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B BRIEFING JACQUES REYMOND b
A perfect blend
When Jacques Reymond realised his dream
of opening his own restaurant in an elegant
Melbourne mansion, he was free to evolve
and develop his own cooking style. Jacklyn
Lloyd discusses his influences from the past
>
Despite owning and running
five venues in his career and
accumulating 80 Chef’s Hats from The
Age Good Food Guide, Jacques Reymond
is by no means intimidating. Specialising
in contemporary Australian-French
cuisine, he is renowned for delivering
dishes that look pretty as a picture and
define sophisticated, yet relaxed, dining.
Born in France in the small village of
Cuiseaux, about 100km from Lyon,
Reymond’s parents had a hotel/restaurant.
This made him familiar with professional
kitchens from a very young age. From
there he went on to work all over the
globe and continues to consult in
restaurants worldwide today.
He followed his dream to work in
Australia. For years, every time Reymond
and his wife drove past an old, romantic,
Victorian mansion at 78 Williams Road,
Melbourne, which was then known
as Allisons, he would say: “One day
my restaurant will be in this building.”
Eventually he opened his eponymous
restaurant there and it became an
institution for more than 20 years.
His years of experience of working in
both Brazil and Spain inspired Reymond
to combine flavours from these countries
– along with the Asian and Pacific
ingredients commonly used in Australia
– to develop his own unique style using
French techniques. His cooking technique
evolved “from traditional French to
highly individual” – a style that has stood
the test of time.“Our cuisine was (and
continues to be) individual and personal;
a fusion, not a confusion,” he says.
Reymond’s inspiration was apparent
in the restaurant’s décor. In the main
room, crisp white linen and sparkling
dinnerware set a romantic scene for
couples dining on beautifully-plated
dishes. While the Mandarin room, simple
in its design, featured oriental, rich reds
juxtaposed with elegant table settings –
blending Asian and French influences.
When designing the kitchen at
Jacques Reymond the equipment wasn’t
the most important consideration.“It’s
more about the quality of the products
and the selection of suppliers; the skills
of the staff. I invested in this more than
equipment,” notes Reymond.
That investment paid off in 2011
when the Restaurant and Catering
Association in Victoria awarded
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JACQUES REYMOND B
Reymond the Lifetime Achievement
Award. His restaurant went on to win
Best Restaurant and Best Fine Dining
in Victoria for 2013/14. The venue was
also part of the prestigious Relais and
Châteaux in France that celebrates the
culinary arts in hospitality.
Making changes
After turning 60 in 2013 Reymond
decided he couldn’t carry on working 15-
hour days in the kitchen, neither could he
be a chef whose name was over the door
but not in the kitchen. In January 2014 he
handed over his famous restaurant to his
sous chefs, Thamas Woods and Hayden
McFarland, who reopened the building as
Woodland House. Meanwhile, Reymond
was still fired up to work on new projects
with his wife Kathy and their children
Nathalie, Edouard and Antoine.
Reymond’s children now run his other
venues, L’Hôtel Gitan, which opened in
2014, and Bistro Gitan, both of which he
consults for.“It is like an orchestra where
the composer of the music is not the one
who plays it,” Reymond says, going on to
explain that he develops the menus, but
doesn’t necessarily execute the dishes.
When opening L’Hôtel Gitan the
restaurant was pitched as family-friendly.
The result is a casual but sophisticated
venue that offers a comforting bistro-
style menu.“L’Hotel Gitan is much more
contemporary than Bistro Gitan, which
is reinvented bistro pub food,” Reymond
explains. Inside, black and white brick
walls celebrate the building’s Art Deco
roots, while cushioned banquettes, an
open kitchen and long bar entice guests to
stay and indulge. Overall the décor plays
to both a pub and bistro-style menu – a
unique mish-mash of themes.
Reymond was involved in the design
of L’Hôtel Gitan.“I designed the kitchen
concept and left my children to express
their desires to the architects, SJB Interior
Designers, who have worked with us
previously on two restaurants.” Plans for
Jacques Reymond’s
eponymous restaurant
is full of character
contemporary affair at L’Hôtel Gitan,
Bistro Gitan offers French-Spanish
bistro-style food with understated décor
featuring wooden finishes to create an
inviting European feel.“The décor and
cuisine at Bistro Gitan is traditional
French and it’s high quality.”
In addition to his work at L’Hôtel
Gitan and Bistro Gitan, Reymond also
consults for a brand called dish’d, which
he describes as “a high quality frozen food
home delivery service”. He’s also working
with the kitchen staff at luxury resorts
in Turtle Island and Nanuku in Fiji.
Reymond has an encouraging approach.
“Always look forward, be positive and
optimistic and give your staff a lot of
motivation through continually learning
and enjoying the performance,” he says.
Each day Reymond’s ultimate goal in
life is undoubtedly being achieved.“To
keep my family united and see they’re
following in our footsteps and have our
full support and love.”To see his children
achieve great success at both L’Hôtel
Gitan and Bistro Gitan is wonderful.“I’ve
learnt that if you stay humble and keep
a family spirit throughout your business,
you’ll love to go to work every day and
enjoy being there.”
the kitchen were based on the equipment
he needed and where each piece should
go to create a kitchen that “was practical
and suited the venue to make it both a
functional and practical space to work in,
as well as a little theatrical.”
Chef’s perspective
Reymond feels it’s important to be
involved in the design of his kitchens.
“Only a chef will know if it’s a rational,
functional and friendly space for the
chefs to work in.” For him the most
important feature in a kitchen is simply
“an oven and good extraction system.
I’m very positive about new technology.
It improves quality, hygiene and better
results,” he continues.“I will always
be open to new equipment, but some
cooking techniques will still be better
doing them the old way.”
While French cooking often praises
old-school cooking techniques, the
technology that Reymond does use are
his Thermo mix, paco jet, combi ovens,
microplane, Roband rotors and an ice-
cream machine.“These are all an essential
part of a kitchen today, it helps ease the
manual workload,” he says.
When it comes to design, unlike the
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