Our story

Stewart was engaged as the Head Chef at the Coonanbarra Café in Wahroonga in 1992.⁠ After three successful years of developing and growing the business, he left to open the acclaimed Grand National Dining Room at the then-newly renovated Grand National Hotel in Paddington.⁠ ⁠

Before moving to London, Hilary studied Hotel Management at the Cape Town Hotel School. During their time in the UK, they were both involved in opening Sir Terence Conran's Conran Group Bluebird Restaurant in Chelsea, London. They brought this experience back to Capetown by opening the Beluga Restaurant and Bar at The Foundry, Green Point, once voted as one of the top 60 restaurants in the world by Conde Nast Traveller.

After a decade of global travel and restaurant ventures in London and Cape Town, we returned to Sydney in 2001. Stewart became the Executive Chef at Café Sydney and later led the Garfish Restaurant Group for twelve years.

In 2016, we returned to the suburb Stewart grew up in to revive the old Coonanbarra Café, turning it into Café Patina at Wahroonga Village Stores. We called Café Patina home for eight years, forging lifelong connections and invaluable experience.

After saying goodbye to Café Patina in 2024, we find ourselves as restaurant nomads, with all the passion, knowledge, and skill we have built over the last two decades but no restaurant to call home. NomadicTable was born out of our desire to continue harnessing our skills and expertise in your homes, restaurants, and businesses.

Whether it's consulting with restaurant owners to help their businesses thrive or bringing a world-renowned chef and hostess into your home for your next event, NomadicTable has a spot set just for you.