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Craig Squire Executive Chef & Owner |
Craig completed a four-year apprenticeship at the Adelaide Festival Centre in 1984, studying at the renowned Regency Park Institute. He travelled Australia extensively before setting up his own restaurant “Gaby’s” in Kingscote, Kangaroo Island. A season as head chef of Breathtaker Ski Lodge in the winter of 1986 followed, then several positions in restaurants in Port Douglas North Queensland before heading overseas to several jobs including Head Chef Johnny’s Wine Bar Earlsfield, London and Saucier of the acclaimed Kensington Place Restaurant. A ski season as saucier in a Michelin Star restaurant in Kitzbul, Austria and then back to London to work as Head Chef at Coates Restaurant and Bar, London Wall. Back to Australia in 1990, to work as second chef at Fish of Melbourne Street where his interest in Bush Foods was initiated. Positions at LeEntrecote Brasserie, Eagle on the Hill Hotel and Cafe 48 preceded his appointment as Executive Chef at the Red Ochre Grill in Adelaide. Craig was instrumental in the setting up of the Adelaide Red Ochre and worked there for the first eighteen months before heading north to open the Red Ochre in Cairns. The Red Ochre Grill Adelaide was the winner of the American Express Best Restaurant Award, Advertiser Good Food Guide Best Restaurant and South Australia Tourism Awards Best restaurant during my time there. Craig is a member of The Catering Institute of Australia and le Toque Blanche International. Red Ochre Grill Cairns opened its doors in April 1994 and has been well received by Cairns businesses, tourists and locals alike. Specialising in Australian Native Cuisine, the restaurant has draw widespread acclaim and media interest. His experience in the successful use of Australian Bush Foods is probably the most acclaimed and long standing in Australia. In 2001 the Red Ochre Grill was listed in the Top 100 Restaurants in Australia in the respected Mietta’s Australian Restaurant guide. He was privileged to be included in Mietta’s Great Australian Chefs released in 1999. His recipes have appeared in other quality cookbooks including; Simply Australia, Fine Food from Country Australia, Dining High, and other smaller publications. In 2000 he was finalist of the Queensland Signature Dish. With his business partners James Fielke, Gabrielle Cooney, they have setup a catering branch, which is doing extremely well. They cater daily for Frankland Island Cruises, and several other quality day tours. Successfully catered to many Conference and Incentive events including the Financial Planners Association Gala Dinner in October 1998 for 2700 people and the Australian Tourism Commissions Dreamtime 98 Luncheon on the Barron River Power Station Bridge. During the last 8 years Craig has completed many successful guest chef roles overseas promoting Australia and Australian Cuisine, these include Auckland, New Zealand in 1993 to open S.A. Tourism House, May 96. He represented S.A. Tourism for a sister city promotion in Austin Texas cooking the Gala Dinner for the Adelaide Lord Mayor and 150 guests. During November 1997, 99 and 2000 he travelled to Shanghai in China for two weeks each year to Guest Chef at the Hilton Hotel’s ‘Australia Week’ Promotion, in the 2000 visit. He was instrumental in initiating 2 Queensland government promotion dinners to promote under-utilised species. During 1998 Craig organised his Second Chefs from Red Ochre to represent Tourism Queensland in Singapore and Taiwan. Craig designed all the menus, order lists, customs requirements to ship bush foods and Australian game, trained staff to prepare these dishes. Craig is very confident in dealing with media and interviews. During 2000 and 2001 he has been active in forming a regional food industry group. The aims being promotion and networking of regional foods and cuisine, this has created government funding to appoint a regional food co-ordinator to advance the goals such as creating a regional food trail. I am also active in education of apprentices and the public in the use of Bush Foods and give lectures and presentations at TAFE and for the Department of Primary Industry. |
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