Brad Sloane oversees six chef teams for Tilley & Wills Hotels along Australia’s eastern seaboard. Despite his laid-back manner, he’s a sharp and focused operator whose leadership has helped this dynamic group of bars, hotels and a beachside resort achieve both success and acclaim. With venues in Sydney, Coffs Harbour and Brisbane, the group shares a focus on hospitality, contemporary style, fun and, above all, great food.
Across the venues, you really have tight menus.
I’ve been working with Nick Wills, co-founder of the group, for 15 years. His mantra is “food comes first.” That applies across the board – from Four Hundred Mexican Cantina in North Sydney to the Shafston Hotel in East Brisbane and even our resort, Aanuka Beach House. We serve restaurant-style food in a pub format – elegant, but familiar. It’s all about giving people what they want, when they want it.
Where did you learn that approach?
I was head chef at the Riverview Hotel in Balmain. We had bar food downstairs and an à la carte British gastropub upstairs. Same ingredients, different treatments. In the bar, it was fish and hand-cut chips; upstairs, the same fillet cooked acqua pazza. Steak came with dauphinoise in the restaurant, and chips and sauce poivre at the bar. Two different menus. It was a killer to execute – but it taught me how to straddle both worlds. Joining Tilley & Wills Hotels was a natural progression. I wanted to build a bar menu with the skill, technique and ingredients of a restaurant.
How do you manage kitchens across two states?
It’s all about great staff. I’ve been building teams for 15 years and I’ve been lucky to find some exceptional people. I treat it like managing a football team. If I see a chef de partie ready to step up, I move them forward. Otherwise, they’ll leave. Promoting internally bridges the cultural gap – it keeps everyone aligned, saves on training and shows there’s a real career path. Longevity is gold. The head chef at Shafston Hotel in Brisbane? He was my sous chef at Riverview 15 years ago.
And the resort?
We renovated a rundown beachside resort in Coffs Harbour and needed a chef. Through a recruiter, we found Richmond Rodrigue, a former local working in the Hunter who wanted to move back. Total stroke of luck. He’s incredible. He just gets what we’re about. He even won Australian Professional Chef of the Year at Foodservice Australia 2025. Aanuka is loved by locals and that’s what makes it work.
You’re opening a new Asian venue?
Yes. CBD Sydney. No name yet, but it’s pan-Asian fusion. And not the kind you workshop in a boardroom. This is driven by the chefs, many of whom are from Asia. They cook each other’s home dishes, mix ingredients and techniques. It’s a natural hybrid. Identifiably Asian but distinctly Australian. Our Indonesian chefs are obsessed with their Korean teammates’ cooking. They’ve made a nasi goreng with spicy kimchi and an egg on top. It’s brilliant.
Favourite cuisine: Thai. The mix of flavours and textures is incredible. A lot of Western chefs don’t understand how crucial balance is in Thai cooking. Sitting on a beach in Thailand with grilled seafood and a cold beer? Heaven.
Favourite drink: Hendrick’s gin and tonic. Love having a G&T with my missus. She’s English!
Most influential chef: Matt Kemp, from Balzac in Randwick. An amazing teacher. He could teach in five minutes what others take years to explain. He hated waste. He’d turn salmon trim into croquettes. He was so passionate but also opened my eyes to the business side of cooking.
Favourite place: I grew up in Nowra. Spent long days swimming and spearfishing in Jervis Bay, then hoed down on Husky pies and fish and chips.
