For the first edition of Friends of Venner, we are welcoming chef Lauren Kinne into the kitchen for one very special Sunday lunch.
Lauren has spent much of her career cooking in Brisbane, working across some of the city’s most respected kitchens and becoming a familiar part of its dining scene. Her path has taken her through Elska, a pioneer of Nordic-influenced fine dining in Brisbane, as well as Restaurant Dan Arnold and Adelita Wine Bar. She also spent time as head chef at our sister wine bar, Milquetoast, before more recently taking her talents to the Gold Coast.
It is a career shaped by curiosity and a desire to keep learning, something that has also taken Lauren well beyond Queensland.
From Brisbane to Denmark
During her time in Denmark, Lauren staged at Restaurant Domestic and worked at Restaurant Gastromé in Aarhus, both one-Michelin-star restaurants.
She remembers it as some of the best moments of her life, not only for what she learnt in the kitchen, but for the culture she found around it.
“Danish culture is very much about taking care of each other and enjoying life’s moments.”
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At Gastromé, Lauren found a Michelin-starred restaurant where the experience extended beyond the food. The kitchen combined ambitious cooking with a working culture she remembers just as strongly.
“I was lucky to find a job in a Michelin restaurant that not only did fantastic food but had a great work culture.”
Foraging together as a team was part of that experience, as was seeing what Lauren describes as “the good side of Michelin”.
“They are moments I will never forget, and a tiny bit of my heart always wishes I could have stayed forever.”
The experience also gave Lauren the opportunity to learn new techniques and work within a different food culture, something she now encourages younger chefs to seek out for themselves.
“I learnt so many new techniques and the experience is something I will always tell young chefs to go out and find.”
Back around the table
That connection between food, people and shared experience is part of why Lauren felt like such a natural person to begin Friends of Venner with.
There are familiar threads in her story, too. Elska’s early exploration of Nordic cooking in Brisbane, her time at Milquetoast, and Lauren’s own experience living and working in Denmark.
On Sunday, 20 September, Lauren will take over the Venner kitchen for a one-off lunch and a menu of her own. We are looking forward to having her in the kitchen and seeing what she brings to the table.
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We cannot think of a more fitting friend to begin with.
Experience Lauren’s menu at Venner on Sunday, 20 September.
All photography courtesy of Lauren Kinne.