Michelin star chef Spencer Patrick has worked in some of London’s most exclusive restaurants, but since January he has called Western Australia home.
While holidaying across Australia last year, Mr Patrick stopped in at Gracetown’s Sea Bar Beach Cafe, which opened just after Christmas following a renovation by its new owners, Kate Noone and Robert Schlegl.
Mr Patrick must have liked the view of Cowaramup Bay from the hilltop cafe because he handed in his CV to the cafe’s staff.
And it’s a pretty impressive CV, including names such as The Café Royal Grill Room and Quo Vadis, owned by Marco Pierre White, fine-dining pub The Tickell, in Whittlesford, Cambridgeshire, and No. 1 King’s Parade in Cambridge.
More recently, Mr Patrick has been cooking up a storm in Melbourne at The Trust on Flinders Lane, and Fenix in Richmond.
Ms Noone and Mr Schlegl are, not surprisingly, chuffed that Mr Patrick chose the seaside town to be his next foodie adventure. His food, they say, is simply amazing.
The pair is also behind Margaret River’s Gnarabup Beach Café, which they have operated for the past seven years.
They also own Trigg’s popular Bennion Street Café and the recently opened Scarborough Beach Café, next to the newly built Scarborough foreshore amphitheatre.
“They are all beach cafes because we have an affinity with the ocean,” Ms Noone said.
“We like finding magic little places that need a little love and we bring in some fantastic food and service.”
Mr Patrick’s menu is modern European and changes daily.
Ms Noone and Mr Schlegl bought the former Sea Star café last year and reopened The Sea Bar Beach Café just after Christmas following a renovation, which included a new kitchen.
It’s the only café in Gracetown, located near Margaret River.
