2 Faces
8 Malop Street Geelong Geelong and The Bellarine Peninsula Victoria 3220
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Phone: 0 3 5229 4546
Email: Send Email
Website: Visit Website
About 2 Faces
Simon like any passionate and
creative chef,
works long and not exactly regular hours – but he says
that’s life, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
And you know he’s
serious when in the same breath
he admits it’s not uncommon for him to
spring out of bed
in the middle of what is often a relatively brief sleep –
to jot down inspirational ideas for menus.
Politely spoken and with a
hint of shyness, he doesn’t fit
your stereotypical image of a chef at all.
For a start,
despite the fact that he is head chef and co owner
of 2
faces, Geelong’s premier restaurant, there’s not a hint of
arrogance or
aloofness about him – more a splash of
youthful excitement when he talks
about his vision for
food and how he goes about building each new
dish.
Simon started the restaurant back in 1999 with co-owner
and
partner Tim Mitchell, the 2 faces as they are known, and
made their mark in
‘foodie’ circles very quickly – a testament
to their hard work and
enthusiasm. But he says his menus
aren’t all about him – they also carry a
distinct reflection
of his customers’ increasingly diverse tastes.
“Geelong diners are continually evolving in their tastes
and have become
far more adventurous than they were
when we first opened the restaurant,” he
said.
Now celebrating 13 years, 2 faces has been recognized
annually by the Age Good Food Guide (most recently in the 2011 edition) and has
received multiple Australian Achiever Awards and numerous industry
commendations.
With Simon, as with many chefs you meet whose
origins
lie outside Australia, there is a multitude of
influences on his
craft.
Now a naturalised Aussie, he hails from Norfolk in England.
He
worked as a chef extensively throughout his home
county and also in Europe.
His first restaurant was
Romford House, located in the busy
Norfolk
market town of Swaffam. Prior to that he worked througout England with stints in
Europe.
He confesses he didn’t initially see himself as a
culinary
artist, but he excelled in the area at school,
and it became clear he had
real talent.
Food proved to be the one outlet for
his desire to be truly
experimental.
He says food is endless,
and that he is constantly
learning.
He draws inspiration from the fact that his
adopted country
has such an array of quality,
fresh produce on hand.
Simon is
constantly varying his menu and dishes
range from contemporary flavours to
Mediterranean and Asian influences, particularly Thai.
More recently he
has been exploring
Middle Eastern themes.
Many speak of his ability
to combine a complexity of
flavours and textures without losing the point of
the dish –
a highly regarded skill in the industry.
While the process
of creating a dish brings him
immense satisfaction, even more rewarding, he
says,
is the finished work, and the enjoyment
it brings to the
diner.
Simon recognises dining is very much an accepted
social
activity these days. “Dining’s a much more regular
occurrence. People don’t
just go out for special occasions or tea anymore. It’s about them sharing the
dining experience
and being happy at the end of the day,” he
says.
Alongside him is second Chef Sarah Elmer who has been on the 2 faces team for 9 years, together they create culinary bliss for the many regulars that have been supporting them for so many years.
And
even if the day ends for him 16 hours or more after
it began, he says it’s
all worth it….
and something tells you he genuinely means it.
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