O
peninga newrestauranton
theoppositesideoftheworld
duringa globalpandemicis
noeasyfeat.Butif thereis
onepersonfitforthetask,
it’sClareSmyth.
TheNorthernIrishchef
andowneroftwo-Michelin
starrestaurantCore,inLondonis currentlyputting
thefinishingtouchesonhersecondvenue,whichis
duetoopenat Sydney’snewestwaterfrontdevelopment,
Crown,inFebruary.Andalthoughshehashadto
orchestrateit allfromafar,Smythremainsunflappable.
“Myplanwasnevertohavelotsofrestaurants
globally.It’sreallyaboutdoingthingswell;things
thatI lovedoing,inlocationsthatI enjoybeingin,”
saysSmyth.“Sydneyis oneofthemosticonic
locationsintheworld.”
TheHarbourCitymaybethousandsofkilometres
awayfromwhereSmythcallshome,butit’sa destination
shefeelsveryfamiliarwithandcannotwaittoreturn
tooncecoronavirustravelrestrictionsarelifted.
“I spenta yearinAustraliawhenI wasinmyearly
20s,workingandtravelling,soI havefondmemories
anda greatconnectionwiththecity– it’sa homeaway
fromhomeforme,”sheexplains.“I wasthereforthe
Olympics,too,whichwasa brilliantyear.
“I couldneverhaveimaginedat thetime,as a young
commischefjuststartingmycareer,thatI’deventually
opena restaurantinSydney.I thinkit’squiteamazing
howlifecomesfullcircle.”
Smyth’scalmandcontrollednaturecanbeattributed
tothe 15 yearsshespentworkinginsomeoftheworld’s
mostacclaimedfine-diningrestaurants,undersome
ofthetoughestchefsintheindustry,includingAlain
Ducasseat LeLouisXVrestaurantinMonaco,and
GordonRamsayat RestaurantGordonRamsay,where
SmythbecamethefirstfemalechefintheUnited
KingdomtoholdandretainthreeMichelinstars.
“AlainandGordonareincrediblerolemodelsin
theindustry.Theyhavealwaysbeengreatmentorsfor
meandI continuetoadmireandlookupthem,”says
Smyth.“Ialsohavea greatrespectforThomasKeller- FrenchLaundryhasbeensuccessfulformanyyears
andthatlevelofstayingpoweratsucha toplevel
takesstaminaanddiscipline.”
Puttingeverythingshelearntfromtheindustry
greatsintopractice,Smythopenedherfirstrestaurant
inNottingHillin2016,whichearnedtwoMichelin
starsjustovera yearlater.Andtotopthingsoff,in
2018 Smythwasnamedtheworld’sbestfemalechef.
“WhenI wascomingthroughkitchensthere
weren’tverymanyfemalerolemodelsat all,”says
Smyth.“I canseea bigdifferencenow– almost 50 per
centofmyteamarefemaleandit makesfora much
betterandbalancedworkenvironment.Butwestill
need to work at breaking those boundaries.”
“I’veseen a majorshift
intheconceptoffine
dining; I haveseen it
become moreengaging
and genuine.”58 GOURMET TRAVELLER