Five Minutes With: Ben Greeno

Ben Greeno pictured with Danielle Alvarez at Hotel Centennial

The Paddington-based executive chef works across Merivale's The Paddington, Fred’s and Hotel Centennial. This summer he will also create dishes for Sydney Cricket Ground patrons under Merivale’s partnership with Venues NSW.

Firstly Ben, as an Englishman, how are you feeling about the upcoming Ashes series? Nervous or confident? (Be honest!)

I’m not very confident but strange things have happened.

You have been in Australia since 2015 and live locally in Paddington. What have you come to love about it here?

There’s so much to love about it, the weather being the most obvious one. I love how close I am to some of the best beaches in the world and how early the city wakes up. Before I moved down here, my friend Issac was telling me that everyone is up early meeting friends and so on. It’s great to see a city alive early. 

Tell us a bit about what you’re planning on bringing into the SCG this summer.

A lot of fun and a new level of standard for stadium food. I’m lucky to work with so many excellent chefs on a day to day business, and all of us working together on this project was very inspiring, seeing the team. You’re going to see little bits from a lot of our venues and brands.

Your restaurants in Paddington and Woollahra are building big reputations among diners. What have you been doing to change things up?

At The Paddington, we’ve lightened things up a little and added more vegetable-focused dishes on to the menu. Fred’s has done a great redesign of the menu and added in a little snack section for starting off the meal with a glass of champagne. At The Centennial over the past 12 months we really focused on elevating the whole experience. It’s a lot more than just a local pub these days. Of course we have excellent steak frites, but also whole ducks to share and whole roasted fish in vine leaves which really leans into a Provençal vibe.

You went from leading a boutique fine diner to bistros and are now about to embark on a huge stage at the SCG. Is this a trajectory you could have foreseen?

That’s been one of the great things with joining Merivale — that exposure to so many different ways of operating and it’s a constant learning process.

Who’s dish are you most looking forward to eating when you head to the Ashes this summer?

Danielle Alvarez, in a little break from the normal, has made a cheesy chicken roll which is cooked on the griddle with honey and mustard. It is outstanding. I can’t wait to to eat that.