New Hire: Kiln’s Beau Clugston Used To Work at Noma. Now Aussie Produce Is Giving Him Goosebumps

The brand-new kitchen team at Kiln is undeniably strong. After the departure of chef-partner Mitch Orr and head chef Mans Engberg last year, Beau Clugston (the chef-owner of Denmark’s fine seafood restaurant Iluka, and Noma’s former research and development chef) is in the building, leading a new menu and new people in the kitchen.

“It’s not a new restaurant per se, the DNA is still there, it’s just through a different lens,” Clugston tells Broadsheet. Andy Bowdy’s on desserts, and Isobel Little (ex-exec chef at The Caterpillar Club and Alberto’s Lounge) is in the opening team.

After a childhood in Sawtell, near Coffs Harbour, the Clugston has spent the last two decades cooking in London and Copenhagen. “It was meant to be a two-year working holiday. It’s taken me a bloody long time to come home,” he laughs. “Sydney always felt like my city. It’s where I did my apprenticeship, worked at Pier, Tetsuya’s and Rockpool.

“I’ve had a fascination with Sydney, all my chef friends open their restaurants here, it’s a very good community, and it’s also very competitive – I love it, because it really keeps you on your toes. If you don’t keep evolving with the city, you’re going to be left behind. So that creative pressure and adapting to the city, it’s quite special.”

His opening menu is “hidden behind a veil of complexity”. There’s a snacky kingfish tart with a roasted leek paste; a bright prawn crudo with strawberries and green ants; and leeks that, when roasted, fill the restaurant with the warm smell of smouldering paperbark. Here, Clugston gives us the lowdown on his new gig.

Beau, what exactly is a chef-partner?
I got a cold call [from Ace] not so long ago – and it moved pretty fast. A chef-partner is someone that comes in, spends considerable time on the ground and creates a new menu. Then drives it, executes it, has a strong head chef, and then ducks out for 12 weeks or so, and comes back again.

I still live in Denmark. Iluka runs so well now; it’s seven years old, it’s busy, [with] a small, strong team. This is a bit more of a monster truck, you know? More moving parts, more seats. I’ll be definitely spending more time here than in Copenhagen.

Is there a dish on your opening menu that stands out for you?
The leeks. I was in Arnhem Land and we ripped off some paperbark, then we grabbed a kangaroo tail and some mud clams and threw it in the bark, buried it in the fire. I just loved the way of cooking, it sort of steamed and stewed at the same time. We’ve got this leek dish that’s been cooked in the paperbark, just thrown on the kiln and then fingerlime [and] a South Australian cheese sauce, split with lovage oil.

You’re working with beautiful native ingredients and cooking techniques, how has that been, after so long away?
Honestly, it’s like learning a new language. That’s what makes it so exciting. In Copenhagen, it’s A to Z: beetroots, potatoes and cabbages, especially now in winter. You get off the plane [here], and you get hit with the heat. And you’re like, “Wow”. Peas and rhubarb and strawberries and corn and berries and all the stone fruit. All the good things that come with the heat. You just have more language. It’s more than exciting. It’s uniquely Australian; it’s pretty incredible, the pantry we have here.

You’ve got two excellent Sydney chefs, Andy and Isobel, in the kitchen with you. How’s that been?
They’re great, super easy. I didn’t know them before I started, so I didn’t know their background. Isobel’s a rock for us. I’ve eaten at Brat many times in London, where she worked, all the restaurants she’s been in Sydney too. It’s so nice to have a local local. And she’s great with the fire.

Andy’s got this great reputation of “cake king”. He’s incredible – sometimes there are 20 different things in an ice-cream. He’s built in so many layers and textures, it’s quite impressive to execute – especially for so many people.

Why did you become a chef?
I come from a small beach town, so all our friends wanted to be pro surfers, right? We were surfing every morning, after school, everything. It was just our life. We were talking about sponsorship, and my parents wouldn’t let me drop out of school unless I had a job, so I googled night-time jobs and “chef” came up.

What’s the best thing you ate this week?
Mate, I’ve been in the kitchen every day. I’ve only been eating at Kiln – I don’t want to say what’s on my own menu.

Nah, go for it.
We’ve got this beautiful tuna in at the moment, and we were working on a tuna tartare. I don’t get that in Europe. I mean, we can get tuna [in Copenhagen] but it’s not sustainable. To come here and have tuna for the first time in seven, eight years – there were just so many memories. Goosebumps over just a raw slice of tuna.

@beauclugston
@kilnsydney