Attica’s Ben Shewry Flexes Other Creative Muscles

In Melbourne, coronavirus brought with it a challenge the scope and severity of which local restaurateurs have never seen before. With eateries collapsing around him, New Zealand chef and restaurateur Ben Shewry was forced to reassess his business model and Attica At Home was born, David Smiedt writes for GQ Australia.

As with most everything Shewry does, there are more dimensions at play here than mere business smarts, Smiedt writes.

“We had a whole team of 14 front-of-house staff whose immediate skills, when a restaurant closes, aren’t necessarily needed,” Shewry tells the publication.

“The people who would serve you at the tables when Attica was open as a dining room are now jumping in their cars and coming to your house,” explains the 43-year-old.

While no one would go so far as to say that the pandemic has been a blessing of any description, Shewry notes that it has certainly ushered in unexplored avenues for creativity.

“It’s been really nice to kind of flex those creative muscles and make a lot of things that we dreamed of making, but just didn’t have any home on a tasting menu.”

Original article by David Smiedt, GQ, October 8, 2020.

Photo by Colin Page.