Christian Ryan began his training fresh out of high school in one of Hobart’s busiest and long-running institutions, Da Angelo’s, almost 20 years ago. Repetition, speed and consistency formed the basis of the first few years of his cooking career.

“At the time,” he said, “as an enthusiastic 18-year-old, doing those same prep jobs every day, felt repetitive and so far from the chefs I watched and read about and wanted so much to be like. However, in hindsight, those lessons were such a gift. Learning from the very beginning the huge importance of speed, quality and consistency combined with a strong work ethic became the most important building blocks that helped shape where I am as a chef today.”

Christian finished the final year of his apprenticeship at the hatted restaurant, Taxi Dining Room, under Head Chef, Michael Lambie. This was followed by a move to London to see where it could take him. After a few days of dropping resumes, he was called in for a trial with the Gordon Ramsay group and offered a job working under the chef team, which was set with the task of the grand opening of the Savoy Grill inside the prestigious Savoy hotel.

Once his visa ended, Christian returned to Hobart ready to save some money, sort a new visa, and continue his travels; however, something had changed in Hobart while he was gone. The recently opened Mona Museum had helped breathe new life into the sleepy city. Around 18 months after his return, completely out of the blue and at a time he definitely did not feel ready to open his own restaurant, the most amazing blank space popped up that was too good to turn down. So, alongside his then partner, Heiki Stanley, and business partner, Will Priestly, Aløft Restaurant was conceived and built.

Eight years later, Aløft is going as strong as ever, but Christian will happily admit, “It was not an easy ride. Opening Aloft was by far the steepest but also most rewarding learning curve of my career.”