James St Journal June
Journal
June 3, 2026
Phil in Focus
James St (JS), Phil Marchant (PM)
Collaboration has long been part of ESSA’s language.
For Executive Chef and Owner Phil Marchant, working with others is less about the spectacle of a one-off event and more about the creative exchange that happens when people meet each other halfway. It can take shape inside ESSA, through visiting chefs, winemakers and producers, or beyond its four walls, as Marchant takes his own cooking to new venues, situations and even countries.
Across dinners, wine partnerships, producer relationships and visiting chef moments, for Phil, collaboration becomes a way of widening the frame. It brings new energy into the kitchen and carries ESSA’s point of view into other spaces, creating moments and memories that feel uniquely their own.
Following his recent sojourn at Bar Vera in Bali and ahead of his partnership with Enrique Mancilla of Rickys River Bar & Restaurant in Noosa, we turned to the man himself for his thoughts on how collaboration continues to inform the way he cooks, leads and thinks about hospitality.
Get to know Phil in this month’s edition of the James St Journal below.
JS: Collaboration is a recurring theme throughout your work, both at ESSA and beyond, why is it so important to you?
PM: For me curiosity sits at the centre of everything.
Restaurants can become echo chambers if you're not careful. You spend enough time in one kitchen and eventually you stop questioning why things are done a certain way.
Collaboration forces you to see your work through somebody else's eyes. It challenges assumptions, introduces new ideas and reminds you there are many ways to arrive at a great outcome.
At ESSA we talk a lot about trying things without ego. Collaboration is probably the purest expression of that.
JS: From hosting the likes of House of Adlib and Foreign Friends to your recent experience at Bar Vera in Bali, how does the experience differ when you are welcoming someone into ESSA versus stepping into someone else's space?
PM: When someone comes into ESSA, my responsibility is to create a platform where they can do their best work. It's about hospitality, not just for guests, but for the people you're collaborating with.
When I step into someone else's venue, the roles reverse. I’m the guest. I spend more time listening, observing and understanding how they work, their ideas, their reasoning.
Both experiences are valuable because they require different muscles. One is about sharing your house, the other is about respecting someone else's.
JS: You’ve worked with a diverse range of artisans and producers, what makes someone feel like the right fit for a collaboration? Are you drawn to collaborators who share your philosophy, or people who challenge it?
PM: A bit of both to be honest.
I think the best collaborations usually start with shared values rather than shared styles. We don't need to cook the same food or think the same way, but we need to care about the same things: quality, generosity, craft and creating meaningful experiences.
If those foundations exist, I actually enjoy the differences. If someone challenges the way I think, that's where the interesting conversations happen.
JS: How do you keep your own point of view clear while making room for someone else's?
PM: By focusing less on ownership and more on contribution.
I don't think collaboration works if everyone is protecting their territory. The goal isn't to prove whose idea is better. It's to create something neither person would have made alone.
If you approach it that way, your point of view doesn't disappear. It becomes part of a bigger conversation.
JS: What do you think all ESSA collaborations have in common, whether they happen inside the restaurant or elsewhere?
PM: For me, it always comes back to curiosity.
We spend a lot of time in hospitality saying, "this is how it's done." Collaboration gives you a chance to ask, "what if it wasn't?"
The common thread isn't a particular cuisine or style. It's a willingness to explore ideas, learn from other people and remain open to different ways of doing things.
The moment you stop being curious, you stop growing.
JS: How have collaborations helped shape ESSA's identity over time?
PM: I don't think ESSA would look the way it does today without collaboration. Every time you cook with somebody, travel somewhere or spend time with a producer, something sticks.
It might be a technique. It might be an ingredient. It might be a different way of looking at a problem. Over time those little pieces become part of the restaurant.
JS: What do you hope your team takes from working alongside visiting chefs, winemakers or producers?
PM: I hope it’s a different perspective and they realise there isn't one right way to do things.
Hospitality can be a funny industry. We all think our way is the best way because it's the way we know.
Then somebody walks in and solves the same problem completely differently. That's usually when you learn the most.
JS: What do you hope guests take from a collaborative dinner or event?
PM: Hopefully a sense of discovery.
The best collaborations aren't really about seeing two chefs cook together. They're about being exposed to an idea you hadn't considered before.
Maybe it's a producer. Maybe it's a wine. Maybe it's a way of thinking. If somebody leaves talking about something they hadn't thought about before, that's a win for me.
JS: How do external collaborations feed back into the restaurant once you return?
PM: They create momentum, but they also create perspective.
You come back with fresh ideas, renewed energy and often a different perspective on your own work. Sometimes you bring home a technique. Sometimes it's an idea. Sometimes it's simply a renewed appreciation for what you've built.
JS: What has collaboration taught you about your own cooking, or about hospitality more broadly?
PM: That hospitality is ultimately about people. We spend a lot of time talking about food, wine and design because they're tangible.
But when people talk about memorable experiences years later, they're usually talking about a person. A producer they met. A conversation they had. Somebody who made them feel welcome. Collaboration reminds you of that.
JS: What kind of creative conversations do you want ESSA to be part of next?
PM: I'm interested in how restaurants stay relevant without becoming bigger. Hospitality seems obsessed with growth, scale and expansion.
I'm probably more interested in how you build something meaningful, keep it independent and make it matter to the people who walk through the door.
Producers, farming and seasonality are all part of that, but really, I'm interested in people trying to do good work and finding a way to keep doing it. I think we're going to need more conversations about that.
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