Anna Ugarte-Carral

Former junior sous-chef at Momofuku Seiōbo, Sydney

Sydney chef Anna Ugarte-Carral has worked at some of the world’s most ground-breaking restaurants, including Noma in Copenhagen, Lyle’s in London, and Sydney’s Firedoor and Momofuku Seiōbo.

Yet the 28-year-old chef Anna believes in keeping things simple.

“If you can make simple things more than the sum of their parts by executing them perfectly, that’s the sweet spot,” she says.

Drawn to hyper-regional food and cultural histories tied to those places, Ugarte-Carral likes to reflect those stories in her cooking. “Most of the cookbooks I prefer are 40, 50 years old,” she says. “These are time-tested recipes and you don’t have to force it. It’s a cooking style that’s naturalistic, with a purpose.”

Anna’s ongoing pursuit of knowledge is what drives her in the kitchen. “Each time you can do something you can get better, and that’s why it doesn’t get boring,” she explains.

Ugarte-Carral draws inspiration from mentors such as Paul Carmichael and Lennox Hastie, along with her close peers and friends. “I like going through stages of vigorous learning that might be really difficult, and then coming back to working with friends and really doing what I love,” she says. “If I can oscillate between those two, I’m looking after myself, while also learning.”

Her current project is called Ten Hats – a pop-up restaurant/party that she dreamt up and executed post-lockdown alongside three industry pals. “We really wanted to do something experiential that isn’t just a pop-up restaurant, but incorporates art and music.”