Neil Perry - Career

Career

Prior to joining the hospitality industry Perry started an apprenticeship as a hairdresser before dropping out and working as a waiter. This is where he found his calling as a chef.

Perry's career in the hospitality industry began with managing Sails restaurants at the Sydney suburb of McMahons Point, and then at Rose Bay. This was where most of Neil's floor management skills were learnt. By the time he was 24 he found himself gravitating towards the kitchen, and realised his passion for cooking by working with, and learning from over the ensuing years, chefs such as Damien Pignolet, Gay Bilson, Stephanie Alexander, Steve Manfredi and David Thompson. Although he uses the title, Perry never actually completed a chef apprenticeship.

Neil became head chef at Barrenjoey Restaurant, Palm Beach and was given creative control over Perry’s in Paddington. In October 1986, Neil opened the Blue Water Grill at Bondi Beach which became an overnight success. He then opened Rockpool in February 1989 with his business partner and cousin Trish Richards.

In 2007, Perry opened Rockpool Bar & Grill in Melbourne. Less formal than Rockpool, the restaurant is an upmarket steakhouse, located in Crown Casino. High quality beef cooked over wood-fire grill, supported by a modern and international à la carte menu form the backbone of the food served. In spite of the riskiness of opening a large restaurant (serving up to 200 people a day) in a venue as high profile and lucrative as Crown Casino, the restaurant has proved a major success for Perry. Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne has also received positive reviews from critics since opening, including being awarded two coveted "chefs hats" in the Melbourne Good Food Guide.

Meanwhile this same year, having maintained Rockpool for almost two decades as a Sydney fine dining restaurant, Perry finally decided to close the restaurant and reopen with a change of direction as a "casual seafood venue" instead. Perry cited a lack of will to continue operating Rockpool at the demanding and highly competitive level he had been as the main reason for the change. The restaurant was renamed Rockpool (fish) and continued to receive positive reviews in its new form.

Though this new incarnation of Rockpool as Rockpool (fish) had only been open for a brief time, in mid-2008 Perry had a change of heart and suddenly announced that Rockpool would be returning to its original form as a fine-diner. As Perry put it: "Rockpool classic". The restaurant has since reopened, with an ethos and menu akin to its old form.

2009 saw the opening of two more Perry restaurants in Sydney, both located in the same art deco building on Bligh St in Sydney's CBD. First to open was Spice Temple in the basement level. Like the now-defunct XO Perry opened in Surry Hills some years ago, Spice Temple represents another foray by Perry into more traditional Asian cuisine—specifically regional Chinese food this time—given a sophisticated polish. Spice Temple was soon followed by the opening in the above level of a sibling installment of Melbourne's successful Rockpool Bar & Grill.

Neil also heads a consultation team for the Australian flagship airline Qantas, whom which he creates and controls in-flight menus. Menus are developed quarterly for International First and Business Class travellers, with the team overseeing the implementation and introduction to catering centres at key ports.