RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR - METRO OGEE
WINNER
The past 12 months have been a whirlwind for the man behind Hobart’s hottest new restaurant – but there are no regrets for Matt Breen as the accolades for Ogee continue to roll in. After opening in the back streets of North Hobart last September, Breen has broken through in a difficult space which had previously seen a wine bar and fondue shop come and go without success. But despite boasting just 28 seats, Ogee has bucked the trend and was rewarded when it took home Best Fine Dining and Restaurant of the Year – Metro at this year’s Awards for Excellence. “It has been hard. This site was particularly difficult to get up and going, there was a lot of work that needed to be done to the building and to the site to kind of get it up to where I needed it. But as soon as we flung the doors open, we’ve just been busy since day one,” says Breen, who was previously involved with popular wine bar Sonny before switching his attention solely to Ogee.
OGEE MANAGER RACHELLE GUASTELLA AND CHEF-OWNER MATT BREEN
That’s sort of all we’re in the game for.
“We went to the awards to kind of network and meet some people and have a good chat and didn’t think we’d be walking away with the big gong to be honest We’ve had people coming in that have never heard of us before, that are just coming in to check us out all of a sudden so the reach of an award like that is great.”
“We hit the ground running, we are doing the food we want to be doing and we just make a lot of people happy.
RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR - REGIONAL FURNEAUX RESTAURANT
WINNER
well as best stand-alone restaurant in the state, to further enhance its reputation as a must-experience dining extravaganza. Making the results all the more special for chef and co- owner/operator Jonathon Wong is it came without the guidance of head chef and founder Stefaan Codron, who has spent all of 2023 working overseas. “Since we opened our restaurant five years ago, Stefan and myself have always emphasised on giving customers the best possible dining experience and our motto is always looking after our customer as if they are friends and family,” Wong says. “We comfortably sit 30 customers and we only do one seating per night, so we don’t turn around tables. What we have learned is it’s not just the food itself, but it’s also the overall quality of service and environment for the customers.”
FURNEAUX RESTAURANT. PICTURE: WOLFGANG GLOWACKI
Tasmania’s picturesque East and North East Coasts may be renowned for its white sandy beaches, wonder-filled national parks and quaint seaside towns, but a French- inspired restaurant in St Helens is fast becoming a required destination in itself.
For the second year running Furneaux Restaurant scored the title of Restaurant of the Year – Regional, as
28 Tasmanian Hospitality Review October/November Edition
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