Nicholas Deligiannis
Head Chef, Audrey’s
Awarded The Age Good Food Guide’s Victorian Young Chef Of The Year in 2023, Nicholas (Nick) Deligiannis is a rising star in the Australian hospitality scene. Deligiannis heads up Audrey’s restaurant in Sorrento, under the guidance of industry stalwart and chef-restaurateur, Scott Pickett.
Deligiannis worked alongside Pickett from the conceptualisation of Audrey’s through to its April 2022 launch – working at Pickett’s restaurant Estelle in Northcote during the venue’s build phase. Audrey’s has cemented itself as the jewel in the crown of the recently renovated Continental Sorrento precinct, sitting alongside an InterContinental Hotel, multiple hospitality and event spaces, and Aurora Spa & Bathhouse.
As the Head Chef at Audrey’s, Deligiannis showcases his expertise with a multiple-course set menu featuring refined seafood centric fare, aligning seamlessly with the elegant dining room and its picturesque views of Port Phillip Bay. Notably Audrey’s was awarded a hat in the Good Food Guide in its opening year, and his Mornington Peninsula squid, shiitake XO, has become a signature dish.
“Seafood is a speciality of mine and also sauce making. There are some incredible suppliers down on the Mornington Peninsula. Some of my favourite ingredients are the local seafood, chives, bone marrow and truffles,” - Deligiannis.
Deligiannis’s love of cooking was cemented early on, working from the age of eight in the kitchen of the family business, Zack’s Pizza. It was this early introduction to the world of hospitality that had him hooked.
He began his formal training in 2011 at Bistro Gitan in South Yarra, where as a 17 year-old he apprenticed under renowned French-Australian chef, Jacques Reymond. Following this he headed to London, where he took up Chef de Partie roles at Michelin-starred restaurants including The Glasshouse in Kew Gardens and Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social in Mayfair.
Returning to Melbourne (and Bistro Gitan) in late 2016, he has worked at notable Victorian restaurants including:
- Fitzroy neighbourhood bistro, The Recreation
- French bistro Petit Tracteur in Main Ridge
- Head Chef of Frédéric in Richmond
Deligiannis describes his cooking as, “Simple, calm and unpretentious. My style can be summed up as Mediterranean with French technique. I like to keep things fresh and textural without messing around with the original product.”
When not working hard in Audrey’s, Deligiannis likes to get outside of the kitchen and be a spectator, where you’ll find him on the sidelines of a sports match or front and centre at a concert or gig.
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Notes to editors:
- Instagram: @nicholas_deligiannis
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Madeleine Guthrie | Reymond Communications
E madeleine@reymond.com.au | M +61 (0) 425 702 613
