Straight To The SourceDamien Pignolet & Jason Roberts: Mentorship, Sydney Dining and 33 Years of Friendship
Damien Pignolet, an icon of Australian dining, and acclaimed chef Jason Roberts sit down to reflect on a relationship spanning more than 30 years, one shaped by food, mentorship, trust and friendship.
What makes someone back a young chef before everyone else can see what they’re capable of?
From Claude’s and Bistro Moncur to the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year Award, this conversation explores mentorship, trust, kitchen pressure, and the evolution of Sydney dining.
Damien recalls recognising something in a young Jason that mattered more than hierarchy: guts, determination and creativity. When Bistro Moncur suddenly lost its head chef and several brigade members, Damien put Jason in charge at just 23. His approach was simple: spot talent, support it and give it room to grow.
For Jason, that mentorship became something far bigger. After a difficult childhood and growing up without a consistent father figure, food became a place of safety, and Damien became one of the people who helped shape not only the chef he would become, but the man.
Together they reflect on four decades of Australian hospitality: restaurant reviews, Michelin-starred memories, uncompromising standards, staff culture, impossible services and the enormous pressure of keeping a hospitality business alive. Damien also shares the reality of navigating the Global Financial Crisis, when his businesses were losing around $100,000 a week, while protecting food quality and looking after staff remained non-negotiable.
But this isn’t a nostalgia piece.
Damien and Jason also look at what hospitality needs now: genuine mentorship, stronger support for young chefs, better kitchen cultures and the confidence to put your hand up and ask for help.
There are some cracking stories along the way too, from Jason sleeping overnight at the restaurant to monitor terrines to wedding-day confessions, café de Paris butter, foie gras and the debate over whether cooking or cycling is better therapy.
And beneath it all sits a bigger question: if time is our most valuable currency, who and what deserves it?
For Damien and Jason, the answer comes back to people.
In this episode
Why Damien Pignolet backed Jason Roberts to become head chef at just 23
What great mentors see in people before the rest of the room catches up
Claude’s, Bistro Moncur and the kitchens that helped shape Sydney dining
The brutal pressure behind running a restaurant when the numbers stop adding up
Why old-school standards don’t have to mean old-school kitchen culture
What young chefs actually need from leaders now
The fine line between resilience, pressure and knowing when to ask for help
Jason sleeping at the restaurant to keep an eye on terrines, plus a few other stories that probably shouldn’t have left the kitchen
Michelin memories, foie gras, café de Paris butter and the things chefs never quite stop obsessing over
Why time may be the most valuable currency we have, and who is actually worth spending it on
A thought worth taking away
“My relationship with Damien goes beyond food. It’s food and life. It’s food and dreams. It’s food and death. It’s food and humility.” – Jason Roberts
“You see talent, you should identify talent and you should feed talent. Feed it with practical things, feed it with love and respect because it’ll come back.” – Damien Pignolet
About Damien Pignolet
Damien Pignolet is one of the great figures of Australian hospitality, a chef, restaurateur and mentor whose influence can be felt across generations of Australian kitchens.
Over more than four decades, he helped define Sydney dining through landmark restaurants including Claude’s and Bistro Moncur, bringing together classical French technique, exacting standards and a deep belief in nurturing young talent.
His legacy is not only in the food he has cooked, but in the chefs he has backed, challenged and helped shape. He also created the Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year Award to support the next generation.
For many in the industry, Damien is more than a celebrated chef. He is a teacher, a mentor and a genuine legend of Australian dining.
About Jason Roberts
Jason Roberts is an internationally recognised chef, author and television personality whose career has spanned Australia and the United States. Born in New Zealand, he built his culinary foundations in Sydney, spending seven years as Executive Chef at Bistro Moncur under the mentorship of Damien Pignolet.
Known for his classical French training, warmth and instinctive approach to food, Jason went on to become a familiar face on Australian and US television, including Fresh, Ready Steady Cook and The Chew.
His career has moved across restaurants, media and food advocacy, but mentorship, connection and a deep respect for produce remain central to his work.
People, places & dishes mentioned
Claude's
Bistro Moncur
William Angliss Institute
Foie gras
Terrines
Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year Award
Café de Paris butter
La Buvette
Nathan Sasi
Morgan McGlone
Neil Perry
Episode Partner
This episode is proudly supported by Seaway Logistics, local experts in global trade.
Website: https://www.seaway.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/seawaygroup
About Straight To The Source
Straight To The Source is an Australian food and hospitality consultancy and podcast sharing the stories of chefs, farmers, producers and the people behind our food.
Hosted by Tawnya Bahr and Lucy Allon, it explores provenance, knowledge and lived experience to better understand where food comes from, who shapes it and why it matters.
You can find us:
• Straight To The Source Podcast: https://lnk.to/jBCTBE
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/straight_to_the_source/
• Website: http://straighttothesource.com.au
Tawnya Bahr:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tawnyabahr/
Instagram: @tawnyabahr
Lucy Allon:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyallon/
Instagram: @lucy_allon
@straighttothesourcepodcast: https://www.youtube.com/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
