Our Head Chef Anthony Telford Profiled in the Last Ever Issue of Sydney Magazine

Not long after Guillaume featured on page 3 of the Sydney Morning Herald, head chef Anthony Telford became the focus of iCook in the beautifully big and glossy Sydney Magazine. 

Freelance photographer Jennifer Soo met Anthony and his 7 kids at their home in Marrickville and a fun birthday celebration for three of his kids was had by all. Read about it below.

I Cook … a family birthday lunch

By Esther Han

Chef Anthony Telford at home. Photo by Jennifer Soo.

Anthony Telford, head chef of Balmoral's Public Dining Room, loves to tinker with the latest in food trends but turns to simple when cooking for his large family. So who is Anthony Telford?

As a father of seven, Anthony Telford says the trick to feeding a large family and staying sane is to keep it simple. "For dinner, a 40cm large fry pan with frittata and salad on the side works well." He used his Eton mess for a joint birthday "cake" for three of his children Ty, 16, Indiana, 12, and Chile, 10, whose birthdays fall in September. "It's easy and it's fun," says the head chef of Public Dining Room in Balmoral.

Telford's first child, Jesse, was born when Telford was just 20. He met his partner, Victoria, when he was an apprentice and she was a waitress at the now-defunct Le Beauvallon on the Gold Coast. The couple had a baby every two years while based in Melbourne for a decade, where he worked at restaurants such as…

Read more, and get 6 family friendly recipes from Anthony, here:http://www.smh.com.au/good-food/i-cook--a-family-birthday-lunch-20131021-2vw68.html#ixzz2iz6WKRK0

Guillaume Zika Makes Page 3 of The Sydney Morning Herald!

When Sydney Morning Herald journalist Esther Han and photographer Marco Del Grande honoured us with a visit recently, we were excited to see what one of the city's most respected news publications would say about the happenings at our Public Dining Room. 

So when the weekend rolled around, imagine our delight when we opened up to page 3 of the Saturday Edition to find our very own Guillaume showing off his yellow spotted socks on the wharf out front! If you missed it, have a read below:

Guest chef finds new fish to fry at the end of the jetty

By Esther Han 

Beached: Guillaume Zika is the international guest chef at Public Dining Room at Balmoral Beach. Photo: Marco Del Grande

Having worked as the head chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant, Guillaume Zika thought he knew his fish. That was until he reached the end of a jetty at Balmoral Beach.

''I saw this big sign with all this fish I had never seen before. I only knew, like, two. The flathead has a crazy head,'' the Frenchman said with a laugh. ''I caught one and thought that's a fish I'm not going to eat. But I liked it.''

Zika moved to Sydney in June after an 18-month stint as head chef of Hibiscus, Claude Bosi's two Michelin-starred restaurant in London. He is the international guest chef at Public Dining Room at Balmoral Beach until December.

While he has yet to be won over by the ''mushy and strangely textured'' barramundi, he is savouring the best of… 

Read more here:

http://www.smh.com.au/good-food/eat-out/guest-chef-finds-new-fish-to-fry-at-the-end-of-the-jetty-20130913-2tq8z.html#ixzz2iz4rvWey

Wine and the Art of Drinking - Passionate, Boutique & Unique

By Somelier Stephen Thompson

On Monday the 21st October  we hosted a Gourmet Traveller Readers Dinner at Public Dining Room. It was a night that saw Public Dining Room awash with the cities most passionate foodies, many of whom follow the Gourmet Traveller trail as they alternate between selected Sydney and Melbourne restaurants throughout the year.


Chef Guillaume Zika has worked at celebrated Michelin starred restaurants in Paris, Cannes, New York and finally as head chef of the two star Hibiscus restaurant in London. He designed a five course menu featuring a modern take on classic Parisian dishes, and I was responsible for matching the wines, working alongside chosen wine supplier Ian Barr of Bibendum Wine Company.


Our wine list at Public Dining Room is constantly evolving. New discoveries, the changing seasons and vintages all play a roll in the process. We believe all the elements on the plate are complimented by the individual character of the wine to be served alongside it. 

So, why did we select Bibendum as the company to support this celebrated industry event?

Despite receiving 100’s of phone calls, emails and samples of different wines every month, we endeavour to select only the most interesting wines that best suit our clientele. We like to use small scale, boutique wineries for the most part, so annual production is small, and we may only acquire a couple of cases a year in some cases.


We buy a great deal of wine direct from individual vineyards, and building relationships with wholesalers is hugely beneficial. 

Some of these companies are heavyweight global companies selling the . Obviously these wines have their purpose in the market place, but thankfully 

Big global companies selling “big branded” wines for bottle shops up and down the country have their place in the market, but thankfully its not at Public Dining Room!

Over the years we have narrowed our preferred wine wholesaling companies down to around five impressive operators, of which Bibendum is one. All their wines are well sourced from boutique producers located in Australia and from other parts of the world, and it means we are able to buy exciting wines from the newest up and coming producers in regions that perhaps most consumers are not familiar with.

Established in 2004, Bibendum is one of Australia’s leading suppliers of artisanal or “grower” wine from across Europe and Australia. Their aim  is to source only the highest quality, most authentic wines from around the world. They count themselves as extremely fortunate to work with some of the world’s most inspiring wine estates, and some of the most passionate growers and makers. In short, they scour the globe for wines that they themselves would love to drink and cellar! Bibendum enjoys the support of many of Australia’s finest restaurants and in 2012 was awarded the “best importer” gong at the Australian Sommeliers Association awards.


In terms of matching wines for the Gourmet Traveller dinner Bibendum were an obvious choice. All wines on the evening were of course French and we decided on a grower champagne, some classic offerings from prestigious regions and some perhaps less familiar wines from Bibendum's portflolio.


We were thrilled that both diners and Gourmet Traveller's Pat Nourse agreed, with his final statement one of decided contentment: "The wines were perhaps the best matched wines I've had," he said.