South Australian-born Mark Best started by discovering the stoves accidentally and ended up becoming an unquestionable symbol of the new Australian cuisine. His perseverance and ‘eternal dissatisfaction’ (as he calls it himself) are the vitamins for his spectacular personal development.
Best started his working life as an electrician in the gold mines of Western Australia before beginning his culinary career aged 25. He commenced an apprenticeship in 1990 at the Macleay Street Bistro in Potts Point. This was the beginning of his passion for French food. In 1995 Best won the annual prize for Sydney’s best young chef: the Josephine Pignolet Award.
In 1995 he opened his own restaurant, Peninsula Bistro in Balmain, which soon developed a strong local following and rave critical acclaim. During this time Best also furthered his study of French cuisine in France. In 1998 he worked under Pascal Barbot at L’Arpége in Paris, Alain Passard’s three Michelin star Gastro Temple. He followed this with a stint at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quatre Saisons in Great Milton in the UK. Time overseas fuelled his desire to start another Sydney restaurant, Marque, which opened in 1999.
Best has won Chef of the Year in the annual Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, Restaurant of the Year in Australian Gourmet Traveller, Sydney Morning Herald, Time Out magazine and in the Restaurant and Catering Association’s Awards for Excellence. Marque also featured for three years running in the San Pellegrino & Restaurant magazine’s World’s 50 Best commencing with the 2010 Break Through Award, and held three hats in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food guide for 10 consecutive years.
In 2014 Best established the contemporary Bistro Pei Modern which won Australian Gourmet Traveller’s Best New Restaurant, and opened a further branch in the Four Seasons in Sydney.
In 2016 he opened Bistro by Mark Best on luxury ship Genting Dream, with restaurants on three ships sailing out of Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Since 2017 Best has been an ambassador for AEG Domestic Kitchen Products Australia, involved in product development and training as well as promotional activities relating to the brand.
Best is culinary advisor to the luxury Ritz-Carlton in Melbourne. He has also travelled extensively promoting his business interests, working with leading hotel groups such as Starwood, Four Seasons, Intercontinental and Park Hyatt among others. He works with Australian industry bodies such as Meat & Livestock Corporation, Tourism Australia and Destination NSW.
Best is a published author of Marque: A Culinary Adventure and Best Kitchen Basics. His onscreen appearances include Martha Stewart, MasterChef Australia, The Final Table on Netflix and The Cook Up with Adam Liaw.
