- Restaurant: Chin Chin
- Role: Group Executive Chef of the Lucas Group
- Hats: 1
Benjamin originally imagined a career in economics, however after taking a year out of his studies to do a culinary apprenticeship, it only took one day in the kitchen for Benjamin to be convinced he wanted to be a chef.
From the very early days in his career, Benjamin has worked alongside some of Australia’s most celebrated chefs including Neil Perry and Kylie Kwong.
Following his training in Australia , Benjamin’s career took him to the UK where he worked with fellow Aussie John Torode as Head Chef of Terrance Conrad’s Bluebird in Chelsea, it was here where he expanded his knowledge and honed his techniques. Benjamin then went on to:
- Graduate as Junior Sous Chef at John Torode’s Smiths of Smithfield
- Spend two years under Executive Chef, Mark Edwards at London’s Nobu
- Work with Australia’s best known Thai chef, David Thopmson at Nahm
- And lastly work at The Halkin Hotel, the first Michelin-starred Thai restaurant in Europe
After deciding to move back to Australia, Benjamin was appointed Head Chef at Ezard in Melbourne before moving on to become Head Chef at Longrain.
In 2011 Benjamin went on to Executive Chef at Chin Chin which successfully expanded to Sydney recently. He has redefined Southeast Asian cuisine in Australia and turned Chin Chin to an icon within the Melbourne and Sydney food scene.
Benjamin is passionate about authentic techniques and exceptional ingredients; he loves to experiment with flavours and texture combinations and ultimately wants to create food that makes people happy.
Away from the pass, Benjamin is relaxed about eating and cooks a lot of simple Italian food and loves a toasted cheese sandwich and baked beans!
