4 // What did you do after that?
I was recruited to be in the opening team as Jnr sous chef at the highly acclaimed MomoFuku Seiobo at the Casino, I worked from 4am to 1am 6 days per week, it was intense. After that, I worked in a few restaurants before teaming up with my friends to start a catering business called Studio Neon in Redfern. We put on some cool bespoke events, like Taylor Swift’s album launch in Australia, a launch for Audi, and events for art galleries, Vogue, and Veuve Clicquot. It was such a creative time!
Then I shifted into consultancy, taking on bigger and bigger projects, from small cafes to a massive 300-seat modern Chinese restaurant.
In 2018 I opened two restaurants in Chatswood. A wood fired pizza place called “Stretch” and a modern Chinese restaurant called “General Chao”. It was a great experience to see my first restaurant concepts come to life. But unfortunately Covid claimed them both.
I then was co-founder of a start-up of a food development and production company. It was such an experience to be working in the technology and science side of food, making products for supermarkets, stadiums and places like that.
Then, my wife and I both found ourselves in tough situations, and it was right after having our second baby. It was definitely a sink-or-swim moment, and we knew we had to swim. That’s when we decided to move to the Highlands and start our own businesses!
5 // And what made you choose the Highlands?
We were ready to leave the city and embrace a more laid-back country lifestyle. We checked out a few places around NSW, but the Southern Highlands had everything we wanted. We’d always been visiting here for trips, so it just made sense to take that next step.
I grew up on a council estate surrounded by concrete, but just outside of the estate there were forests and fields, they were my happy place, where I used to go to feel free. I wanted to reconnect with nature, and the Southern Highlands is perfect for that!
6 // Tell us a bit about Graze?
We came to start a micro-restaurant in my back garden, but there are still a lot of council loopholes to navigate. So it’s had to go on the back burner for now [excuse the pun]. I kicked things off with pop-ups to see how locals liked my food and to figure out what works. It felt amazing to get out there and start cooking again.
Then I transitioned into catering and Launched Graze, and it took off. My home kitchen just isn’t big enough, so I started looking for a larger space to work from.
7 // Is that where the idea for The Venue by Graze at Fitzroy Falls and The Burrow Cafe came from?
Essentially yes. About a year ago, I noticed the café at Fitzroy Falls was up for rent. My friend Byron, who runs another business in the Highlands called Trolley’d, and I decided to do a little pop-up there over the Easter holidays.
It was busy, but I realised the space might be too big for a year-round café. After thinking it over for a bit, I came up with the idea of combining the café with my other ventures. So now I have the café up front, an event space for weddings and celebrations, a workshop area, and even a space for things like yoga.
We’re also launching The Pantry by Graze in December which will be a farmshop that showcases the best of the Highlands produce and producers, there will be a click and collect option for locals so they can order their groceries and come grab them and there’s plans for a gelato and pizza bar here, too!
8 // Wow, it all sounds so marvellous! Your passion never ceases, does it?
Food is life, food is everything, and I think people have lost touch with food and food culture, and i want to change that
With 25 years of experience, now is about giving back and sharing my knowledge where that be creating a positive work place culture and training young chefs or trying to educate and tell a story with food
There’s so much quality produce in the Southern Highlands that doesn’t get enough recognition. My mission is to put the Southern Highlands on the culinary map!
And we are sooooo excited about everything you’re bringing to the Highlands!
Be sure to swing by The Burrow Cafe to say hi to Richard and the team and, of course, grab something majorly tasty.
Or if you’re looking to hold a party or event, then hit up Graze Catering, they are quickly becoming one of the Highlands go-to caterers!
And if you need a wonderful spot for your next event or celebration, totally check out Graze at Fitzroy.
Richard and his team have big ambitions, to watch this culinary journey unfold follow him and his businesses on both his Instagram and his Facebook!
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