This year’s Good Food Guide Trailblazer is Samuel Fraraccio, who goes by the name The Brick Chef. His custom-made ovens and grills create the flame-licked, chargrilled taste that defines the hottest menus around town.
There’s a surprising thread linking some of the most exciting restaurant dishes in Victoria right now – and it’s nothing to do with chefs, ingredients or cuisine. The impeccable sardines at city newcomer Cote Basque, the juicy toum-smothered chicken kebab at Zareh in Collingwood, the buttermilk-blanched cauliflower at destination diner Barragunda Dining, and the sambar deer at three-hatted Yiaga – all can be traced back to Samuel Fraraccio, a local artisan who designs and builds bespoke wood ovens and grills for commercial kitchens.
Widely known by his Instagram handle, The Brick Chef, Fraraccio was named on Monday as winner of The Age Good Food Guide’s Trailblazer Award presented by SevenRooms.