Faceless men the new force in fine dining
Lucio Galletto at Lucio's in Paddington, Sydney, still greets his customers every day after 30 years on the job: 'It's not only my business, it's my life'. Picture: Sam Mooy Source: TheAustralian
GLORIA Staley was famous for sitting at the kitchen pass at her Melbourne institution Fanny's, sending plates back to the chefs if she didn't approve of them.
At 87, Beppi Polese still works the floor at Beppi's in Sydney three or four days a week. And France-Soir's Jean-Paul Prunetti can still be seen sharing a bottle of burgundy with diners who've been regulars at his Melbourne bistro since it opened in 1986.
But the era of the high-profile restaurateurs - the ones who welcomed you at the door, waited on your table and always remembered your son's birthday - is all but over, as a new breed of business-focused restaurant entrepreneur takes their place.
They are the faceless men, with names most of their diners will never have heard of, and they control some of the most successful restaurants in Australia.
People such as John Fink of The Fink Group in Sydney, the force behind Quay - the nation's best restaurant - The Bridge Room and Otto; Chris Lucas of The Lucas Group in Melbourne, owner of Thai powerhouse Chin Chin and the Italian Baby; and Frank Roberts of Sydney's Merivale Group, with an empire headed by Mr Wong, est and Ms G's. Unlike the old-school restaurateurs, the new breed is happy to stay in a backroom holding the reins of power while their celebrity chefs grab all the glory.
"The role of the restaurateur has completely changed over the past decade," says Lucas. "The main focus used to be on service skills. Now it's a multi-faceted job covering all aspects of the restaurant - business, property management, design, negotiations with suppliers, training, accountancy, people development ... "
He says a profound shift in diners' expectations is driving the changing of the guard.
"When my father was working as a publican, all he had to provide was a cold beer and a square meal," says Lucas. "Now, our customers are more educated: they're widely travelled, they're computer-savvy and across world dining trends, so the demands on the restaurant are so much greater and our business model is much more complex.
"The conservatives find it hard to regard (the new breed) as restaurateurs, but we are, because we are hands-on. We're not just the financial backers."
Still flying the flag for the old ways is Lucio Galletto, 60, who opened his acclaimed Paddington restaurant Lucio's 30 years ago and is still working there five days (and nights) a week, aided by his wife Sally, son Matteo and daughter Michaela.
"I think there will always be a place for my type of restaurant, where the owner has passion and is there every day to greet customers," he says. "My job is to do a bit of everything: I love to have contact with my diners so I'm very happy taking orders. It's not only my business, it's my life."
Fink, owner of Quay and a third-generation restaurateur, says his job is akin to conducting an orchestra. "My job is to make sure everyone else is doing their job, and to help out wherever I'm required," he says. "I can do every job at various levels of competency, from absolute crap to wonderful - I'm a really crap accountant, I'm an OK chef and an OK waiter but I'm an excellent dishwasher.
"But my favourite part is when I'm at Otto running plates and talking to customers. That's when I'm happiest."
Source: The Australian - 7 September 2013
