HOMEGROWN chef Brett Graham is the first Australian chef and restaurant owner to be awarded three stars in the Michelin Guide for his London restaurant, The Ledbury.
A third Michelin Star is the highest of gastronomic honours and according to inspectors, is one that's "not given lightly".
The Newcastle-born chef's hospitality career started at age 15 at Scratchleys on the Wharf, before he moved to Sydney restaurant Banc.
Hunter Culinary Association (HCA) chairman Gus Maher said while The Ledbury is already world-renowned, for Graham, the accolade will be the icing on the cake.
"I think it just proves that a young Newy boy with a food dream can be front and centre on the world's culinary stage," he said.
"A third Michelin Star is extremely rare and only goes to the world's best restaurants."
Michelin Guide inspectors said Graham's Notting Hill restaurant was the latest to reach the elite level due to the kitchen team's display of "technical mastery across dishes that deliver sublime flavours using ingredients of unsurpassable quality".
"Each mouthful provides considerable depth of flavour, with the consistently harmonious combinations showcasing a streak of originality," the inspectors said.
"An elegant setting, a convivial atmosphere and impeccable service round out the masterful experience."
Graham opened The Ledbury in 2005, but has remained committed to fostering local culinary talent with his prestigious scholarship in partnership with NSW TAFE and HCA, which has shaped the careers of some of the Hunter's well-known chefs, like Thermidor's Josh Gregory and Bistro Molines' Garreth Robbs.
Previous scholarship recipient Josh Hobbs returned from The Ledbury 12 months ago and said it's a high-intensity environment.
"Everyone in that kitchen wants the same thing, everyone cares a lot and there is a high standard," he said.
"There's nothing bigger than a third Michelin Star, some people just want that but Brett was a super humble guy, he cared more about the people in the restaurant, his staff and customers than the accolades.
"Now when I work places I work in the sense that I've always got Brett looking over my shoulder with everything I do ... he really drills a high standard into you and if you work with him long enough you take that with you."
Mr Maher, who has had the pleasure of dining at The Ledbury two years ago, said achieving a third Michelin Star is sensational news, and is not to be underestimated.
"To those of us who are diners and not chefs, the difference between two and three Michelin Stars may be minuscule, but to judges and restaurant proprietors it heaps on even more pressure to maintain these amazing standards," he said.
"Setting the bar that high is not an accident, you get there very consciously."
Five years before Graham opened The Ledbury, he was awarded The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Young Chef of the Year award and a return flight to London at age 20.
Restaurant manager of Lovedale's Jimmy Joans Eliza Boyd, who met her now husband and chef Thomas at The Ledbury where she worked front of house and he in the kitchen, said she felt "privileged" and "honoured" to have learned from the best.
"It had two Michelin Stars and it had just been awarded number 10 in the world at the San Pellegrino Awards which was very intimidating to be walking into a restaurant like that because I didn't have any experience at that level at all," she said.
"It was all very new being exposed to that world of fine dining, all very fresh, so it was pretty daunting but I was made to feel very welcome and I took it a day at a time, service by service and after about three days they asked me to stay and go on as part of the team, which was amazing.
"I'm so proud, I have friends who still work there and it's so amazing to see them achieve at such a high level and I'm sure that Brett's very humble and grateful in achieving something like this, so it's amazing to hear."
