Brent Morley: No Cookbook all Productivity.
Executive Chef Brent Morley (22 years at the top) defines success not by the clock or the cookbook, but by productivity. At the Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney, he leads a new charge in management where efficiency is the only true metric.
At the helm of the vast food and beverage operation at the Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney—a role that spans three dining outlets, multiple event floors, and 565 rooms is Executive Chef Brent Morley.
Executive Chef, Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney.
A NSW native, Morley brings over 20 years of experience from a career that includes high-profile international hotel brands and recognised Sydney institutions. However, his culinary prowess is uniquely informed by his passion for design.
Brent Morley approaches his kitchen with an artist's touch. He views cooking as just another way to express the creativity he enjoys in his spare time designing and building beautiful furniture using raw Australian materials. He's passionate about his craft in every sense of the word.
Level 36, Altitude Restaurant where fining meets Sydney’s skyline.
Innovation & The Signature Dish at Altitude Restaurant
Any of our duck dishes. We have five beehives on the Level 3 rooftop, and the star is our dry-aged duck breast with Shangri-La honey and lavender. The garnish rotates—black garlic, duck leg croquette, warrigal greens—but the quality protein and its essential flavour profile never change. Good ingredients, sound process, high turnover: that is the definition of a very good dish.
Leading the Next Generation
Recruiting the Industry's Future
How do you keep attracting and retaining young talent to the kitchen?
“It’s a structured process, from visiting culinary schools to partnering for placements. The days of choosing the best résumé are long gone. Now, we hire for attitude and train for skill. If you provide the tools for success and set measurable goals, we can keep this industry alive.”
Advice to Young Chefs
Love your work. Don’t measure time or watch the clock—measure productivity. Efficiency is the only true measurable in the kitchen.
Look up and watch your colleagues. The best learnings in my career have come from watching someone better at a specific cooking method or process. Take that knowledge, make it your own, perfect it, and repeat it again and again.
The City's Quiet Hours
What do you love most about Sydney?
Sunday afternoons when the city is quiet and nothing is open. I love walking around and enjoying its beauty, which is often rushed past during the busy work week. You can also experience this late at night or in the early hours of the morning, depending on the kind of night you’ve had.
Chef Q&A: Brent Morley, Shangri-La, Hotel, Sydney.
Culinary Start? Camden Lakeside Golf Course.
Favourite Kitchen Tool? The old-fashioned 200 cm utility knife.
Obsession Ingredient? Everything good starts with garlic, shallot, and thyme.
22 Years On: What sustains your passion?
The Shangri-La team keeps me going. The young chefs coming through the ranks keep this passion alive. On the technical side, fermentation, dry-aging, and new cooking techniques keep me learning. Crucially, I also enjoy sharing the business side, financial skills and people management—training them in the things the kitchen doesn't always teach.
Top Tip for Purveyors? Relationships are everything.
Go-To Sydney Cheap Eat in Sydney? The best laksa outside of Singapore at The Malay Noodle Bar.
Where do you stand on the debate between Classic and Modern cuisine?
Classic, 100%. I want good, wholesome food with fresh, quality produce, taking time with the cooking methods—whether it's a long braise, something brined, or confited. That's how I was trained, so it's what I fall back on. While the younger generation is bringing an incredible push of flavours that I love to taste, for me, the core methods must remain classic.
Most Controversial Menu Item? Dry aging any fish, a method the industry is only just embracing.
Most Useful Cookbook? I don't use them.
Dining above Sydney with unforgettable views of Sydney Harbour and the iconic Opera House.
Altitude Restaurant bookings:
Level 36, 176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks Sydney.
Phone: (02) 9250 6000
Website: www.shangri-la.com/sydney