‘There’s always a time limit’: Otto Brisbane to lose star chef

For 10 years, Otto Brisbane has been Will Cowper, and Will Cowper Otto Brisbane.

From its early days in the 480 Queen development in the CBD, through the dark early months of the pandemic, and then onto its new digs on the river in South Bank, Cowper has been given free rein by Sydney-based owners Fink Group to run this upmarket riverside Italian like it’s his own.

Soon, though, Cowper will be gone, the head chef announcing that dinner on March 28 will be his last service in the kitchen. Replacing him is Otto Sydney head chef Richard Ptacnik, who will work between the two restaurants. Ptacnik’s menu is already in place.

“That does suddenly make it feel real,” Cowper says. “It’s bittersweet. But that’s part of the reason we’re doing it this way, with such a long handover, because I’m a big believer in Fink and Otto.

“He came up a couple of weeks ago for a week, and he’s back now for a week. And it’s about getting diners to understand that the restaurant is going to continue with the same mentality, that same drive and standard of food. Doing it side by side, people can see I believe in the future of the restaurant.”

Cowper’s future, though, now lies elsewhere. He says he’s not yet at liberty to disclose where – only that he’ll be involved as an owner.

“That’s always been the end game,” he says. “I was still super happy; I wasn’t out there searching. I love Otto and Fink Group. But there’s always a time limit.”

It’s difficult to overstate Cowper’s impact on the local food scene since Otto opened in Brisbane in 2016. Fink was first in a new wave of southern restaurant groups that took the Queensland capital seriously, and Cowper was encouraged to make the restaurant his own.

“[Then creative director] John [Fink] was a big backer for me to come up here,” Cowper says. “I’ve thanked him so much for having that trust in me. [Owner] Leon [Fink] too. They’ve always said, ‘You continue to do what you’re doing, it’s amazing.’ They don’t stomp on your toes or try to get you to do it a certain way.”

“We’ve helped suppliers evolve. We could show them, through our diners, that Brisbane wanted more.”

Will Cowper

Cowper, too, was prominent among new arrivals in town in demanding better produce from local suppliers. Seafood was a particular focus – gone are the bad old days when much of the Queensland catch used to bypass Brisbane for the larger markets in Sydney and Melbourne, only for the leftovers to bounce back north.

“We’ve helped suppliers evolve,” Cowper says. “We could show them, through our diners, that Brisbane wanted more.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Ptacnik. He’s aligned the two restaurants’ menus other than a handful of signature dishes (no, Cowper’s champagne lobster spaghettini isn’t going anywhere), but says that shouldn’t be mistaken for Sydney self-satisfaction.

“I’m going to be here on a weekly basis,” Ptacnik says. “I’ve been cooking since I was 15, basically. That’s all I do. And now it’s time to start discovering food from the different states. I was really keen to come up, to basically work with the farmers the fishers, because of all the great Queensland produce Will works with.

“Brisbane is like a city on steroids. Every five minutes something is opening. It’s exciting, unbelievable. So many great restaurants, so many great producers.

“When we found out that Will was definitely leaving, I asked, ‘What is next [for Otto Brisbane], because I really wanted to come up and do this.’”

Cowper and Ptacnik working together on the pass is a neat full-circle moment for the two chefs, with Cowper having left a sous position in Sydney under Ptacnik to open Otto Brisbane.

“We have to stand there together,” Cowper says. “Show regulars that nothing is changing too much … but there’s also some nostalgia working side by side. It’s been a decade but he’s still the same person. It’s been really comfortable.”