Nic Wood heads east to join Gowings Bar & Grill

QT Sydney has appointed Nic Wood as of executive chef of signature restaurant Gowings Bar & Grill.

The new appointment comes as Gowings prepares to undertake a new culinary direction and its first design reinvention since its launch in 2013.

Wood joins QT Sydney from QT Perth’s award-winning restaurant Santini Bar & Grill, which opened with the hotel in mid-2018. Wood led Santini to quickly become a Perth institution, winning Best New Restaurant in 2018 followed by Restaurant of the Year in the 2019 in the WA Good Food Guide Awards. Charlie Vargas has stepped into the role of executive chef at QT Perth.

The new lunch and dinner menu is available now with Wood’s local grower and producer relationships on display including Western Australian sourced Abrolhos Island Octopus with crisp pancetta, green peppers, basil and black garlic, Heirloom Carrots with black garlic tahini, puffed rice and sesame, and soon to be crowd favourite shared dish, Swordfish Cutlet from Queensland’s Mooloolaba with green olives, capers, lemon and parsley.

“Sydney has one of the best food scenes in Australia. Period,” said Wood. “I’m excited to be part of the action. I’m looking forward to bringing some of WA’s best produce to the Gowings kitchen and firing up the grill to deliver a menu of simplistic elegance.”

The design evolution of Gowings Bar & Grill is expected to take place mid-June.

Sheridan Randall, 6^th March 2020