Meet Simon Jones – chef

From a German NATO base to Michael Jordan’s tennis court, Soho institution L’Escargot to sailing the high seas serving a Ukrainian oligarch – Simon Jones’ cheffing career has been anything but ordinary. Discover how he landed sunny side up at Charlie’s at Church in the heart of Bellingen.

 

Simon Jones describes himself as a normal child who lived an unusual childhood. His dad’s job in the air force led the family to move every three years, opening his young world (and his palate) to the culture and cuisine of France, Italy and Holland. But many of his formative years were also spent at a NATO base in Rheindahlen, Germany.

Known as JHQ, the camp Simon called home was once a bustling city, complete with shops, swimming pool and all the usual amenities – an English military base cloaked in community, just down the road from Dusseldorf.

Today, it’s a ghost town.

And yet, when it did breathe, it fuelled Simon’s world in a way he never expected.

“My next-door neighbour was a private chef for some of the big wigs in the military. I was 15 and needed to complete work experience for my schooling – he invited me to join him for three weeks; that was my first taste of cheffing,” says Simon.

He must have done an alright job, because he was invited back for the summer holidays. While Simon’s mates were at the pool, he was in the kitchen earning some serious Deutschmarks – and he hasn’t left since.

But he did leave Germany.

“If I wanted to pursue secondary education, I needed to move to the UK – so I went off to Cheltenham College to study being a chef and got a job with Raymond Blanc.”

It was a huge jump forward – Simon knew it, his parents knew it, even his tutors knew it. They put it to him straight: ‘You’re better off at work than you will be at school. So go to work, come back in three years and we’ll sign the paperwork to give you your qualifications’.

“I’m not entirely sure that was legal, but it’s a long time ago now,” laughs Simon. “I guess it could be seen as a modern-day apprenticeship. I worked hard, 80-90 hours a week, checked in with my tutors annually and walked away with a great education under the guidance of one of France’s finest chefs.”

Antipasti – the appetiser

By the early 2000s, Simon was ready to step things up a notch. He seized an opportunity to move to Canada, where he supported Head Chef Lee Parsons in establishing a new venue. Named The Prince of Wales, the hotel came with a vision: to create a dining experience on par with Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir. Simon was well armed for the challenge.

“I’d describe it as a classic, French-style kitchen in Canada, run by this crazy English bloke. There was no expense spared – we’re talking the pinnacle of kitchens and the world’s finest ingredients,” says Simon.

He’s not exaggerating. Sea bass and live lobsters were flown in from Europe, while five kilogram boxes of truffles would arrive from British Columbia on a Greyhound bus. Everything that came into the building was raw product, lining the fridge and store room shelves with the best produce – waiting to become the best menu.

“It was an amazing experience, one that lasted three years before I moved on again – this time to Hamilton, Bermuda, where I worked at a place called Waterloo House. That was my first boat to restaurant experience; the fishermen would moor their boats alongside the venue to deliver their daily produce,” says Simon.

The once-in-a-lifetime experiences didn’t end there. While it was hard work, Simon also describes the time as a constant summer holiday – where long hours in the kitchen were followed by soul-reviving dips in the western Atlantic Ocean, exploring the reefs in his lunch break.

Two years later, he swapped Bermuda for Beverly Hills. His next gig? Restaurant chef at The Belvedere, The Peninsula Hotel. Two hundred covers a night was the norm for the venue Simon describes as a “rock star hotel”. Six days a week he’d cycle through the streets of LA to reach his new place of work, whip up wondrous meals courtesy of the “insane” level of produce on offer, and try to absorb the whole new world he found himself in. Simon describes those days as “surreal” – some moments more than others.

“One event saw me cooking a charity dinner on Michael Jordan’s tennis court – while globally renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa was in the nearby kitchen. I was stood there chatting to them, creating these beautiful dishes using these unbelievable ingredients, it was just an amazing experience.”

From the highest of highs, Simon’s career was soaring – and following a move back to the UK to assist in opening The Four Seasons Hotel in Hampshire, he got his big break.

Primi – the first course

English journalist and food critic Jay Rayner once said: “L’Escargot isn’t just a French restaurant, it’s a Soho institution.”

Perfectly positioned within walking distance to some of London’s greatest theatres, L’Escargot has been the epicentre of London fine dining since 1927. In its time, the restaurant has hosted the likes of Coco Chanel, Elton John, Dame Judi Dench and Princess Diana. In 2006, the kitchen was under the reign of Marco Pierre White and Simon was invited to join the ranks.

“That was my break – that place is infamous, I couldn’t say no.

“This is the place the stories come from – you go to work in the dark, you leave in the dark. You get the Tube home at 2am, get back up at 5am to be at the restaurant by 7am; if you don’t, someone will steal the produce off the front step.

“It was a wild kind of busy – we were pirates in that kitchen. I’m talking anywhere from 60-150 covers at lunch, 150 covers pre-theatre, half-hour break, another 200 covers for dinner, followed by a crowd of theatregoers coming back for dessert after the show. If you ask me now how I did it, I’d have no idea – but when you work in L’Escargot, you know you’re alive.”

Understandably, the menu was built for speed. While it was also market influenced and seasonal, it was ultimately led by how quickly Simon could get the dish from the kitchen to the dining table.

“That was my jam,” he says. “Simple, classic food, really well thought out in this busy, bustling, noisy restaurant. We cooked everything seasonally – using seafood from Daily Fish at Billingsgate Fish Market, veg from Cream of the Crop in the heart of New Covent Garden Market, and lamb from Elwy Valley in Wales.

“Then there were the barrow boys – small market stalls I’d cycle past on the way to work, so I’d see what products were brand new. One week it was rhubarb, the next it was berries. I knew what was coming in and that would give us the menu’s direction as we moved through the seasons.”

When Simon joined the ranks of L’Escargot, it was a one-star Michelin restaurant, and had been for years. In 2007, another chef left, giving Simon the opportunity to step into the role as Head Chef under Executive Chef Warren Geraghty. Simon had one big goal in that role –  to maintain the star.

“That was a fantastic break – the most amazing chefs had been in that space and we considered ourselves the custodians of the star for the period of time we were there.

“Keeping the star for the three years I was head chef was just the proudest moment. That was everything.”

And then, a phone call set Simon on a different path again… this time, it involved yachts.

Secondi – the second course

“I had a rule. You never phone the kitchen during service time. So when the phone rang at 5pm on a Friday, just as the pre-theatre crowd was pouring in, I told the person on the other end to call me back on Monday and hung up.”

In the seconds Simon gave the caller, they offered him a job. Thinking it was a wind up, he thought little of it until they called back the following week, as directed. As it turned out, the person on the other end of the line was calling from Odessa on behalf of a Ukrainian oligarch. His question? “Will you come work on our yacht?”

Two days later, Simon was walking down Kensington Palace Gardens – a street lined by embassies and bookended by police – on his way to meet the oligarch and his team. He arrived at the old Russian embassy, the building the oligarch had recently purchased to convert into his home, and was promptly directed to the stables next door.

“A guy called Kevin stepped forward and said: ‘Let’s cut to the chase. This is what we’re going to pay.’ I said: ‘When do you want me to start?’”

For the next two years, Simon sailed the Mediterranean, the Aegean and the Black Sea. While the yacht’s kitchen was small, his ability to plan fast, fresh menus from L’Escargot’s basement kitchen put him in good stead. When he wasn’t at sea, he’d cook for the family from their private house in the Caribbean and Turkey, or their apartment in New York.

His reputation travelled across oceans, landing him another role on a yacht owned by a Swedish jewellery magnate. Simon set sail again, this time along the coast of Finland, Sweden, down to Barcelona and the Turkish Islands.

“That role saw me spend a lot of time along the coast of Italy, sourcing produce from markets in Tuscany, Sardinia and Sicily and I fell in love with Italian food,” he says. “It’s simple, honest, delicious – there are no airs and graces to it, it rejoices in the rustic.”

It was a love Simon carried with him to the land down under, where in 2017, he donned the head chef hat once more for Elements of Byron. He describes the venue as having a ‘L’Escargot-esque’ game play in place – a seasonally driven menu with a team who bought smart, cooked smart, made everything in house and pulled off up to 350 covers a night.

“So I had this super fast brasserie going on, alongside a pizza oven.”

Enter the era where Simon honed his Italian cooking skills.

“I was lucky enough to have a few Italians working for me there, the most amazing pizza chefs from Italy. And while I was technically their boss, I picked their brains about everything they knew. We made fresh pasta, pizzas, and all the sauces and toppings that go along with it – I was so lucky to have three years with that team. Then the pandemic hit.”

Kitchens worldwide shut down, and Elements of Byron was one of them. While they managed to swing their doors open again months later, a second lockdown was too much for Simon to bear. The mood had shifted, he wanted a change, an opportunity to build something of his own – and Bellingen was calling.

Dolci – the dessert

“My partner Selena and I decided to go on a break and came to Bellingen, as we often did. We love this town – and on that particular visit we started looking for businesses for sale. That’s when we saw The Fennel Seed was on the market.”

They viewed the property, fell in love on the spot and by January 2021, it was theirs. Renovations quickly followed, reviving the space as a soul-filled, informal trattoria in the heart of Bellingen – and Charlie’s at Church was born. Simon’s vision was a restaurant for the community, a place people can visit to celebrate anything and everything from 50th wedding anniversaries to 12-year-old birthday parties, mid-week catch-ups with the mates and Saturday night out with your love.

The menu is hearty, wholesome and ultimately driven by the produce Simon can get his hands on.

“Everything’s made in-house and I’ve got the most fabulous suppliers – Bellingen Beef and their incredible steaks, and The Patch Organics’ fruit and veg. That’s why the menu is changeable, because it depends on what I can find on the day. We buy what we need, cook it that day and make every dish delicious.

“It’s rambunctious and busy, informal and fun,” says Simon. “We are so happy here, it’s the perfect pace for us – busy and buzzy and we have a great team behind us. Together we just want to cook great Italian food and offer the most amazing customer service to everyone who walks through our doors. We want people to feel wonderful here, and leave with both their stomachs and hearts full.”

Check out Charlie’s at Church

Discover Simon’s mad cheffing skills for yourself at Charlie’s at Church – rustic Italian dining in the heart of Bellingen. Simon and his team specialise in sourdough pizza, handmade pasta and their infamous tiramisu. Indoor and alfresco dining available in this fully licensed, fun-filled venue.

7 Church Street | Bellingen NSW 2454 | 0448 537 653 | Website | Instagram | Tuesday to Saturday 5.00pm–8.00pm | Photography Jim A. Barker