New Hire: Public Wine Shop’s New Head Chef Is Ready To Step Up and Stand Out

Public Wine Shop is on The Hot List, the definitive guide to Melbourne’s most essential food and drink experiences, updated weekly. Learn more.

Campbell Burton is one of Melbourne’s seminal sommeliers and wine buyers. So when he opened Public Wine Shop at the end of 2020, no one was surprised by the excellent breadth and depth of the vino selection. But everyone was surprised by how good the food was. Initially it was led by acclaimed chef Ali Currey-Voumard, before she ceded the kitchen to the equally lauded Ben Sears. After Sears said goodbye a few months ago, Burton looked internally for a successor, and has handed the reins to Shaina Alvarez Cruz.

Cruz is from the Philippines and grew up in Yorkshire, before going on to cook in Spain, Japan, Greece, France and more. Now she’s in Melbourne by way of Sydney, and you can expect her wayfaring experiences and global palate to inform the Public Wine Shop menu. Cruz took a break from playing backgammon with her housemates to talk to Broadsheet about how she’s finding the new role.

When did you start as head chef?

Since about mid-April, after Ben left. At first I thought I would just be holding the fort for a little bit, which I didn’t mind doing. And then everything started to go well. The team’s been so supportive, and I think it’s worked because I was quite transparent about how nervous I was before going into this role. I didn’t really expect this to happen – I’m just a girl who was on a working holiday.

How’s it gone so far?

The first month was so stressful. But now I’m settling in. I have such a great team around me, so it’s just been super nice. I’m really enjoying it, to be honest.

And when did you start cooking?

I always wanted to be a chef – ever since I started watching Ready Steady Cook as a kid – it’s actually how I learned to speak English, which is weird. I’ve been cooking professionally since I was 18 – so about 11 years now. But my first job was actually in hospitality. I’m from Leeds, and I used to work as a porter in a carvery in North Yorkshire. In college I won a competition to work as a chef for a season in Majorca. I think that’s when I really started thinking I should work in kitchens. Then when I was 19, I started working ski seasons as a private chef in chalets in Courchevel. After that I moved to Greece for a season of olive picking – and stayed a bit longer than I should have – then I went back to the Alps for another season. Then I moved to Japan for a year to work there, before moving to France.

After living and cooking in so many different countries, which one left the biggest impact on your cooking?

Probably France. I was dating this French guy I met in Japan, and just seeing the way he ate and his family ate was really nice. They showed me a lot – his grandmother would cook amazingly. I think that’s when I really started to appreciate the culture of food.

So when did you get to Australia?

After France I worked in London for about four years. I worked for the guys who used to own P Franco, first as a chef de partie at a restaurant called Bright, then I moved to Peg, another one of their restaurants. I was also at bakery called Pophams for a year, before I decided to move to Sydney, where I started doing viennoiseries for another bakery, AP House.

When did you move to Melbourne and start working at Public Wine Shop?

After my farm work, I went travelling for a bit and went back to AP. But I missed working in kitchens, so I moved to Melbourne to work as a CDP at Antara in 2023, before I joined Public Wine Shop in November last year.

Have you changed the menu much so far?

There were some old favourites like the oeuf mayonnaise – which was there since Ali was here – and the chicken wing that I took off. It wasn’t a power trip or anything, but I just want to put some new dishes on. Sometimes I’ll wake up and think “I should do this tonight” and we’ll do just 10 portions of it to try it out and see if it works.

What’s a dish you’re liking right now?

The cabbage we put on a couple of weeks ago is a good one. Sugarloaf cabbage is in season right now, so we steam it and then give it quite a hard sear in the pan, and we serve it with almond cream at the bottom. Then I top it with a pangrattato with loads of parsley, lemon zest and orange zest, garlic salt and a lemon wedge on the side.

Where do you want to take Public Wine Shop from here?

I’m from the Philippines – as they say, if you have a very Spanish name, you’re probably from the Philippines – so I’d love to do a Filipino pop-up at some stage. But most of all I want to keep Public Wine Shop like it’s always been – welcome to everybody. I want it to be nice and cool, and I want people to come and eat and be satisfied.

The Hot List is proudly sponsored by Square.