Clare Smyth’s Oncore set to open at Crown Sydney in November
Oncore by Clare Smyth is finally set to open in mid-November at Crown Sydney after Covid restrictions caused the July launch to be rescheduled.
Smyth, the first woman in the UK to win three Michelin stars for her Core restaurant in Notting Hill, has been intimately involved with the project but she won’t be in Sydney for the launch.
"It's been two years' worth of work," says Smyth. "But we're ready to open this amazing restaurant, and it's something positive and something to really look forward to after such a horrible 18 months and such a tough time for everyone."
Core is renowned for its ties to nature, elegance and refinement and is set to bring a similar style to Australian operations, but with an Australian edge.
The menu will feature local ingredients.
"We really wanted to start off and give everyone a flavour of what we're all about," Smyth said. "Then the plan is that Oncore will really grow into its own and start to develop its own identity."
In Smyth’s absence, New Zealand chef Alan Stuart has taken charge, overseeing a team of 35 chefs and working alongside restaurant manager Michael Stoddart.
"I've known Alan for a long, long time, and I've worked with him over a couple of periods – at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay [where Smyth was chef patron], and then we've stayed in touch while he was at [New York City's] Eleven Madison Park, then went on to France again, and again when he came back to Core," says Smyth.
"He obviously knows the DNA of Core and exactly how we work. It reminds me of the sort of relationship with Gordon and I; all the years we worked together you just know exactly what's expected – you know the flavour; you know the identity."
Irit Jackson, 2nd November 2021
