Chef Daniel Southern, Executive Chef
Chef Daniel Southern is a native Englishman, in his early days in his home town of Folkestone, he was always drawn to the world of hospitality, starting out pounding the front of our house floors as a waiter learning as much as he could, when he moved to London and applying for a waiters job at the infamous Boyd’s, he didn’t make the cut, but was offered a role in the trenches of the kitchen, where he took up a two year apprenticeship. From there he moved to Senior Chef fe Partie at Hilaire Restaurant for three and a half years. In a break he embarked on a trip to Australia, which was going to be great for us, and not so great for the UK.
In 1999, Daniel was lured back to Australia and spent time working in the kitchens of of Melbourne’s iconic venues such as The European and The Latin before making Est his home as Chef de parte in 2000 working side by side with Donovan Cooke. 18 months later Daniel transferred to Cooke’s new venture Ondine as Sous Chef. During his time at Ondine the restaurant accumulated many culinary awards including Two Hats and Best New Restaurant in its first year, and then onto Three Hats, Best French Restaurant and Joint Chef of the Year in The Age Good Food guide Awards. After Ondine, Daniel spent time at Circa, L’Oustal as Head Chef and Bistro Guillaume before being appointed Executive Chef of Comme in June 2009.
Daniel is well known for his ‘modern french bistro food’ where he combines his classical training with more contemporary methods. He is passionate about only using the finest local ingredients and produce making sure that every dish is simple, accessible and enjoyable.
Click here to read Chef Daniel’s Blog Posts
