Oceania Cruises Chef of the Year: Lauren Eldridge

Paisano and Daughters, Newtown

Lauren Eldridge is acutely aware that in being nominated for this award, she’s up against history: only one pastry chef has ever won Chef of the Year. Maybe part of the battle for a pastry chef stems from the fact that in any meal, the savoury part – the sustenance – is a necessity. Dessert? It’s optional. Somehow, though, that’s also its greatest asset: these are ephemeral things, crafted purely for pleasure.

But let’s be clear: whether we’re talking the honeycomb with cultured cream from her Marque days, or the curls of rhubarb crowning freeze-dried yoghurt and rhubarb sorbet at Berowra Waters Inn, ordering Eldridge’s desserts has always been non-negotiable.

This award recognises not only how her presence has elevated every restaurant she’s worked at, but more presently, how overseeing desserts at Paisano and Daughters – a strip of four venues in Newtown – has resulted in the biggest hits-per-square-footage ratio in the city, headlined by Osteria Mucca’s cassata Siciliana, Mister Grotto’s pineapple rum baba, and Continental Deli’s lemon-meringue ice-cream. Tinned Christmas pudding and weekly bake sales only add to her aura.

Key too, is her commitment to the industry, her passion, and her drive. “I can’t imagine not being part of the hospitality industry,” says Eldridge, “It’s just who I am as well as what I do.”