Taking the role of Head Chef at Clare Smyth’s new Australian venture during a pandemic was challenging for young chef, Alan Stuart, but he wasn’t daunted. While his Executive Chef was locked out of the country, he set up the day-to-day operations of the Oncore kitchen, carrying on the same commitment to excellence and uncompromising pursuit of culinary perfection of Clare’s London restaurant, Core. Alan trained at the Culinary Institute of New Zealand and, after he finished, he headed overseas. He has since worked in some of the world’s most renowned Michelin-starred kitchens. From Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London, Daniel Humm’s three Michelin-star Eleven Madison Park in New York and Bjorn Frantzen’s three Michelin-star restaurant Frantzen in Stockholm,

Alan has earned himself a truly comprehensive global understanding of fine dining. In September 2020, Alan stepped down from his role at Frantzen and returned to London to join the team at Core to undertake the planning and development of Clare’s first international restaurant, Oncore by Clare Smyth at Crown in Sydney.

Alan first worked with Clare in 2012 whilst she was Chef Patron at the three Michelin-starred restaurant, Gordon Ramsay. Here, he realised they shared a passion for natural, sustainable food and it came easily to work alongside her again, albeit remotely, when he moved to Sydney in 2021 to plan, develop and execute a world-class dining experience for guests at her new restaurant.

From age 10, Alan said he knew he wanted to be a chef. “It all started at primary school,” he said, “where we had to set up an enterprise project to sell our homemade goods. I still remember being in the kitchen with my Mum making chocolates and fudge to sell at the school fair, and that is where my passion first began.”

“And today, although classically French-trained, I love to take inspiration from different cultures and cuisines and incorporate those together to inspire a restaurant’s design and food.”