Cover Chef James Viles
Chef James Viles
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The multi-hatted Australian chef (Biota Dining) will be opening the doors to Gilbert by James Viles, a modern Australian fine dining destination. Learn more about James Viles in this Tatler Dining exclusive interview, below:
Visum Ventures is set to open its new fine dining restaurant, Gilbert by James Viles. A partnership with the multi-hatted Australian chef, the handsome modern Australian restaurant will be Viles’ first-ever Philippine operation.
Born and raised in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, chef James Viles finds comfort and inspiration in the coarseness of nature. “I grew up on the land,” he proudly says. “I cooked for necessity. My parents didn’t cook, and I grew up in a very Australian working-class family.” He continues: “I had no idea what an eggplant was. I didn’t know what anything was. I only knew lamb, carrot, and peas—that was it.”
Tasked to utilise the nightshade in an entree, a main, and a dessert for a school-led cooking competition, Viles was selected as the unexpected champion. “I think they felt sorry for me,” he laughs. Fresh from his victory, the 14-year-old dropped out of school to accept a job offer from a top hotelier: Aman Resorts. “I had no idea about this hotel at the time, but I could tell it was a nice hotel,” he admits. Following another stint in hotels (under Orient Express), the young chef set his sights on opening his restaurant. “There’s a big difference between cooking for a restaurant and cooking in a hotel,” he explains. “I liked the restaurant world because there were no rules; I think rules are there to be broken. I wanted to be a part of that defiant culture.” And so, heading back to his hometown, Viles lead the kitchen at The Schoolhouse restaurant.
See also: New restaurant: Gilbert by Australian chef James Viles, opening June 2023
At 23 years old, Viles became the youngest ever to be awarded a chef’s hat by one of the most respected dining authorities in Australia. “I think they felt sorry for me again, to be honest,” quips the humble chef. With Viles at the helm, The Schoolhouse naturally embodied culinary philosophies others attempted to emulate; no buzzwords, and without the insincere glamorisation of loving local. “Very rustic, regional, local Australian food,” he describes. “But at that age, I didn’t really know what I was cooking for I didn’t have any direction. I was cooking the rabbit because it was local and easy to get. It was just the natural way, the way it should be.”
Then came Biota Dining: Viles’ two-hatted fine dining destination. Spanning two and a half acres, the restaurant earned the 2012 Sustainability Award in recognition of its many environmentally-friendly practices: from using waterless toilets to growing their produce in 40-metre-long tunnels (some of which they would sell to other restaurants) and sourcing everything else locally, ethically. “It wasn’t a forced thing,” Viles reveals. “My mom is a landscaper, so she helped me do all the gardens for the restaurant. It just happened organically. Sustainability is not an action but a state of mind.”
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Sustainability is not an action but a state of mind
As his culinary career flourished, so did Viles’ desire to understand the food around him. “So I started travelling around Australia. A lot. I ate from the land. I would forage, gather, and hunt. I would gather all these ingredients, learn about them, and where they’re from. People and place were my biggest inspiration, and still are.” In fact, Viles considers his travels to be among the highlights of his career, both within and beyond his home country. “I get more experience going to a small village or a community, sitting down with the family, and eating with them, than I get from going to a great restaurant.”
“Food lives in rugged areas,” he explains. “So for me, the big focus has been to spend a lot of time in those rugged parts where ingredients are found, learning how they’re caught, who catches them, where, and why. Then bringing them back in, redefining them, reshaping them into something pretty—not just pretty to look at, but a wonderful story, and something that beautifully defines that ingredient.”
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This down-to-earth outlook is one that Viles maintains, describing his culinary style as “natural, unfiltered, rugged, and refined”. “A less is more approach,” he explains. Unsurprisingly, this profusely colours the identity of Gilbert by James Viles. “We have some very ambitious goals for this restaurant. We want it to be named the top restaurant in the Philippines,” discloses Visum Ventures President and CEO John-Michael Hilton. “But it all starts with the team: consistently doing something with love and passion.” If that is the case, it would seem he has enlisted the right chef for the job indeed.
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About
Lauren’s love for food came much later in life than one would expect— an obsession awakened in the streets of Melbourne’s multicultural dining scene. Armed with this newfound passion, she returned to the Philippines determined to discover the best eats in her home country, with a personal advocacy to champion local cuisines and homegrown talent. Nothing is off-limits; if it’s delicious, it’s worth celebrating.
Work
As Tatler Dining associate editor, Lauren covers all things food and drink, from listing the latest openings in our monthly Dining Radar to interviewing chefs and bartenders about the biggest obstacles crippling the industry today. Beyond the digital space, she also organises Tatler Dining’s tentpole events, including Off Menu and Tatler Dining Kitchen, as well as the annual Tatler Best Philippines awards night and guide launch, detailing the best restaurants in the country.
For leads and event invites, contact her via lauren@tatlerphilippines.com or follow her on Instagram at @laurengolangco.
Photo: Ralph Mendo
