Interview with Chef Rob Cockerill

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A New Era of Bennelong

26 September, 2026

Words by:

Sarah Palmieri

After more than a decade working under Peter Gilmore, Rob Cockerill has taken over the reins of Bennelong as Executive Head Chef. We speak with him about his relationship to food and what he has in store for one of Australia's most storied restaurants.

With every change of the guard comes great responsibility, and this one plays out inside the Opera House, carrying the prestige that has helped define Australia's fine dining scene.

All cities can be defined by a great restaurant, or a landmark, or in some cases, a person. For me, New York is Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin, Anthony Bourdain at Brasserie Les Halles, Missy Robbins at Lilia. Copenhagen is René Redzepi at Noma, controversy included. Paris is Alain Ducasse at Le Meurice, and London: the infamous Ruth Rogers at The River Cafe

Sydney is the Opera House, and quite possibly the most beautiful restaurant I’ve ever sat in. Towering glass windows, concrete beams, and what might be Australia’s best view straight out over the Harbour.

Bennelong sits inside the smaller shells of Jørn Utzon’s Opera House, making its cultural currency as a restaurant pretty easily earned. It opened in its current form in July 2015 under the Fink Group, on a site that spent the decade before as Guillaume Brahimi’s Guillaume at Bennelong, a French fine-dining heavyweight known for it’s basil infused tuna and foie gras. Today it holds Two Hats in the Good Food Guide, spread across a main dining room, a brass-topped counter, a private table for twelve, and the Dress Circle looking out over the Harbour Bridge.

For most of us, Bennelong means Peter Gilmore, the man behind the Snow Egg, the dessert that gave MasterChef some of its most memorable episodes. Gilmore spent around 25 years at the helm of Quay, taking the restaurant to The World’s 50 Best and three Restaurant of the Year titles from the Good Food Guide along the way. He opened Bennelong in 2015 and stayed on as executive chef until the middle of this year.

But like all the greats, there comes a time when the baton must be passed on. John Galliano to Glenn Martens. Bon Scott to Brian Johnson. Anna Wintour to Chloe Malle.

And so, after closing Quay in February this year, Peter Gilmore stepped away from Bennelong and headed south to Tasmania, where he’s put down roots on his farm by the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. That made room for a new master to step in: Rob Cockerill, who has spent close to two decades working alongside him. He was senior sous chef at Quay for seven years, then helped open Bennelong as head chef.

Cockerill has largely skipped the celebrity that comes with being a great fine dining chef. Perhaps that’s because he’s spent more than a decade inside these institutions, refining his craft at the same silver benchtop, rather than collecting Michelin accolades around the globe.

It’s that dedication to Australian hospitality that shines through on his new menu: coral trout with braised leek and bergamot emulsion; purebred Black Angus with parsley, kombu, horseradish and maitake mushrooms; and a dessert of sour cherry, dark chocolate and almond. Alongside them sit the Bennelong signatures: the Pavlova, shaped like the curves of the Opera House sails; Western Australian marron with finger lime, ume and buckwheat pikelets; and roasted Wollemi duck with preserved cherries, blackberry, rosehip and radicchio tardivo.

We sat down with Cockerill to learn more about who he is and what the future holds for one of the country’s finest restaurants.

Can you take me back to a moment when you fell in love with cooking?
I’ve always been interested in food and produce. Cooking felt like a natural fit, and it’s something I’ve enjoyed from a young age. The more I learned about ingredients and where they came from, the more I was drawn to it.

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had, one in a restaurant and one that had nothing to do with one?
I’m very lucky to have dined in many wonderful restaurants. One place that blew my mind every time I dined was Sydney’s beloved Sepia, before it closed its doors back in late 2018. Martin Benn and Vicki Wild always delivered such an inspiring, slick experience with wonderfully delicious food.

The cheeseburger at The Stuffed Beaver in Bondi is consistently one of the best burgers in town.

You’ve spent so many years between Quay and Bennelong. What’s kept you there, when a lot of chefs at your level move around?
The opportunity to keep learning. I’ve been fortunate to work alongside Pete for over two decades and there’s always been something new to learn from him.

The relationships have been a big part of it too. Working closely with suppliers, farmers, fishers and producers gives you a real connection to the ingredients. Those relationships are incredibly important and have kept things constantly interesting.

What do you want Bennelong to be, from here?
I want Bennelong to continue being one of Australia’s great dining experiences.

We have an incredible setting, but it’s the people that bring guests back. The goal is to keep evolving while staying true to what makes Bennelong special: celebrating Australian ingredients and genuine hospitality.

Where do you sit on the idea that fine dining is losing its relevance?
I don’t think it’s losing relevance, I think it’s changing.

People still want quality and memorable experiences and what they’re looking for now is great food and hospitality.

Is there a dish you’re especially proud of that you could walk me through, the thinking and work that go into it?
The Sydney rock oyster with lemon pepper granita.

It was the first dish I put my stamp on at Bennelong. Lemon and pepper is a classic pairing with oysters, but I wanted to make it feel uniquely ours. It’s a simple dish, but simplicity is often the hardest thing to get right, and the fact it’s still on the menu says a lot.

What does it mean to you to be an Australian chef, and to build a menu that celebrates that? Where do you think Australian hospitality sits on the world stage right now?
Being an Australian chef means having access to some of the best produce in the world, and a responsibility to showcase it well.

We’re fortunate to work with incredible farmers, fishers and producers, and they shape the menu as much as we do.

As for Australian hospitality, I think it’s among the best anywhere.

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