Meet the Chef: Peter Sheppard

With a culinary career that stems from his global experience, it’s no wonder that Caveau owner and awarded Chef, Peter Sheppard, has created a restaurant that has been recognised nationally and has been voted the fourth best regional restaurant in NSW.

His eyes light up as he recounts the first time he was ever critiqued on his cooking. He had entered a national competition at the tender age of 10 in England, his homeland, and Peter Sheppard proudly reveals that he ended up in third place.

“I remember making something I found in a recipe book. It was a warm duck salad and I made a plum and almond tart for the dessert.”

Showing this huge talent at such a young age, it’s obvious that Sheppard was born with a gift for cooking and a flair for food.

And it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

His renowned restaurant Caveau remains the only hatted restaurant in the Wollongong region. It has had immediate success since its opening in 2004 and its reputation continues to grow. The restaurant has a simple and classy atmosphere to it, the subtle lighting creating a warm and inviting mood.

Sheppard is humble when speaking of his reputation as a culinary genius, admitting that an important lesson he has learnt throughout his career is that you’re only as good as the last plate of food that you served.

“There are no second chances,” he explains, “people have expectations and you need to be able to exceed them and make them happy and that’s it.”

Sheppard has certainly achieved this and he feels that consistency is the key to a successful restaurant.

“The primary difference between us and other restaurants is that I am here every night we are opened and I taste everything, so we don’t have that some nights are better then others; all nights have to be exactly the same,” he explains.

“I feel you just have to draw a line in the sand with what you will and won’t accept, some people may accept inconsistency, but I cant.”

Sheppard also holds cooking classes once a month, on a Sunday from 11-2, where each class is individual and unique. Holding up to 15 students, Sheppard has them each cook three courses; an entrée, main and dessert from start to finish.

The classes are always full and the response continues to get stronger. This is something that Sheppard is quite proud of, as it embraces a different side to the cooking industry.

“I’ve always enjoyed the training aspect of cooking, and being able to teach people how to cook an amazing dish. It’s like having an apprentice; you get out of it what you put in.”

It's obvious that Sheppard puts his heart and soul into the restaurant. He does admit though, that spending all his days working at the restaurant leaves little time to spend with his growing family. He and Nicola have a 3 yr old daughter and another baby due in April.

“It is a juggle to maintain a work and home balance,” Sheppard admits. “I’m usually here by 10am every day and then I take an hour or so off to spend time with my daughter.”

So with his hands full with a flourishing restaurant and a growing family, what’s next for this cookery mastermind?

“Long term, I’d love to establish the restaurant so as I wouldn’t have to be here as much,” he says.

“But right now, each day I try to achieve that day being better then the one before. That’s all I can ask for.”