Top 10 Restaurants of Australia

Cutler and Co.

Cuisine: Modern Australian/Contemporar

Location: Melbourne, VIC

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Head Chef: Andrew McConnell

Andrew McConnell was born and bred in Melbourne where he also apprenticed under four different chefs during the 1980s “all very unique in their style, their delivery”¹, an experience he says “is actually really important”. This was followed by a unique experience working in Hong Kong and Shanghai where he learnt very useful lessons about the “Chinese use of texture”¹ in cooking.

McConnell started Dining Room 211 during which he won The Age Good Food Guide's “Young Chef of the Year” award followed by acclaimed positions as Executive Chef at Circa, the Prince and and Three, One, Two where he won The Age Good Food Guide's “Chef of the Year” award. In creating a dish McConnell says he starts with produce to give inspiration and then attempts to find “a few suppourting flavours and textures to complement and draw out the best”² of the principal produce.

Previously Number 6 in our 2012-2013 list of the top ten restaurants of Australia is Andrew McConnell's Cutler & Co. A young restaurant with a sexy and trendy vibe, Cutler & Co. was voted the best restaurant in Australia in 2011 by Gourmet Traveller. Housed in an old metal work factory the interior has been designed by McConnell's architect wife, Pascale Gomes-McNabb, and layers some slightly off-beat elements with visible portions of the old building creating a dark but glamarous atmosphere.

Despite the youth of Cutler & Co. Andrew McConnell is no new comer to Melbourne's fine dining scene, he has worked as Exectuve Chef at Circa, the Prince (just missed the cut for this website's list) and Three, One, Two (2007 The Age Good Food Guide's Best New Restaurant). The menu displays creative and simple flavour combinations that is cooked with masterful technique and can feature unique principal ingredients such as Marron (a freshwater crayfish from Western Australia) or Leatherjacket fish. The service is more informal than other fine-dining establishments but is well informed and suits the unpretentious style of the restaurant.

Sample Dégustation Menu*

Selection of appetisers
Smoked & raw tuna, octupus, avocado & pickled cucumber
Spanner crab, abalone, & sweet corn soup
Heirloom tomatoes, house made ricotta, brik pastry & white balsamic
Poached chicken, foie gras parfait, quinoa & prune
Wood grilled Wagyu sirloin, mustard onion & mushrooms
Strawberry sorbet, peach & jasmine mousse
Violet ice cream, chocolate ganache, sour cherry

See more menu information >

*Please note the provided menu and prices are only an example and may change at anytime, please refer to the restaurant's website for up to date information

References

http://www.miettas.com.au/Content/Chefs/2008_2010/Andrew_Mcconnell_Chef.html
http://www.starchefs.com/cook/videos/interview-andrew-mcconnell