Charlie Bevilacqua

What type of fooddo you serve?

Classic pub cuisine. And people love this food – I have people coming from as far away as Liverpool.

How long have you been a chef?

I’ve been a chef for 19 years. I really love it. I’ve been with Laundy Hotels [which owns the pub] for five years. I’ve always worked in hotels or restaurants.

Where did you learn to cook?

I did my apprenticeship at the old ANA Hotel [now the Shangri-La Hotel] in the Rocks.

What is your specialty?

We do all of the classics: steaks, veal parmigianas, schnitzels, ribs and-so-on. But we also do a lot of salads, such as Caesars, garden salads and Thai Beef Salad. A lot of our cuisine is pretty simple, but it’s what people seem to want. Because of the food more people bring their kids to the pub, so it’s more family orientated.

Where do you source your ingredients?

The buying is centralised because we’re one of 40 hotels owned by the company. Andrews Meat is our supplier for meat – they look after us.

What is your signature dish?

Any of our steaks, really. The Godfather is really popular. That’s a 300-gram Scotch fillet or rib eye served with bacon, grilled onion, sautéed mushrooms and your choice of sauce. It comes with chips and side salad.

THE GODFATHER