THE LEADING RESTAURANT OF CAIRNS

About Oliver

Oliver Schreiber grew up in the German town of Hannover, in a family with a special passion for good food and wines. His mother Irmgard is known in her circle of relatives and friends as a passionate hobby cook that hosts the most elaborate dinner parties, while his father Ernst enjoys his responsibility for the selection of the wines.

Oliver's early childhood memories include the first visit to a Michelin Star awarded restaurant at the age of 6. On this occasion Irmgard took the opportunity to educate Oliver in the fine art of choosing the appropriate drinks with the corresponding dishes. So Oliver learned the hard lesson that Coca Cola was not on Irmgard's list.

To further his education of fine wines, Oliver added practical training at his uncle Hardy's wine shop in Berlin at the age of 18. Oliver still remembers the wine tasting sessions. In particular, one Saturday afternoon when Oliver's appreciation and over indulgence in fine wine resulted in taking him the wrong way on the Autobahn and ending up in Bavaria about 600 km south from his destination, his hometown in Lower Saxony! In those days the liquor laws were more relaxed and not applied as rigorously as today.

A 3 year apprenticeship at the 5 star Hotel Intercontinental in Hannover, and positions as Restaurant Headwaiter and Manager in some of Northern Germany's finest restaurants, including some Michelin Star restaurants, furthered his culinary education.

Oliver also has a passion for adventure and nature which took him to South East Asia where he experienced new flavours, exotic cuisines and tasted some most unusual foods with the hunter gatherer tribe of the Penan in Northern Borneo.

Eventually in 1988, Oliver arrived in Cairns to explore the amazing natural wonders of Tropical North Queensland. He also discovered a very productive agricultural region with live stock farming and a fishery industry, supplying high quality fresh produce for a kitchen artist. However, cooking methods and service in most restaurants was rather basic.

After a few frustrating attempts at a career in hospitality in Cairns, and a few trips abroad, he returned to his beloved Cairns, and following his passion for nature, in 1994 he finally founded his tour company Wooroonooran Safaris. From humble beginnings the company has steadily grown and developed a reputation for excellent service and quality which resulted in winning the 2005 Australian Tourism Export Council's (ATEC) Excellence Award for Best Tour Operator (Australia-wide).

Though Cairns made progress in culinary terms, due to the tourism boom and the influx of an international clientele, Oliver believed there was still the need for an exquisite top restaurant, leading and setting new standards in culinary culture and cuisine excellence. Finally, Oliver's - Australian Fine Cuisine was opened on 04 August 2006. Oliver believes that Oliver's will evolve to become one of Australia's renowned finest restaurants.