World Famous Chef Nelly Robinson's Surry Hills Home at NEL.

With ten years under his belt, chef Nelly Robinson reflects on building NEL from scratch, feeding David Attenborough, and the joy of a good curry on a cold night.

By Melissa Mantle

Ten years ago, British-born chef Nelly Robinson opened NEL on a stretch of Surry Hills’ Wentworth Avenue that needed some love. A decade later, the chic bunker-esque restaurant is a cult favourite, known for its theatrical tasting menus and events and its inventive takes on modern cuisine.

Nelly, who moved to Sydney in 2010, talks us through his journey – from a Michelin kitchen hand at fourteen, to becoming one of Sydney’s most notable chefs, and to the new menu that will please and tease the palette of all Anglophiles.

Nelly, tell us a bit about your background and how you came to run NEL?

My background is Northern England, Blackburn, north of Manchester. Born to two amazing parents and a brother. Started cooking as a young lad and got my first job in a kitchen at fourteen as a kitchen hand in a Michelin star restaurant. I became an apprentice at fifteen. I came to Sydney in 2010, opened NEL in 2015; so we've just recently celebrated 10 years of NEL.

You’re originally from the UK. What drew you to Sydney and specifically, Surry Hills?

Well, actually I was in a pub and had Melbourne, Sydney and New York on the back of beer mats as choices of where to go. My best mate and I decided to come to Sydney because there were actually beaches. We knew that it was hot. We needed a change of lifestyle after working in Europe for a long time. I liked Surry Hills. I picked it because at the time, it was very, very vibrant up on Crown Street with very successful restaurants. Around Wentworth Avenue there was a lot of redeveloping needing to be done, and I found a space that was affordable for me.

What does a work day in the life of Nelly Robinson look like?

My alarm goes off at 7AM, and my daughter wakes me up. Then I have breakfast and come straight to work. I'm at work usually between thirteen and fourteen hours a day doing all admin and creating new dishes for new menus. Also, a few meetings in there.

And on your day off? What are your hobbies apart from food?

A day off is really good. I've learned to spend time with my family. I've got an amazing wife, Danielle, and Lottie, my daughter, and my two dogs, Louie and Lola. Hobbies that I love are football, Formula One, and golf. I love getting out on the course - playing nine to eighteen holes, depending on the day - which really takes my brain away from food.

What have been the highlights (and lowlights) since you opened in 2015?

The highlight of the restaurant is that I'm still here after ten years as an independent operator. It is no small feat in Sydney to be around for ten years and also be recognised on the world stage with different awards. The lowlight is COVID-19 and laying-off staff, which was definitely very hard.

What’s the Surry Hills’ community like – do you have regulars?

Yes. We change our menus four to five times a year, depending on seasons, which really excites our locals. We have amazing locals around the Surry Hills’ community, but we also have a lot of people traveling to NEL from different suburbs of Sydney, different regions of Australia, and also from around the world.

Tell us all about the new British menu and what inspired it.

The new British menu is definitely very close to my heart. I love showing people that British food can be, one: fun, two: tasty and not grey and bland, and three: that we have amazing dishes in the UK that we can elevate into a degustation menu like we do now.

What’s your favourite dish on the menu?

I've got two. The chip butty, which I absolutely adore, originates from Oldham. We’ve got the original picture of the first ever fish and chip shop from 1864 – Mister Lee’s, where the chip butty was created. Number two is the baked Greggs pasty. It just takes me back to eating Greggs in the UK, and it comes out in a special bag as well.

Googling you, a few celebrity names come up. Have you ever been starstruck?

Yes. I got to cook for David Attenborough. It was probably one of the most amazing times of my life. I’ve also cooked for the Queen of England when she was alive, but I didn’t get that starstruck with that. It was more David Attenborough – when I got to cook for him at the Sydney Opera House. I actually got to have a conversation with him, and I was absolutely in awe. He described food like he described animals.

When I was younger, I also was in the presence of David Beckham. As a football fan, seeing David Beckham right in front of my face was actually quite an amazing moment.

What’s your favourite winter comfort meal to cook at home, or order in?

Number one, and the only one I love to do, is Indian curries. On a cold winter’s night, when Lottie’s in bed, me and the wife get to have a really amazing curry – samosas, papadams, naan bread, and rice - I’m the happiest man in the world! And a good bottle of Chablis.

What’s next for you and for the restaurant?

To continue building the restaurant and bringing new guests in and elevating each menu. And to work out the best way of running a business and being a dad and a loving husband. But I think what’s next is just to be happy and content in where we are right now. We’re doing a fabulous job, and we’ll continue to keep doing that.