Awards & Recognition

One of Australia's Most Awarded Chefs

Gault&Millau Chef of the Year

In 2016, Gault&Millau Australia named Grant King Chef of the Year - the No.1 chef in the country. Their published citation gave the reason plainly:

"Gault&Millau Australia believes that Grant does not get the recognition of the industry that we feel he deserves, so he is this year's winner of the Chef of the Year Award." - Gault&Millau Australia, 2016 Chef of the Year

Gault&Millau is the French guide that scores restaurants on a strict twenty-point technical system. That year they scored Gastro Park 18 out of 20 and named it among the Top 20 restaurants in Australia. An 18/20 under their system sits in the same technical band as two and three Michelin-starred restaurants internationally.

Gastro Park was Grant's own restaurant, opened in 2011 with no investor and no group behind it.

Career at a Glance

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National Recognition

Three Chef Hats

Grant took The Pier to three chef hats, the highest rating awarded by Australia's Good Food Guide, and held them for five consecutive years. Fewer than a dozen restaurants in the country hold three hats in any given year.

The hats were never downgraded. They were relinquished when Grant left the restaurant.

Gault&Millau Chef of the Year

In 2016, Gault&Millau Australia named Grant its national Chef of the Year, and scored Gastro Park 18 out of 20 - among the highest-rated restaurants in the country, and named in their Top 20 restaurants in Australia.

Two years earlier, the 2014 Gault&Millau Australia Guide awarded Gastro Park four toques, certified by Chief Judge Mark Dorrell.

Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year

In 2008, Gourmet Traveller named The Pier Australia's Restaurant of the Year. The guide's chief critic wrote that he had visited every three-star restaurant in the country that year, and that the meals at Pier "really stood out. They were just flawless." He compared it to New York's Le Bernardin, writing that Pier "both defines and transcends the genre."

The Pier also held three Gourmet Traveller stars.

🔗 SMH review of The Pier: Read the Full Article‍ ‍

🔗 Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year coverage: Read the Full Article‍ ‍

International Recognition

While Grant led The Pier, it was ranked No. 98 in the San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants - one of a small number of Australian restaurants ever to receive global recognition through the World's 50 Best programme.

Grant trained in New Zealand and then in Europe, including Michelin-starred kitchens in the United Kingdom, before moving to Sydney in 2003. In Gault&Millau's words, he "honed his skills in some of the best restaurants in Europe."

For international readers: chef hats are Australia's equivalent of Michelin stars, awarded by the Good Food Guide. Three hats is the highest rating in the country.

Two Restaurants, Both Awarded

The Pier, 2003–2011

Grant joined The Pier in 2003 as sous chef under Greg Doyle and was head chef within months. Under his leadership the restaurant achieved:

  • Three chef hats, held five consecutive years

  • Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year, 2008

  • Three Gourmet Traveller stars

  • San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants, #98

  • The Pier Cookbook, co-authored with Greg Doyle

Gastro Park, 2011–2017

Rather than stay at one of Australia's best restaurants, Grant left to build his own - without an investor or a group behind him. Gastro Park achieved:

  • Two chef hats and two Gourmet Traveller stars in its first year

  • Four toques, Gault&Millau Australia, 2014

  • Gault&Millau 18/20, 2016

  • Gault&Millau Chef of the Year, 2016

  • Named in Gault&Millau's Top 20 restaurants in Australia

In 2017 Grant rebranded Gastro Park as The Antipodean - deliberately not fine dining, built around the finest Australian and New Zealand produce. It earned a chef hat. He closed it after nine months, on his own terms.

🔗 2008 The Pier Cookbook:

🔗 NZ Edge, "Most Promising Restaurant", The Antipodean: Read the full Article

Television and Publishing

Guest judge, MasterChef Australia, across multiple seasons. Grant's liquid butternut gnocchi spherification was set as a pressure test challenge - contestants described the brief as impossible, and Grant demonstrated it live.

Co-author, The Pier Cookbook, with Greg Doyle.

Executive Chef and Director of Food & Beverage, QT Sydney (2018) - leading one of Australia's highest-profile hotel dining operations.

🔗 News.com.au, MasterChef gnocchi challenge: Read the Full Article

🔗 Daily Telegraph, Grant King returns to MasterChef: Read the Full Article

Independent Reviews

Grant's reputation has been built through independent assessment rather than promotion. His work has been reviewed by Australia's leading food critics.

"I knew King would be good, but this is really good." - Terry Durack, Chief Restaurant Critic, Sydney Morning Herald

"At Gastro Park, all the fine-dining trappings are gone, but the sense of adventure, the culinary bravado and the diamond-hard skills remain. It's not cheap, but you get more than you pay for. It's an exciting restaurant, and one we're lucky to have." - Pat Nourse, Gourmet Traveller

"There is purity in King's work, a generosity and a kooky theatricality. The execution is flawless, the unfussy harmony of flavours belying the skill of composition." - Gault&Millau

"Grant's inventive presentations can be compared with an Australian Heston Blumenthal." - JRM Hospitality

Grant's restaurants have also been reviewed by John Lethlean in The Australian, across both Gastro Park and The Antipodean.

🔗 Click here to Read Full Article

Selected Media

Gourmet Traveller - Gastro Park Review. Pat Nourse's full review. 🔗 Read the Full Article

Sydney Morning Herald - In the King's Playground (2011). The SMH feature on the opening of Gastro Park. 🔗Read the Full Article

The Australian - Playtime in the Gastro Park (2011). John Lethlean reviews Gastro Park. 🔗 Read the Full Article

Gourmet Traveller (2013) - Game of Thrones Dinners at Gastro Park. Pat Nourse covers Grant's Game of Thrones themed dinners: five courses, dishes rendered from the series. 🔗 Read the Full Article

Molecular Recipes - Gastro Park: Australian Molecular Gastronomy. An international feature on Gastro Park as one of Australia's leading modern cuisine restaurants. 🔗 Read the Full Article

CEO Magazine - Playground of Food: Gastro Park Sydney. A profile of Grant and the food philosophy behind Gastro Park.

🔗 Access the Article here

Export Fresh - Chef of the Month: Grant King at Gastro Park. Grant's approach to produce: the petite rainbow carrots, micro coriander, sorrel and marigolds that defined the Gastro Park aesthetic. 🔗 Read the Full Article

Sydney Morning Herald - The Antipodean Review (2017). 🔗Read the Full Article

The Australian - Sydney's Antipodean: Simply a Local Hero (2017). John Lethlean on Grant's shift from Gastro Park to The Antipodean.

🔗 Read the Full Article

Concrete Playground - Gastro Park to Close, Making Way for Grant King's Newest Venture. 🔗 Read the Full Article

Broadsheet Sydney - The Chef Behind Gastro Park and The Antipodean. Broadsheet on Grant as the chef who built two of Sydney's most significant dining concepts. 🔗 Read the Full Article

Hospitality Magazine - Chef Grant King Announces Next Sydney Opening. 🔗 Read the Full Article

Hospitality Magazine - Executive Chef and Director of F&B, QT Sydney (2018). 🔗 Read the Full Article

Australian Financial Review - Hotel Restaurants Up Their Game (2018). 🔗 Read the Full Article

The Saturday Paper - Blackberry Pavlovas (2026). A recent feature including Grant's recipe. 🔗 Read the Full Article

A Rare Career in Australian Gastronomy

Grant King's career combines a collection of achievements rarely held by a single Australian chef:

✓ Three chef hats, retained five consecutive years

✓ Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year

✓ Three Gourmet Traveller stars

✓ Two chef hats at a second restaurant he founded himself

✓ Two Gourmet Traveller stars at Gastro Park

✓ Four toques, Gault&Millau Australia

✓ Gault&Millau Chef of the Year

✓ Gault&Millau score of 18/20

✓ San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants

✓ Guest judge, MasterChef Australia

✓ Co-author, The Pier Cookbook

Grant King's career has been recognised through Australia's leading culinary institutions, international restaurant rankings, respected food critics and independent industry awards, creating one of the strongest publicly documented records of achievement in Australian fine dining.

2003Joined The Pier, Rose Bay, as sous chef; promoted to head chef within months
2003–2004Maintained The Pier's two chef hats
2005Took The Pier to three chef hats
2005–2010Held three chef hats for five consecutive years
2008Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year — Australia's best restaurant
2008The Pier ranked #98, San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants
2008Co-authored The Pier Cookbook
2011Founded Gastro Park — two chef hats and two Gourmet Traveller stars in its first year
2014Four toques, Gault&Millau Australia Guide
2016Gault&Millau Chef of the Year; Gastro Park 18/20, Top 20 in Australia
2017The Antipodean — one chef hat
TodayGrant King Chef and Smile Catering

  • Grant King was named Gault&Millau Australia Chef of the Year in 2016, with Gastro Park scoring 18 out of 20 and named among the Top 20 restaurants in Australia. He took The Pier to three chef hats, held for five consecutive years, and to Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year in 2008 and a place on the San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list at number 98. Gastro Park earned two chef hats and two Gourmet Traveller stars in its first year, and four toques in the 2014 Gault&Millau Guide.

  • Yes. Grant joined The Pier in 2003 when it held two chef hats, maintained them, and took the restaurant to three chef hats in 2005, held for five consecutive years. The hats were never downgraded; they were relinquished when Grant left the restaurant.

  • Gault&Millau Australia named Grant King Chef of the Year in 2016, stating in their published citation that Grant does not get the recognition of the industry that they feel he deserves. They scored his restaurant Gastro Park 18 out of 20 and named it among the Top 20 restaurants in Australia.

  • Chef hats are Australia's most prestigious restaurant rating, awarded by the Good Food Guide, and are the Australian equivalent of Michelin stars. Three hats is the highest rating in the country and is held by fewer than a dozen restaurants in any given year.

  • Gault&Millau is a French restaurant guide that scores on a strict twenty-point system based on technique and execution. A score of 18 out of 20 sits in the same technical band as two and three Michelin-starred restaurants internationally.

  • Grant trained in New Zealand and then in Europe, including Michelin-starred kitchens in the United Kingdom, before moving to Sydney in 2003. Gault&Millau described him as having honed his skills in some of the best restaurants in Europe.

  • Grant King created five-course Game of Thrones themed menus at Gastro Park in 2012 and 2013, with dishes inspired by scenes from the series. The first sold out almost immediately. The 2013 launch was attended by Michelle Fairley, who played Catelyn Stark in the series.

A man with curly hair and a black shirt is sitting at a table with messy food and drinks, gesturing with his hands, in a cozy room with candles in the background.
Photograph of three chefs in a restaurant kitchen, standing and sitting in white chef uniforms, with tall tables and chairs in the background.
Promotional graphic for a collaboration between Grant King and Blake Thorneley, featuring their black and white photos, with green foliage background and text indicating it's a four-hands collaboration by Mozaic.
Four men, including a chef in a white uniform with crossed arms, standing in a restaurant with warm lighting and wood decor.
Close-up of a green apple with frothy bubbles on its surface, with a blurred row of similar apples in the background. Text overlay reads 'PLUMER' and author names Greg Doyle, Grant King, and Katrina Kanetani.
A man in a chef's uniform holding a tray with a metal dome cover in a restaurant or hotel kitchen.
Four people at an award ceremony, two men in suits with yellow flowers on their lapels, a woman holding a box, and another man holding a plate with text, standing in front of a backdrop of colorful produce and a chalkboard sign.
The image shows a magazine or brochure page featuring an article about Grant King, the 2016 Chef of the Year. The article's headline is prominently displayed on the left side, along with a photograph of Grant King and some text describing his backgro
Two pages of a restaurant ranking publication. The left page features a close-up photo of food in a black bowl, garnished with edible flowers and herbs. Below is the restaurant name 'Gastro Park' and a description of the chef, Grant King. The right p
Gourmet dish with a piece of white fish topped with sliced almonds, garnished with green herbs, black sauce dots, and black charcoal pieces, presented on a white background.
Three stylized beer mugs with foam on top, outlined in a soft pinkish color, on a dark background.
A man in a white chef's coat standing in front of a wall with white mosaic tiles. There is a black sign with white letters spelling 'GASTRO' and other words or symbols below.
Certificate awarded to Gastro Park, reviewed by Gault & Millau Australia, 2014 Guide, featuring illustrated chef's gloves at the bottom.
Empty restaurant dining area with black chairs and tables, large windows with curtains, green plants, and modern decor.
Cover of the 2018 Australian Restaurant Guide featuring a grapefruit with coconut cream and a background of a glass of beverages.
A man in a white shirt holding a large fish above his head, with water pouring off the fish, in a body of water with trees and docks in the background.
A bowl of assorted candies with a chocolate bark topped with chopped nuts resting on its edge, set on a dark plate with a dark background. A glass pitcher of dark liquid is visible in the background.
Gourmet dish with brown glazed meat, fresh green herbs, white sauce, and edible flowers on a white background.
A newspaper article with the headline 'Wizardry on a plate' about park food at Gastro Park in Sydney. Includes a photo of a restaurant interior with people dining and a chef preparing food.
A magazine page featuring a smiling man in a white chef's coat with the word 'PIER' embroidered on it, standing against a light purple background. Text describes Sydney's Pier restaurant hosting guest chef Grant King.
A magazine opened to a food review section featuring photos of a restaurant dining area, plated dishes, and chef Pat Nourse standing in the kitchen.
Screenshot of an online news article from herworld.com featuring a photo of celebrity chef Grant King. The webpage shows headlines and links to various topics including dining experiences, food reviews, and events. The site has a navigation bar with
Press release from Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority about chefs Greg Doyle and Grant King traveling to Abu Dhabi for a culinary festival. Includes photo of two chefs in white chef coats.
Three stylized hockey masks in a row on a dark background.
Magazine cover titled 'hospitality' with a picture of a man in a white chef coat and curly hair, standing in front of a meal. The cover includes headlines about chefs and kitchen equipment.
A yellow certificate titled 'Gastro Park' awarded to 'Gault & Millau Australia' for 2014, with signatures at the bottom and illustration of four chef hats.
Close-up photo of a fried fish fillet topped with a crispy lattice of fried garlic, garnished with red chili strips, set against a dark background.
A magazine page featuring a large, colorful dessert topped with pink and red flowers, pomegranate seeds, and thin orange slices. The dessert is presented on a textured white plate.
A man in a white shirt holding a large fish above his head on a dock beside water, with trees and a building in the background. The fish appears to be a kingfish and water is spilling from its mouth.
Photograph of the Sydney Harbour Bridge with a yacht sailing underneath and boats in the water, and buildings along the harbor.
A page from a newspaper or magazine featuring a story about Greg Doyle and Grant King traveling to Abu Dhabi, with photos of the chefs and staff related to the event, including two chefs in white uniforms, a man holding an award, and a group of staff
Restaurant review for Gastro Park, highlighting playful child drawings, chef Grant King, and seafood dishes like calamari with ink sauce.
Screenshot of a webpage from herworld.com featuring an article titled "Up Close and Personal with Celeb Chef, Grant King" published on April 27, 2010, with a photo of a smiling man in a white chef's coat, credited to Pier Restaurant, Sydney. The webp