Cobram Estate

July 2019

“I believe that to truly love food there has to first be a massive respect for nature”

Raised in California, Kevin O’Connor spent his childhood hunting, gathering and foraging in the wilderness of the Sierra Foothills. It was there that he fell in love with nature… and cooking. After oui-cheffing his way through some of California’s finest kitchens for ten years (two-star Saison and Coi to name a couple), Kevin has gone full circle, returning to the simple, fresh flavours of his rural upbringing as ‘Chef at Large’ for Cobram Estate.

Hopping hemispheres, he’s able to chase the harvest and cook for both Australia and California’s olive harvest parties. Ever the adventurist, he always prefers an open fire to a stove, working with the freshest single varietal olive oils in the game to create extraordinary “wood fired fare with a respect for Californian ethos”. We’re talking ‘scallop aguachile with tomatillo salsa verde, radishes and coriander’ and ‘beef cheeks glazed in a charred grape jus with plum and grilled onion’…