Two of London's best Michelin-starred chefs are coming to Vivid Sydney

James Lowe (of Lyle’s) and Claude Bosi (of Brooklands) join a chorus of local and international chefs coming to Vivid Sydney to stage exclusive dinners.
Lowe will work with Chippendale’s Ester while Bosi will collaborate with the CBD’s Eleven Barrack for special, one-off menus showcasing the best of Australian produce.
The Vivid Food lineup continues to grow ahead of Vivid Sydney, which kicks off on Friday, May 23.
READ MORE: Take a kayak tour of Vivid Sydney at Darling Harbour this year.

Two of Sydney’s best restaurants, the long-established Ester and the fresh-faced Eleven Barrack, are handing over their respective kitchens to two of the world’s finest chefs this winter, as the Vivid Food program continues to grow ahead of Vivid Sydney.

As per the previous three years, Vivid Food has grown to become a central part of the program. Look online and you’ll see that these events, coming from the likes of Nigella Lawson and Neil Perry, have completely sold out. The new additions should be no different, with the Vivid Chef Series welcoming Claude Bosi of two-Michelin-starred restaurant Brooklands and Lyonnaise bistro Josephine, and James Lowe of Michelin-starred Lyle’s.

The concept of the Vivid Chef Series is simple. It’s all about collaboration, with chefs opening up their kitchens for special guests and exclusive menus.

*Ester will welcome one of London’s most reliable Michelin-starred chefs for an exclusive collaborative menu focused on fire cooking (photo supplied).*

Bosi will join the ever-reliable Brent Savage in the Eleven Barrack Kitchen for a two-night residency on Tuesday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 11, bringing Josephine to Sydney and splicing it with the Sydney CBD restaurant’s DNA for an exclusive menu dedicated entirely to fine French gastronomy via the lens of Australian produce.

The atmosphere will play a big part. Eleven Barrack only opened a few months ago and has already been noted for its dramatic, Euro-styled dining room set in a heritage building at 11 Barrack Street. Here, you’ll find an exclusive six-course menu that pulls together the best from both Bosi and Savage. Think Claude’s signature camembert souffle with winter black truffle and Brent’s duck liver choux au craquelin and soft poached quail tart.

Mine the Vivid Food program and you’ll see this “pillar” holds some of the more expensive tickets Vivid Sydney has seen to date. The experience with Nigella, for example, is priced at $340. This menu will be a bit more reasonable, set at $185 per person for the lunch service, and $285 per person for the dinner service, with either a $90 or $180 wine pairing option available. Needless to say, expect the sommelier to crack open some fine French varietals.

Over on the edge of the CBD, our multi-award-winning Ester will see James Lowe work closely with chef Mat Lindsay over three night, May 27-29. The powerhouse London-based chef has long admired the Chippendale restaurant’s intelligent, wood-fired cooking so this exclusive eight-course menu comes with a side of passion, built from both chef’s love of flame-kissed flavours and dedicated entirely to Australian produce like local fish and shellfish.

The menu is priced at $250 per person with an optional wine pairing for $150.