Two restaurants, two Chef’s Hat: one team

Admiralty House is the only venue in Australia that has been recognised with two Chef’s Hat whilst running two restaurants from one kitchen on the AGFG 2022 awards

Char Restaurant and The Darwin Club, both located at the Admiralty House Darwin, have been awarded with the most noteworthy acknowledgment in Australian cuisine, a Chef’s Hat by Australian Good Food Guide.

In a moment when the restaurant industry was facing one of the most challenging times ever, due to of Covid-19, the Admiralty House family rethought their business model and created two different restaurant concepts operating out of a common production core.

Char Restaurant is recognised as one of the top dining destinations in the Northern Territory, specializing in steaks. The Darwin Club, on its side, was part of the main restaurant and dedicated as a function area for years.

“With this set-up we have had an opportunity to coordinate two revenue-producing restaurants from one site, achieving a better efficiency of staff and equipment while offering customers a choice in dining experiences,” said Matthew Isabella, Venue Manager at Admiralty House.

Essential to making this strategy work is to find two ideas that complement each other functionally while keeping their own unique personalities. With the aim to complement the steakhouse, The Darwin Club opened its doors last October “as a venue where the seafood lovers could enjoy an unforgettable dinning memory in the Territory”, affirms the Executive Head Chef Richard’s Brown.

“This project has been a big challenge from the beginning, as we deliver two different food experiences from the same kitchen,” said Brown. “Demands extra communication and coordination with the staff as each restaurant has its own menu and personality.”

In a press communication on its website, the Australian Good Food Guide recognised the field has not been level on the 2022 Chef Hat Awards. “This year’s awards are a credit to the phenomenal efforts of those who have managed to endure. The spread of COVID-19 have left no restaurant unaffected.”

“As every other venue within Australia we have been dealing for the last two years with staff shortages, border restrictions, lockdowns and mask mandates that has highly affected our revenue” affirms Isabella, “this recognition means that all our hard work has been noticed and even if we choose a risky option opening a new restaurant during Covid and with a set-up that is likely difficult to successfully pull off, we succeeded.