THE EXTRA TASTE PERCEPTION OF ESP
all about “theIt’skitchen the heart and soul.
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You don’t need a sixth sense to know the menu of a high-end degustation only restaurant needs to surprise and delight knowledgeable diners. At Estelle by Scott Pickett (ESP) in Melbourne, the quality of people, produce and equipment ensures this experience is always delivered.
With Estelle Bistro and St Crispin gaining accolades and loyal customers Scott Picket was looking to expand his restaurant range in 2015. When an opportunity to secure the vacant space next to Estelle Bistro arose he jumped at it. He then set about realising his vision of a bespoke, high-end dining restaurant - the perfect complement to the relaxed experience of the bistro next door. The 52-seat restaurant has been busy since opening mid-2015, with the six-strong kitchen team delivering an ever-changing sevencourse degustation menu. Here the focus is on quality seasonal ingredients combined with Pickett’s renowned inventiveness and skill. Each dish is delicate and exquisitely crafted, yet robust and full of flavour. “We aim to take diners on a journey, and we work hard to ensure each dish complements the next,” says Pickett. “The menu is a living, breathing thing. Which is why we try to change it every week, and we’re constantly evolving and keeping things interesting.”
“The rest all comes down to flavour and taste. We look at the structure of a dish and, minutely into all its characteristics. Then we see what we can do to perfect it,” he says. When it came to designing the restaurant itself, Pickett called upon the talents of renowned international architectural firm Hirsch Bedner Associates. He admits the kitchen planning came first and foremost in the brief. “This is what happens when a chef designs a restaurant,” says Pickett. “It’s all about the kitchen - the heart and soul.” “We wanted to create some theatre by putting the kitchen on show. So customers can see our intensive mindset and how busy we are during service.” The intensity of the experience was matched with a suitably intense range of equipment. Pickett went with a Moffat Waldorf Bold line up for the kitchen, the dramatic vitreous black enamel finish providing a suitable canvas on which a greater artwork could be created. “I chose black as I wanted the food and the customers to add the life and colour to the space,” he says.
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