THE LEADING RESTAURANT OF CAIRNS

Meet the Team

Chef de Cusine: David Bres
David BRES was born in France, a country where food is sacred. From a very young age he was initiated into cooking by his grandmother, with the scents and specialties of the Provence region.

At the age of 8, David wanted to become a cook. In the following years, he decided to follow the example of Paul Bocuse and work in the famous French gourmet restaurants.

To reach his objective, he completed a 4 year traineeship and 2 years in hospitality management at the "Ecole Hotelière d'Avignon". He combined this with practical training courses during semester breaks in the summer seasons, in the kitchens of the famous Hotel Martinez in Cannes and the Restaurant L'Oasis in La Napoule.

At the end of his studies, David had realized his dream. For the following 7 years he was employed at some of the best restaurants in France: Restaurant Guy Savoy (3 Michelin Stars), Le Clos de la Violette (2 Michelin Stars), L'Auberge des Templiers (2 Michelin Stars) and Restaurant Michel Guérard (3 Michelin Stars).

After many years working with famous French chefs, David decided to go abroad. His first stage became Luxembourg. He started as Sous-Chef at the Restaurant La Lorraine, the most famous in the country, and within 6 months he was promoted to Chef de Cuisine. Effectively, this was his first head chef position at the age of only 27. During his 2 years in this position, he was in charge of a team of 15 cooks and had to manage a kitchen on Michelin star level. At La Lorraine David quickly acquired a reputation on a national level.

From here he decided to explore Asian cuisine at the restaurant Opium in his second head chef position. This restaurant specialises in fusion cuisine and is very well known in Luxembourg. It was the first restaurant in the country to combine Asian and European styles of cooking.

This experiment was very beneficial for him. It drew the attention of Oliver Schreiber who was in search of a talented head chef, able to mix different food cultures for the opening of his restaurant in Australia: Oliver's - Australian Fine Cuisine.

And so, in the quest of new challenges, David decided to move overseas to Australia. After some hard work in the opening year and beyond, David is now very satisfied with the success and the emerging reputation of Oliver's that he has helped to create. Overseas and local customers alike, enjoy discovering the fusion of European and Asian techniques combined with the finest local products.

Sous Chef de Cuisine : Xavier Muñoz Torres
Xavier's senses for fine food were also nurtured and developed by his family, in particular his mother and grandmother. In his family it is a tradition to buy a piglet to fatten and slaughter it for the production of the family's own meats. As a young boy Xavier was already involved in the process of making Jamon, Lomo, Butifarras, Embutidos and many other famous Spanish specialities.

He started his cooking career at the young age of 14. After 3 years of intense studies and practical training he graduated from the renowned Catering Institute of Sant Narcis in the city of Girona in Spain.

He continued his career at some of Spain's most famous hotels and restaurants like El Raco de Can Fabes (3 Michelin Stars), El Celler de Can Roca (2 Michelin Stars) and ABAC (2 Michelin Stars) in Barcelona.

Since March 2007 he has been employed in his current position as sous Chef de cuisine at Oliver's. He comments that 'his work is his passion and he loves the challenge of the new products and fusion techniques of the Oceania/Pacific region which gives him a lot of pleasure and satisfaction'.

Restaurant Supervisor: Stephanie Bosc
Stephanie Bosc decided to work in the hospitality industry because of her passion for travelling.

After living the first 15 years of her life in the African country of Gabon, she found it difficult to re-settle in France. So Stephanie started looking for a profession which would allow her to live abroad.

To succeed, she did an apprenticeship at "L'école Hotelière Vatel" in Nimes and at "Lycée Hotelier" of Saint Quentin en Yvelines.

During those 4 years of study, she participated in various training modules that brought her from Val d'Isere in the Alps to Saint Barthelemy in the French West Indies as well as other places on the Mediterranean coast.

Thrilled by those experiences, the young lady decided to go to the United States. She stayed in Minneapolis for 18 months working at the Sofitel Hotel. During this period she improved her English and discovered a new country and culture.

After this transatlantic experience she returned to Europe, to one of the smallest countries, Luxembourg. She stayed there 4 years, working in some of the finest restaurants of the country like La Lorraine and she was involved in the opening of the restaurant Le Stübli in the 5 Star Sofitel Luxembourg Europe Hotel.

Then she decided to travel again, and this time it was to the other side of the planet, to Australia.

In Cairns Stephanie found employment as the Restaurant Supervisor of Oliver's. She has been in this position since opening and enjoys gaining new experiences.