You can be a star in the kitchen
Chef Profile Ben Higgs
Ben Higgs Career Biography
Current Position
Executive Chef, and owner Wild Oak Restaurant and Cooking School
Bens drive and passion for food came out of a desperate time of need, after being fed vegemite and cheese sandwiches nearly every lunch for 4 years! By his hardworking and less than culinary experimental mother.
He started working at the bottom end of food service just after his 15th birthday, working weekends, nights and holidays washing pots, cutting and peeling vegetables and cooking less than glamorous fare to get hands on kitchen experience.
At sixteen years of age and with much delight Ben left school to commence an apprenticeship in commercial cookery, working from 8am – 10pm five days a week the shock to the system was absorbed by the excitement and adrenaline rushing through the commercial kitchen. The hat seemed to fit.
Ben was fortunate to complete the last 3 years of his apprenticeship under the watchful eye of one of Melbourne’s finest French chefs Jacques Heraudeau, at his highly acclaimed South Melbourne restaurant “La Madrague” multiple recipient of best restaurant, best new restaurant, best wine list, 3 chefs hats age good food guide, best French, American express restaurant of the year awards to name but a few in its celebrated life.
Ben spent many years at some of Victoria’s best dining rooms including second chef position at the 5 star “Eleanor’s Restaurant” at Chateau Yering receiving much coveted three chefs’ hats rating and equal best Victorian out of town restaurant.
At the tender age of 25 years Ben has achieved his career ambition to own and operate his own restaurant, purchasing the iconic hills eatery the Wild Oak, in the coming years he has been awarded such awards as Yarra Valley and Ranges Restaurant of the year and Menu of the year, One chefs torque in the Australian Good Food Guide. Ben has been invited to represent Australian chefs and food in such destinations as Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Vietnam and has traveled extensively broadening his culinary knowledge. Ben has expanded into gourmet catering and now a cooking school.
Ben specializes in modern Australian cuisine with strong classical French accents and strives to use localized seasonal produce and sustainable food primarily from throughout the rich soils of the neighboring Yarra Valley and the Ranges
