Ish
Year
2019–2020
Client
199 Gertrude St, Fitzroy
Service
Culinary Direction · Stabilisation
A strong concept hitting operational friction three months in. Stepped in, stabilised the kitchen, and held the cross-cultural Indian-European direction that had already earned a Good Food review.
© Ish
Context
Ish launched on Gertrude Street with a modern Indian direction: small plates with European presentation, Indian flavour foundations, wine pairings.
Good Food (Dani Valent, 3.5/5) described it as “on a mission to reshape Melbourne's ideas about Indian food” and praised dishes that combined Indian flavours with Italian ideas. But by three months in, the venue needed stronger day-to-day kitchen leadership to hold the standard through service.
What I built
Scope
Culinary direction · Menu refinement · Recipe books · SOPs · Training protocols · Documentation · Health & safety · Stabilisation · Ongoing management
Stabilised execution, rebuilt service standards, and held the cross-cultural Indian-European direction the early reviews had praised, without losing what made the food interesting.
Outcome
A pattern that appears more than once in the file: called in when a strong concept hits operational friction early. Polepole was the same. The food stays. The kitchen gets rebuilt around it. Ish remains open today.
Press
“On a mission to reshape Melbourne's ideas about Indian food. The flavours… are all India but the presentation is European.” Dani Valent, Good Food, Feb 2019 (3.5/5, pre-takeover venue context)
Polepole / Glamp