Food Wine Sleep

Anthony Musarra was born and bred in Sydney. That's where he did his apprenticeship, and where he spent the next two decades running various kitchens, sometimes in restaurants, sometimes in hotels.

Musarra moved south with his family four years ago to take the culinary reins at the Park Hyatt Melbourne. Two years later he embarked on his current role as head chef at Stokehouse in St Kilda. Musarra's skills in Mediterranean flavours have helped lift the reputation of the already popular restaurant (earning two - out of three - hats in the 2009 Age Good Food Guide).

"Our food is not necessarily Italian, it's not necessarily French or Spanish," says Musarra, "But it draws on those cuisines as inspirations to create food that I think is suited to the restaurant and its customers."

Musarra believes the hospitality industry is "at a crossroads in terms of the cost of food", and predicts that dishes highlighting "great produce, a couple of simple ingredients, not tricked-up or overworked" will as a result become increasingly common on restaurant menus.