Food Wine Sleep

Born in 1973 in Folkestone, UK, Daniel’s interest in restaurants started when, at a very young age, he spent over seven years as waiter, learning everything about front and back of house operations.

After finishing a hospitality diploma at Folkestone College in 1992, Daniel moved to London and after applying for a waiters’ job at Boyd’s, he missed out on the position but was offered a role in the kitchen. Daniel went on to complete a two-year on-the-job apprenticeship at Boyd’s.

In 1994, Daniel moved on to Hilaire Restaurant, where he spent three and half years as Senior Chef de Partie, before embraking on a trip to Australia for 12 months, and then returned to Hilaire as Sous Chef for a year.

In 1999, Daniel was lured back to Australia and spent time working in the kitchens of Melbourne’s The European and The Latin before securing a Chef de Partie position at Est in 2000, working closely with Donovan Cooke.

After 18 months at Est, Daniel transferred to Cooke’s new venture, Ondine where he spent two years as Sous Chef. During Daniel’s time at Ondine, the restaurant gained numerous culinary awards including Two Hats and Best New Restaurant in The Age Good Food Guide 2002, followed by Three Hats, Best French Restaurant and Joint Chef of the Year in The Age Good Food Guide 2003.

When Ondine closed in 2004, Daniel was quickly recruited by Circa as Sous Chef, where he spent one year before moving to Albert Park’s L’Oustal as Head Chef, a position he held for three years.

In 2007, with the imminent opening of Bistro Guillaume, Guillaume Brahimi approached Daniel to head up the kitchen. After 18 months at the helm, Daniel left his position in May 2009 before being appointed as Executive Chef of Comme in June 2009.

Daniel describes his cooking as ‘modern French bistro food’, where he combines his classical training with more contemporary methods, and uses only the finest local produce, making every dish simple, accessible and enjoyable.

Daniel’s focus at Comme is to consolidate its position as one of Melbourne’s best French bistros while revitalizing and elevating the food and beverage experience across all areas of the business.