Quay chef joins Three Blue Ducks to create ‘our most elevated experience yet’

The Three Blue Ducks team has recruited Troy Cristante, former co-head chef at Sydney’s three-hatted Quay, to lead their new restaurant when it opens at the Southern Highlands in April.

“It will certainly be our most elevated Three Blue Ducks experience,” says the group’s chef and co-owner Darren Robertson. “We didn’t want this to be another cookie cutter of what we’re doing at [The Farm] in Byron.”

The ambitious new venture transforms a centuries-old farmhouse into Three Blue Ducks Burradoo. A 50-seat dining room will overlook the grounds of Burradoo Park Farm, a 600-acre agritourism destination created by billionaire philanthropist Annie Cannon-Brookes.

Few restaurant kitchens have such immediate access to the land, says Cristante. It will allow him to create a six- to eight-course set menu that changes in step with the seasons, using “ingredients that are only available today, or this week”.

While nothing is set in stone, each course will be grounded by a singular ingredient. Starters might showcase smoked Burradoo Park beef, sour berry koshu or spring lamb. Larger courses will honour the whole animal, potentially featuring two or three cuts from a single beast.

Cristante spent the past 15 years at the pinnacle of Sydney hospitality, working at Fink group restaurants including Bennelong and Firedoor. He finished his tenure alongside renowned executive chef Peter Gilmore at Quay in February, when the legendary restaurant closed after almost four decades of service.

“I loved my experience at Quay,” he says. “I basically grew up [within Fink], but as I got older, I wanted to expand.”

The opportunity to develop a high-profile new restaurant with the backing of the Three Blue Ducks was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”, he says. And its location, in the small town of Burradoo, between Bowral and Moss Vale, was the clincher: “My dad lives [in the Highlands], so I’m already there two or three times a week. I love the area.”

For the Ducks, Cristante heralds the beginning of a new era. It has been 15 years since they opened their first cafe in Bronte, and they don’t want to slow down.

“[Cristante] has come at a really good time [because] we were ready to raise our game,” says MasterChef judge and Three Blue Ducks co-owner Andy Allen.

“The assumption is, the bigger you get, the more you take your eyes off the road … and we want the opposite [but] we are 15 years in, and we did need a bit of help.

“We’re still passionate, we’re still busy, but bringing on Troy has already seen positive changes throughout the other restaurants in terms of evolving what’s on the plate, the culture and the restaurant experience.”

But don’t expect Three Blue Ducks Burradoo to lose that “Three Blue Ducks magic”, says Allen. The restaurant aims to bring the story of the farm to life, without compromising the wholesome simplicity at the core of the Ducks’ brand.

“We want things to remain in more of their natural state,” says Crisante. “But in terms of the finesse and the love that goes into the dishes, and the thoughtfulness behind it, I don’t think anything really changes.”

Three Blue Ducks Burradoo is expected to open within weeks of the Ducks’ neighbouring bakery and casual cafe, The Farmhouse, both set to launch in April.