A culinary virtuoso and pioneer in sustainable gastronomy, Australian chef and restaurateur Josh Niland has a love affair with fish. He gained international recognition for his innovative nose-to-fin approach to seafood, showcased in his exceptional ability to transform every part of a fish into delectable dishes and his unwavering commitment to addressing global sustainability issues.
At 35, he has become a multi-award-winning chef and, alongside his wife Julie, owns several restaurants and butcheries in Australia, such as Saint Peter, Fish Butchery Paddington, Fish Butchery Waterloo and Charcoal Fish, Rose Bay and Petermen and St Leonards. His books, The Whole Fish Cookbook and Take One Fish, have won multiple awards, including three separate awards from The James Beard Foundation, including the 2020 Book of the Year.
Niland is also the only Australian board member of The Basque Culinary Centre and has recently won the Best Chef Award at The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Awards, the Best Chef Innovation award at The Best Chef Awards in Madrid and the Game Changer Award in Paris, at La Liste world restaurant awards.
His ethical and revolutionary approach to food circularity has received global recognition, transforming how the world cooks, transports, ages and stores fish — and he’s just getting started. In 2023, Niland launched his third book, Fish Butchery, and expanded his culinary footprint beyond the shores of Sydney, making waves at the new Singapore Edition hotel with the opening of sustainable seafood steakhouse Fysh at Edition.
In his pursuit of sustainability, Niland employs inventive techniques such as boiling down fish bones to make pasta or turning fish eyes into ice cream, showcasing an unparalleled dedication to utilising every part of the fish. His creations go beyond conventional culinary boundaries, exemplified by the ingenious use of fish fat and candles to make chocolate or fish bones to make stylish ceramic plateware.
During a private Mercedes-Benz event at Fysh, where he served his signature creations, Niland spoke about the inspiration behind Fysh: “The reason behind the creativity was because I started with a problem, which was that fish is extremely expensive. From an economic standpoint, it didn’t make sense for me to operate a business in Sydney, throw half of the fish in the bin and use only the fillets.”
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“For me to get as close to 95% back from one single fish has made not only a huge economic difference in the way we operate our business, but it’s also an ethical decision. Hopefully, a new generation of chefs can start seeing beyond the fillet and celebrating every part of a fish deliciously and exciting diners.”
Zenith of success
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Outside the kitchen, Josh Niland has teamed up with the Swiss luxury watch brand Zenith. This collaboration blends culinary excellence with watchmaking mastery, highlighting a shared vision for pushing boundaries, embracing creativity and fostering sustainability.
The fortuitous partnership began a few months ago when Zenith approached him to become a Friend of the Brand. “I have known their watches and admired them for some time. I’m fascinated to learn more about their philosophy, approach behind the scenes and our similarities,” he tells Options.
“They have a diverse mix of Friends of the Brand globally, so I was excited to add my name to the list. I believe I may also visit them in Switzerland and find out more. I know them for their commitment to sustainability and acting responsibly — which resonates with me, so I’m very pleased that we have that alignment.”
Just as a watchmaker meticulously assembles each component to create a masterpiece, Niland crafts culinary delights with equal precision, transforming seemingly unconventional ingredients into culinary art.
As part of his duties, Niland anticipates hosting exclusive dinners in his Sydney restaurants throughout 2024, emphasising the long-term nature of the collaboration. “I look forward to seeing what the future holds creatively between us. It’s never about immediacy. The best relationships and ideas grow together, and it’s about what you discover and learn along the way,” he says.
Drawing parallels
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Niland, a watch enthusiast, finds joy in exploring the connections between watchmaking and the world of food. “They are not two separate entities; one feeds seamlessly into the other,” he says. “The greatest similarity would be the elegance and simplicity of the finished product versus the hours of detailed, concentrated work that goes on behind the scenes. When creating a dish, the process, timing, ingredients, structure and detail of the preparation are imperative to the result, but equal to that is the beauty and design of the end product.”
As he explores Zenith’s watchmaking processes, Niland envisions incorporating a similar level of precision into the culinary world, particularly in the intricacies of whole fish cooking. “The craftsmanship of designing a timepiece is not only in the watch itself but in the purpose and process to get to that stage; in both, you need an extreme eye for detail and uncompromising precision.”
This partnership holds the promise of influencing Niland’s culinary creativity further. “Everything influences what we do. Watchmaking is such a detailed craft I am hoping to explore Zenith approaches that could influence how we work at my restaurants. Fish is not the easiest ingredient to work with in other professional kitchens, and whole fish cooking takes a lot of work behind the scenes, so I am interested in exploring more around the making of the watches.”
A circular vision
Sustainability is a key value for Niland and Zenith, an aspect he finds crucial in his culinary approach.
He adds: “Sustainability is an overused word, but it remains an essential practice. A future-focused, responsible approach can be applied to everything we do, including the world of watchmaking; we just have to learn from one another and think differently,” he adds.
“Looking in one direction all the time does not open you up to new ways of thinking. Every industry can learn from its counterparts. Often, the greatest influence comes from outside your field of work. I remember the first Apple store opening with no customer service or check-out desks, and then next thing in some restaurants, the traditional reception desk was gone, and the customer barrier was reduced.”
Niland’s holistic fish approach aligns with Zenith’s sustainability values, emphasising their shared commitment to responsibility and environmental awareness. He highlights Zenith’s Horiz-on Initiative, which collaborates with the Mediterranean Sea and Coast Foundation for ocean protection.
“I’ve always tried to evolve the way we approach seafood, and I find the same spirit of innovation in Zenith and how they’re raising awareness and taking an active approach towards sustainability. I look forward to discovering more about the brand’s approach and processes and sharing my own. As they say at Zenith, ‘it’s time to reach your star,’ and constantly learning and sharing is the only way to reach our star — our full potential.”
Watch aficionado
Niland is currently wearing the Chronomaster Sport, a stunning timepiece that reminds him of his flagship restaurant, Saint Peter, and its signature white plates accented by a single black dot. “It feels like it was designed for me the way the black ceramic bezel contrasts the white face. This watch is fairly new to the market and pushes the boundaries of high-frequency precision. It is a bit behind-the-scenes, which is the most impressive to me.”
He adds: “There is something complete about wearing a watch; it makes me feel dressed. Like I am ready for the day. My entire day is run by deadlines, from school runs to meetings to cooking times in service. Practically, using my phone or clock while cooking would be impossible. I need to rely on my watch always to be accurate and precise. I am lucky to have one that gives me that confidence and is thoughtfully designed.”
Niland appreciates Zenith’s vintage Icon Collection, featuring restored vintage watches given a second life. “The Icon collection chooses craft over convenience. It is as much about intentionality as it is about sustainability. It restores and authenticates historical spare parts while respecting the original traits and conditions. There is something quite romantic in that approach. Acting responsibly makes sense to me with my own culinary aesthetic of using the whole fish, leaving no spare parts behind.”
If there were one Zenith timepiece that best mirrored a signature dish at Fysh, it would be the Defy Skyline Skeleton Boutique Edition paired with the Salt and Vinegar King George Whiting, a dish made with a fish native to Australia. Niland adds: “It is a perfect match for its aesthetic elegance and alignment to the thoughts around restraint and luxury within simple clean lines.”
Fysh-full of flavour
Boasting airy, soaring ceilings with plenty of leafy plants, the timber-clad Fysh at Edition is Niland’s foray into the international culinary scene and his first restaurant outside Australia. The spacious 154-seater is named after Hudson Fysh, the founder of Qantas and one of the first pilots to link Australia and Singapore by air travel in the early 1900s. Niland found meaning in this story, likening Fysh’s maiden voyage from Australia to Singapore to his journey in opening Fysh.
While the a la carte menu remains fish-focused, much of it cooked over a charcoal Josper grill, land-based protein and responsibly sourced vegetables are treated with equal reverence.
A favourite is the Java Brown Clams XO ($32++), featuring slurpy homemade noodles made from the bones of sustainable Aquna Murray Cod. It is boiled down and ground into a paste, used as a substitute for eggs and mixed with flour to create the noodles. The draw is the rich heibi flavour of the flower clam dish, enhanced with a delectable XO sauce made from fish offal, scallops and prawns.
The fish is flown in whole at this seafood steakhouse, like the 55kg yellowfin tuna from Walkers Seafood in Mooloolaba in Australia. The wild-caught fish is carved down, and all the parts are utilised in a diverse array of dishes like the 15-day 400g Dry Aged Yellowfin Tuna Ribeye ($125++), which we enjoyed with kombu (kelp) fries, a side salad and moreish sauces.
“We are one of the few hotels in the world to bring in fish whole, with the head on, scales on, and offal in,” says Niland. “I think the convenience of purchasing fillets is prevalent anywhere you go. So, the labour that goes into the menu we’ve produced for you is substantial. We can lean into a very austere, simple composition on the plate because all the hard work has been done before service.”
In line with Niland’s approach around circularity, cocktails here showcase the often-overlooked parts of fruits and vegetables bursting with unique flavours, from root to leaf. A must-try is the appropriately saline Oyster Shell Gin & Sonic ($25++), made with Never Never Oyster Shell Gin and created for contemporary seafood pairings.
