Gault&Millau Award presented to Mathew Chan
This year the prestigious Gault&Millau Yellow Rose Award goes to Mathew Chan, recognising 50 years of extraordinary commitment, resilience and excellence as restaurateur of Peacock Gardens!
Gault&Millau Australia’s Yellow Rose Award each year goes to the chef, restauratuer or restaurant that has most successfully overcome the many obstacles thrown in their path by the tumultuous hospitality industry.
It’s no mean feat that Mathew’s beloved Peacock Gardens Restaurant has remained a favourite with Crows Nest locals since it opened in 1975. This enduring success is due in large part to Mathew’s extraordinary commitment to old-style management of the business. He prides himself on warmly greeting and getting to know every diner who walks through the door, and making each person feel welcome.
Of course as many of us know, it hasn’t all been plain sailing. In 1993, Mathew suffered a debilitating stroke, but instead of retiring gracefully to a life of leisure, Mathew showed enormous courage and perseverance in returning to work just nine months later. To this day, Mathew remains one of the hardest-working restaurateurs in Australia, and is held in high esteem by peers, employees and customers alike.
Over the years we have Mathew to thank for introducing Australia to many Chinese culinary gems we now take for granted – such as San choi bao and fortune cookies, and he has transformed the nature of Chinese fine dining in Australia.
Gault&Millau Australia applaud Mathew for his 50+ years in the Australian hospitality industry, and for inspiring the next generation of restaurateurs with remarkable longevity, unwavering tenacity and unsurpassed commitment.
Our heartfelt congratulations go to Mathew, for this well deserved recognition within the industry.