About Simon
Simon Sandall is a chef and restaurateur who has worked in hatted restaurants since 1999, including 8 years as the Head Chef of Aria and 17 years as the Executive Chef of The MorSul Group. In 2018 he opened his own restaurant Boronia Kitchen. He now uses his decades of experience to help other restaurateurs successfully realise their vision.
Where it all began
Simon began his career attending South Warwickshire College in England where he trained in traditional European culinary techniques. He progressed to restaurants including: The Ritz Club in the Ritz Hotel, London; Les Ambassadeurs Club, London; Swallow Royal Hotel, Bristol; The Brownsover Hall Hotel and the Grosvenor House Hotel, both in Rugby, England.
In 1995 Simon immigrated to Sydney, Australia, where he was employed at The Sydney Opera House at both The Harbour Restaurant and Bennelong Restaurant, working with chefs Andy Turner and Michael Moore.
In 1999, Simon joined Matt Moran as the Head Chef of ARIA Sydney. He acknowledges Matt and the team at ARIA as a huge inspiration and credits this busy restaurant environment with teaching him to achieve quality and consistency to an impeccable standard.
A friendship was formed
After managing the kitchens of Matt’s flagship restaurant ARIA, Simon established ARIA Catering, the resident caterer at The Sydney Opera House. He went on to become Group Executive Chef, leading the kitchen teams across the MorSul (Moran and Sullivan) group, (now Solotel) which included Aria Sydney and Brisbane Aria Catering, Chiswick, Chiswick at the Gallery, Opera Bar, River Bar and North Bondi Fish.
Although he has been inspired by many people along the path of his career, Simon maintains that his continued enthusiasm and energy for his work comes directly from the industry itself.
Simon has won many awards for excellence including gold medals from both Torquay International Festival of Food and Wine and The West of England Salon Culinaire.
Going out on his own
In June 2018, Simon opened the doors to Boronia Kitchen, in Hunters Hill. Created for the local community, the contemporary eatery serves home-style food from the open kitchen using the absolute best produce from Australia’s air, ocean and land.
In 2021 Boronia Next Door opened the doors, offering a private dining and event space adjacent to the restaurant.
In 2022, Boronia Catering was launched, offering a complete event catering service to Sydney and regional NSW. Given Simon’s comprehensive catering background, Boronia Catering continues to grow from strength to strength.
Simon has also established a hospitality consultancy company, Sandall and Co., assisting both new and established hospitality businesses in all facets of the industry, including kitchen operations, human resources and marketing.