New Hire: Five Minutes With Brendan Pratt, Creative Culinary Director of the Parker Group

For many in the Western Australian dining scene, the name Brendan Pratt has become synonymous with high quality cooking and produce. During his time at Vasse Felix, Pratt accumulated plenty of accolades and, when he announced his departure, there was a collective gasp across the industry as people asked both “why?” and “what next?”. For a moment, Pratt honed his sandwich-making skills at Coffee Heads, a newly opened drive-through coffee and sandwich shop in the burgeoning south-west township of Vasse, before throwing himself into a long-term role with the Parker Group as creative culinary director.

When he set out to fill the post, group founder John Parker knew exactly what he wanted and Pratt comfortably fit the bill. “There were two main things I was looking for when I was searching for the culinary director of Parker Group: firstly, I wanted a tried, tested, creative and highly organised chef,” Parker tells Broadsheet. “Secondly, I wanted someone that prioritised a healthy, fun and engaging work culture in their kitchen.”

Broadsheet sat down with the chef to hear about his new gig; what he has in store for the various venues across the group including The Royal Hotel, Fleur, The Standard, Dandelion and Busselton Pavillion; and how he has made the shift toward high volume cooking.

What’s your new job title? And what does it entail?

Creative culinary director. Essentially, I am here to support the head chefs of the venues, to help mentor them, to help them creatively and hit their budgets. My broader role is to work with John Parker and the other directors to lead the direction of the venues and execute new menus and events.

You’re overseeing multiple venues within the Parker Group. How do you manage the varying menus and service styles?

I love the challenge. Creativity is my strength and I love having varying styles of food and service to keep me on my toes. I currently look after the offerings at Busselton Pavilion, The Standard, Dandelion, The Royal, Fleur and Willi’s. I work closely with the head chefs of each venue to home in on the offering of that place. Really I just lend a hand creatively and [act as] a sounding board.

How does the menu compare to what you were doing at Vasse Felix?

I think what I learnt at Vasse Felix was pared-back food that’s tasty and approachable is my style. This can be easily lifted to suit the venues’ styles. Flavour and meaning come first. Does the dish have a place on the menu? Does it fit the overall feel? And is the produce in the dish meaningful? Not just putting things on the plate or on the menu because you can. Carefully considering each piece of the puzzle is very important.

What’s a lesson you learnt at Vasse Felix or at any of your previous gigs that you’re applying to this new role?

In terms of food, it’s flavour and produce first, but equally important is the impact the dish has on the kitchen and the floor staff. If it is prep-heavy, it needs to be easy for service and the other way around. Creating a balance is very important. The most important thing, though, is culture. Nothing can be achieved without a happy, focused and connected team. There’s a great feeling when the whole team believes in the wider goal.

It’s a big venue. How does that large capacity play into your cooking?

Working smart not hard. Each item on the menu is carefully considered on how it impacts prep and service. Some dishes take a little more effort to prepare but, once prepared, service and consistency is easy to achieve as all of the hard work is done before service even starts. I think it’s all about communication, we all need to be on the same page. The design and set-up of the kitchen is also essential in helping us cook for a larger capacity – space and storage really help in the long run.

Talk to us about the Rotisol rotisserie. How are you coming to grips with such a big piece of machinery?

It’s an amazing piece of machinery. We are all lucky to be cooking with it. It’s shaping the way we structure our menu and prep. It will take us a while until we can really use it to its full capacity.

Thinking about “gastro pubs” and “elevated pub fare”, who or what is inspiring your cooking at the moment?

Andrew McConnell’s Gimlet (Melbourne) is definitely inspiring. Updown Farmhouse in Kent, UK, Fallow in London and The Devonshire in Soho are a few from further afield that are inspiring me.

Your previous role was more fine dining in style, what made you want to make the change to more everyday dining?

It wasn’t necessarily a cognitive decision to move away from fine dining, but more about finding balance, broadening my options, giving me different areas to be creative in and to give me a little more freedom to spend quality time with my wife and two daughters.

@chefbrendanpratt
@parkergroupau