Chris Donnellan started his cooking on the Victorian Peninsula at Portsea, under the guidance of Executive Chef Craig Gorton at Peppers Delgany. This is where Chris established his yearning for cooking, picking pine mushrooms and slippery jacks in the Pine forest in the surrounding forest.

Once Chris completed his apprenticeship at Peppers Delgany, he moved to Melbourne to work with Teage Ezard at his award winning 3-Hat restaurant, Ezard. In the year he was there, he worked through the entire kitchen. In turn he took not only desire for standard and passion for food but also the skill and mind-set in what is needed to strive for quality and work with the best.

Chris then moved on to Nobu Park lane which was number 7 in the world in the World’s Top 50 and achieved 1 Michelin star in 2004. At Nobu he discovered the complexities and respect the Japanese have for there cuisine and culture.

Subsequently, Chris got a call from Teage Ezard to come back to Melbourne and head up his new restaurant Gingerboy, He felt privileged and excited by the opportunity to work on his passion for Asian cuisine and to develop his own style. Gingerboy was the first modern Asian restaurant to open in Melbourne and was an instant success. It won a chef’s hat in its first year and held on to it until his departure in 2011. In 2009, Chris won the Age Good Food Guide Young Chef of the year in Victoria and also got selected in Melbourne’s Top 100 most influential people in the same year. This award led him onto running master classes, many guest chef appearances, one being at the world acclaimed Huka Lodge in New Zealand, Izy Japanese izakaya, & Dong Dong in Singapore.

Just before finishing up at Gingerboy Chris co-authored a cookbook titled “Gingerboy” with Teage Ezard.

In 2015 Chris opened Relish & Sons gourmet kitchen & bar. Relish & Sons believe life is pretty boring without burgers and mugtails so we combined the two and a whole lot of interesting sides, relishes and chutneys to provide a rich and loving home style burger experience. Quality matters above all else and we keep a healthy food philosophy in mind by using only fresh ingredients, making our beef patties out of 100% Australian grass-fed beef, making all of our other burger patties from export quality produce and baking our buns with a reduced sugar and salt content. In the same year, Chris and his business partners opened STOKER- wood fired grill and bar.

With Street and hawker specialties from Thailand prepared under one roof – and in one room – The Racha Room is Ho Chi Minh City’s latest restaurant-cum-lounge fit for a king. It’s certainly a refined quarter for enjoying Thai-accent pan-Asian, street-influenced dishes, which have been elevated into smart and chic plates by executive chef Chris Donnellan and are served late into the night.

“I bring passion into my kitchen, along with enthusiasm, organization and creativity and the drive to push my team to learn new things everyday and be the best we can be”