The casino battle in Brisbane, Australia, is gathering momentum, with both proponents pitting their celebrity chefs against each other in a bid to put their plan on the map and raise the city’s culinary profile.
It now appears that British chef Heston Blumenthal could soon enter the race. Crown/Greenland is trying to bring Blumenthal - whose Crown Melbourne Fat Duck restaurant is due to open in February to Brisbane.
Meanwhile, Echo Entertainment’s Destination Brisbane Consortium has enlisted Chase Kojima, Luke Nguyen and Adriano Zumbo to take on Crown’s Neil Perry and Guillaume Brahimi. Echo says it will open 50 bars and restaurants, with Crown expected to settle on a similar number.
Crown has revealed that its planned offerings include Nobuyuki Matsuhisa’s Nobu Restaurant, Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar and Grill, Brahimi’s Bistro Guillaume and a Cantonese restaurant.
