When news spread that the Mondrian hotel group was planning to open its first hotel in Australia it caught the attention of luxury hotel lovers around the country. Now a part of Ennismore, in partnership with the Accor hotel and resort group, every Mondrian Hotel has its own identity making stays in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, London, Ibiza and beyond feel like different experiences while still retaining that Mondrian DNA.
The hotel’s Burleigh Heads beachfront location is just 20 minutes’ drive from Gold Coast International Airport, making it easy for everyone from well heeled jet setters to local surfers to grab a table at the hotel’s bars and restaurants.
On the ground floor, chef Andrea Morigi (formerly Merivale’s Uccello) leads the Mediterranean inspired eatery LiTO, an all-day restaurant that covers early riser coffees and healthy or decadent breakfasts through to after dinner dessert cart moments.
Upstairs at the beach club style Haven the pool is reserved for hotel guests only until 11.30am. Then the doors are opened for locals and visitors staying in other parts of the Gold Coast to take a seat in the restaurant or hire poolside beach chairs and cabanas while enjoying food and drinks from the pool-bar menu.
Haven executive chef Aaron Teece was born and raised just over the border from Burleigh in the Northern Rivers. After starting work in Brisbane Aaron moved to London where he worked at Harvey Nichols’ 5th Floor Restaurant before serving special guests including the Queen and Lady Margaret Thatcher as a private chef. Upon returning to Australia he worked at Astral, Sean’s Kitchen, EST., Felix and more before starting his own company Studio Neon and shining a light on food foraging in Australia.
In 2019 Aaron and his wife Lauren moved to the Gold Coast hinterland. While Aaron couldn’t have predicted a five star hotel would open down the road he says it’s been a great experience to be part of Australia’s first Mondrian.
“I was lucky enough have been brought on board nearly a year prior to opening so watching it all come to life has been incredible.”
As most of the kitchen had already been designed but not built before Aaron joined the Mondrian team he found himself faced with the challenge of writing menus before he’d worked with the equipment.
“Once I had a good understanding of the size and brands of equipment we had available it made it all a bit simpler. Even after opening we are constantly tweaking recipes and service style to get better productivity from the staff and kitchen. It’s all about being adaptable.”
At Haven guests dine on seasonal produce from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast down to the Northern NSW coastline. Having lived and worked in the area before taking on the Mondrian restaurant, Aaron had the advantage of already knowing some of the best suppliers to work with. And he enjoyed finding more.
“Weekly farmers markets were a good start and from there it was mostly word of mouth to find other suppliers. Farm visits and local knowledge goes a long way.”
With everything from poolside snacks to special date night dinners in the restaurant, Haven caters to lots of different moods. Aaron says when it comes to deciding on the menu, he lets the produce take the lead.
“Most of the focus originates with what we have available. From there we work out the experiences one would imagine in each of the scenarios before starting to plan the menus. From snacks and bites around the pool to dinner dates and share food birthday parties it all needs to be considered and planned for to give the well-versed experience throughout.”
Since opening in June Aaron says the reaction to what the team is doing in both Haven and LiTO has been really encouraging. “Many of the locals come back weekly and the trust they put in us these days just to create and play is always enjoyable.”
And Aaron has a feeling things are about to get even better.
“I’m really looking forward to those balmy summer nights where I feel the true sense of Haven and the pool bar will come to life.”
