Dan Lidgard has always known he was meant to be a chef. Growing up in Mt Maunganui, New Zealand, he was drawn to the kitchen from an early age and never looked back. His career has taken him through some of Australia’s best restaurants, including Stokehouse and Attica, where he honed his skills and developed his own bold, produce-driven style. Now, as executive chef at Patsy’s, Bau Bau, and Bistro Elba, he’s creating dishes that are fun, fresh, and packed with flavour. It is obvious from talking with Dan that he loves cooking and can’t imagine doing anything else. He kept popping up on my radar as other chefs mentioned him in glowing terms and then I read Broadsheet’s recent article about the ‘cool’ chefs cooking in Bouldering Gym carparks. Dan is one of them, joining mate and founder of Pebble at La Roca, Cameron Tay-Yap this Sunday to cook up an Italian feast. It was high time I chatted to Dan and I am so glad I did.
