Early Attica

Appears in

Published 2012

About

In 2005 I was working at Circa in Melbourne as a junior sous chef on a modest wage. As is the case with many young families it was a real struggle to support my wife, Natalia, and our newborn son, Kobe. Although I loved my job my back was against the wall and I needed to earn a better income. I applied for a job at an old pub in Richmond. I was on the verge of taking it, banging out burgers, parmas and chips when I saw the position of head chef at Attica advertised.

At the time we lived close to Attica and I would peer into the windows of the largely empty restaurant and think that it had good bones but no soul. Back then the restaurant was virtually unknown, but I had a hunch about it. There was a humble dignity to the old red-brick bank facade of the restaurant that resonated with me.