Mark Best's Marque in Surry Hills, Sydney was arguably the most technically ambitious restaurant in Australian history. Best was classically French-trained — "my first love was classical French and regional French cuisine — that is the base from which I work" — but deployed that technique against Australian ingredients with a precision that connected French rigour to Australian terroir. Western Australian marron with paprika, wakame, avocado, and lemon. Blue swimmer crab with almond jelly and sweet corn. Spring onion with jamón, tuna, and Madeira. Every dish was French in its bones but Australian on the plate.
Best represented the intellectual wing of Australian fine dining — a chef who read widely, thought deeply about the relationship between technique and ingredient, and pushed the boundaries of what classical training could produce when applied to non-classical ingredients. Marque closed in 2017, but its influence on the next generation of Australian chefs is permanent.
- **French technique is a universal operating system.** Best demonstrated that the stocks, sauces, reductions, and precision of French classical training are not culturally specific — they are a methodology that produces excellence when applied to any ingredient base. - **Australian produce deserves European-level seriousness.** Before the generation of Best, Gilmore, and Tetsuya, Australian ingredients were often treated casually. Best brought the rigour of a French three-star kitchen to marron, yabbies, and blue swimmer crab. - **Intellectual engagement with food.** Best was notable for his engagement with food as culture, history, and philosophy — not merely as craft. This influenced the Australian food conversation beyond the kitchen.
AUSTRALIAN BUSHTUCKER — WAVE 2: THE DEEPER EXTRACTION