Chris Taylor joins the Restaurant & Catering Industry Hall of Fame
Tonight (Monday 12 November), the West Australian restaurant and catering industry is celebrating the commitment, dedication and achievement of industry legend Chris Taylor, Frasers Group Restaurants at the 2012 Restaurant & Catering Association Hall of Fame Dinner. Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, beautiful Grand Ballroom will be the back drop for a dinner in Chris honour where WA’s greatest Restaurant & Catering business operators join him to celebrate this great achievement.
The Restaurant & Catering Hall of Fame is established to acknowledge and reward individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the restaurant and catering industry in Western Australia. The Hall of Fame recipients create a defined group of role models and mentors that have a long standing experience, commitment and dedication to the industry. A Hall of Fame recipient is inducted each year, and is first announced at the Savour Australia Restaurant & Catering Awards for Excellence industry celebration.
Restaurant & Catering is delighted to honour Chris Taylor’s contribution as a culinary leader, innovator, educator, business operator and recognises his fantastic contribution to the industry that supports and also fosters the growth of the industry. Right from the early days of learning his trade in Melbourne, Chris Taylor knew he loved working in hospitality and with great produce. With wellrounded training and experience under his belt the young Victorian set off to broaden his horizons in London and then Europe, returning to Australia in 1983 to Melbourne, Sydney then venturing to Perth.
Chris embraced the many opportunities and soon discovered that using the best local produce available and buying astutely from trusted suppliers was the best recipe of all. With that as his focus he soon carved an indelible mark in the Perth food scene and has consolidated his reputation for a high quality product. It is an unmistakable trademark of each of his iconic Perth restaurants: Fraser’s Restaurant, Bluewater Grill, Indiana, Botanical Café and The Old Brewery.
His belief in local produce and producers has seen him travel extensively, nationally and internationally, educating chefs and providores of the quality of produce available from Western Australia. Such is the strength of his conviction that the WA Tourism Commission and the West Australian Government frequently employ Chris to promote the very best that WA has to offer through cooking classes and demonstrations, high profile dinners and gala events.
After many years as a successful chef and restaurateur, Chris has been an integral part in Fraser’s winning countless consumer and association awards. Some of these awards include Restaurant and Catering’s Awards for Excellence – Restaurant of the Year, Events Caterer of the Year, Informal Dining Restaurant, Best Restaurant, Employer of the Year Gourmet Traveller Awards - Restaurant of the Year; American Express – Most Popular Restaurant, Best Restaurant; Australia’s Wine List of the Year – Highly Recommended. Best Steakhouse (4 years consecutively) and Chef of the Year, just to mention a few.
John Hart, CEO of Restaurant & Catering Australia stated, “It is important to recognise those who give so much to our industry. We congratulate Chris Taylor on his fantastic career and theAssociation is delighted to honour his talent, dedication and success that have made an outstanding contribution to the vibrant and flourishing West Australian industry.”
The Hall of Fame Awards have been running for over 18 years in WA and the purpose of the awards is to acknowledge and reward the contribution by an individual to the Restaurant and Catering Industry in WA. Recipients of the Hall of Fame Award are individuals who are sought from all disciplines within the industry who have demonstrate a number of key measurable performance criteria and personal qualities such as dedication and commitment to the industry, being a recognized leader in their field who has provided a unique and definitive contribution to the industry.
Restaurant & Catering Association Hall of Fame Honour Roll
Year Hall of Famers
1994 Harry Ferrante, Simon’s Restaurant Group
1995 Jean – Daniel Ichallene, Pierre’s Garden Restaurant*
1996 Graham Bolton, Char Char Bull
1997 Mal Bennett, Mama Mia’s
1999 Maud Edmiston, Miss Maud’s
2000 Blair Farquhar, West Shore Restaurant Group
2001 Franks Sabbadini, La Tosca Trattoria
2002 Dawn Davies, Oyster Bed Restaurant
2003 Lieta Acquarola, Alberto’s, Romano’s
2004 Alain Fabreques, The Loose Box Restaurant
2005 Tanis & Geoff Gosling, Witch’s Cauldron
2007 Kate Lamont, Lamonts Restaurant Group
2008 Peter Hickson, Spices Group
2009 Stephen Reagan, Newtown House
2010 Renzo Deleo, Mille Café
2011 Clyde Bevan, Friends Restaurant
2012 Chris Taylor, Frasers Restaurant Group
Please note that other great businesses are attributed to the Hall of Fame honourees and a further detailed list is available at www.restaurantcater.asn.au
Source: Restaurant & Catering, 12 November 2012
