French Ambassador Pierre-André Imbert travelled from Canberra to Brisbane to cut the ribbon at Montrachet. Photo: Markus Ravik.
Canberra fine dining stalwart, chef Clement Chauvin – Clem – from Les Bistronomes has expanded his culinary influence, buying up another iconic French restaurant: Brisbane’s Montrachet.
Lyonnais chef Theirry Gallichet first opened Montrachet 20 years ago before businessman Shannon Kellam took the reins shortly before the pandemic when the venue was moved from Paddington to Bowen Hills. When the business was put up for sale earlier this year, Clem leapt at the opportunity.
“For me it was a no brainer. Montrachet was a healthy business and really in my field: French, fine dining, and well established. This is exactly what I’ve been running in Canberra, so it was just a question of duplicating what I’ve been doing at Les Bistronomes,” he told Region.
Chef Clem Chauvin (centre) and the team at Montrachet. Photo: Markus Ravik.
The new business needed few changes – Clem just updated the crockery – before it was ready to reopen. He’s been putting his own spin on the menu, taking classic French dishes and adding his contemporary signature using local, seasonal ingredients.
“The cool thing about French cuisine is when you go to a French restaurant, you expect the classics: steak tartare, bouillabaisse, crème brûlée… it’s just the execution that might be slightly different,” Clem said.
One dish that won’t be changing is an entree from original chef and owner Thierry that Clem describes as “an institution” on the Montrachet menu, soufflé au crabe et au comté: double baked soufflé with crab meat and comté cheese.
“It’s part of the wallpaper so if I got rid of that, customers would be very upset! In fact it’s such a good dish I’ve brought it down to Canberra: I’ve slightly changed it and combined the crab meat with Balmain bug to serve it as a main dish.”
It’s not the only example of cross-pollination between the two restaurants. As Clem works on plates for each menu, the chefs at each location have been bouncing ideas off each other and improving the dishes with their collaboration.
Clem is currently splitting his time 50-50 between the two restaurants, joking he is like a child of divorce spending one week at each location. He’s known to be hands on and visible to customers, often spending time in the dining room speaking with guests.
“I’m very lucky in that I’ve got a wonderful team in Canberra and I’m building a wonderful team in Brisbane. I’m just trying to make sure I’m building a relationship with my new clientele in Brisbane without letting down my Canberra clientele.”
When asked if he’d consider further expansion, Clem said he wasn’t ruling it out. If the right opportunities arose, he’d love to have fine dining restaurants in every major city!
An unexpected benefit of multiple venues has been the number of Canberra guests who seek out Montrachet when they’re in Brisbane. And it works the other way too as Brisbane locals discover the fine dining scene in Canberra – not just Les Bistronomes but other venues as well.
“I think it’s a good thing for Canberra. People in Brisbane are starting to see that the hospitality scene here has developed and really got to another level in the last 10 years. I’m pleased to be part of putting Canberra’s dining scene on the map with that exposure.”
Montrachet is located at 1/30 King Street, Bowen Hills, QLD. Follow Montrachet on Instagram.
Les Bistronomes is located at 18 Blamey Pl, Campbell, ACT. Follow Les Bistronomes on Instagram.
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