Matt Stone is one of Australia’s most dynamic chef’s.

Heralding from Margaret River in Western Australia. Matt has had extensive experience in notable venues across Australia, including Star Anise, Greenhouse by Joost, Silo, Brothl Stanley Street Merchants, Oakridge Restaurant & Futurefoodsystem.

Drawing inspiration from Australian native ingredients and the natural beauty that surrounds him, Matt strives to minimize waste and employ creative methods to get the most from every ingredient – a skill he honed during his time working with Joost Bakker (and Jo Barrett) on the acclaimed Futurefoodsystem project in Melbourne.

His subsequent culinary & ingredient knowledge has put him at the forefront of the Australian sustainable dining scene.

Home is now Bungalow in NSW, and it is here he has partnered with a formidable team to take up the position of Executive Chef at Ciao Mate! & newly opened You Beauty – a bar serving ever changing small plates, located directly beside Ciao Mate!

The food produced by Young George executive chef and co-owner Melissa Palinkas has been lavished with praise by food reviewers who describe her food with words like ‘inventive, fun, smart, original and drop dead gorgeous’.

While she enjoys producing an innovative menu, Melissa runs a sustainable kitchen, making the best use of every part of vegetables and meats and minimising waste and plastic use.
Her ‘nose to tail’ or ‘root to shoot’ approach to cooking means that nothing is wasted. The trimmings of vegetables and meats are used in stock and leftover vegetables are fermented or used for preserves.

She tries to reduce the carbon footprint of the kitchen by reducing the use of disposable plastics in her restaurant. Sauces are stored in recycled glass jars and she sends the restaurant’s own crates to suppliers to be filled with produce.
Melissa’s first kitchen job was at the Brass Monkey, in Northbridge. She worked overseas in London and Dublin before taking the head chef at The Cabin in Mt Hawthorn for 4 years, before setting up Young George, which she describes as a neighbourhood bar with a serious focus on food.
Melissa was honoured to receive her first Hat at the 2020 Good Food Guide Awards and to be named Chef of the 2019 West Australian Good Food Guide Chef of the Year.