CHEFS COLLAB
4x4x4
The Chefs Collab series brings together:
4 x young chefs from 4 x local venues in a 4 x course set menu, supported by 4 x mentors.
This program started in Pipit in 2021 and now travels around the Northern Rivers to the showcase up-and-coming talent, support regional networking and training and foster an industry culture of collaboration
NEXT EVENTS
#9 - Nashua Edition - MARCH 2025
#10 - Girl Gang - JULY 2025
#11 - Pastry Edition - end 2025
In 3 years, we’ve brought together 52 chefs, 28 venues, 400 diners
We’ve contributed over $58,000 to local venues, and dedicated over 160 hours to facilitation.
PAST EVENTS & VENUE PARTNERS
#8 - 5 Aug 2024 - Girl Gang 3 (all female) with Pipit, Bar Heather, The Smoking Camel, Timbo (with mentors from Beach, Karkalla, Joy, The Spotted Pig)
#7 - 21 May 2024 - Byron Bay - Loft Edition - with Pipit, Loft, Paper Daisy, Rae's at Wategoes (with mentors from Pipit, Light Years, The Hut, Shelter)
#6 - 29 August 2023 - Byron Bay - Pixie Edition with Pixie, No35, Chef’s Plate, Loft, You Beauty (with mentors from Pipit, Natural Ice Cream Australia, Frida’s Field, Pixie)
#5 - 27 March 2023 - Girl Gang 2 (all female) with Pipit, Fig Tree, Beach (with mentors from Joy, Honour, Karakalla)
#4 - 17 Oct 2022 - Lennox Heads - Shelter Edition with Pipit, Harvest, Karakalla, Shelter (with mentors from Pipit, Honour, Three Blue Ducks and Karrikin)
#3 - 16 May 2022 - Yamba - Karrikin Edition with Pipit, Ciao Mate, Rae’s at Wategos, Karrikin (with mentors from Lola, Shelter, Pipit, Rae’s)
#2 - 25 Jan 2022 - Girl Gang 1 (all female) with Pipit, LaCasita, Ciao Mate (with mentors from Beach Byron, The Star and Cut Above)
#1 - 20 Sept 2021 - First Edition with Pipit, Fins, Ciao Mate, Three Blue Ducks, Potager
GET INVOLVED!
The 4x4x4 Chef Collab is based on
3 levels of chef partnerships across multiple venues
6 week facilitated framework
Financially sustainable cost model (young chefs are paid)
Positive regional cooperation
BE PART OF LOCAL EVENTS - Northern Rivers
We aim for 2-3 events per year (March, July, Oct) and are inclusive of all chefs and venue types.
Our main aim is diversity in gender, chef levels and geography (north to Tweed and south of Byron)
Please email admin@pipitrestaurant.com if you a chef or venue interested to get involved in future events.
Roles can include:
Cooking Chefs (making a dish for menu). Any chef from apprentices up to sous chefs are encouraged.
Mentor Chefs (executive chefs) are encouraged to guide chefs from other venues
Local venue host (with event support by Pipit provided). Any venue with a kitchen big enough for 6 people is encouraged.
CREATE YOU OWN EVENT - Coaching, Collabs and Event Resources
Contact admin@pipitrestaurant.com if you are outside of the Northern Rivers
NETWORK APPROACH
We’ve been asked to do this in other locations, and we hope find venues to expand this network approach
As priority, we seek to support and promote regional dining and small businesses - but this format would work in bigger cities too
Events like Park(ing) Day, Pecha Kucha, TEDx all spread to different cities based on giving a clear format that people could replicate and adapt, and we openly share the 4x4x4 Chef Collab as a kit of resources and learnings.
RESOURCES TO HELP YOU
LESSONS LEARNT
Phone meeting with Pipit to discuss your region and to share our format learnings
RESOURCES
“4x4x4 Event Kit” - Word/ PDF event templates (schedules, partnership, email templates, logo files, checklists).
Marketing support
Event coaching where Pipit supports through the 4 week program. Available by video/phone
Region-to-region collaboration where Northern Rivers chefs are involved in cooking or mentoring.
Fees apply to the above
BACKGROUND Objectives & Outcomes
OBJECTIVES: Why we do these?
The 2021 OG event was simply based on young chefs making connections and new friends. It recognised that regional area can be isolating in comparison to hospo scenes in bigger cities due to geographic distance, shared hours, and limited inter-restaurant opportunities
Giving visibility and voices to younger chefs
Creating positive workplace cultures through collaboration
Chefs get mentoring, training and learning by being in a different kitchens
Young chefs gett creative freedom being in different kitchen and/or menu style
Exec chefs/owners/mentors benefit from the networking and collaboration, which we also found as an training gap.
Our regional mindset towards training and industry leadership aims to build visitor destinations for wider economic and community benefits. We advocate for our region’s “foodie reputation” as stronger for the sum of many parts/venues. (“the Northern Rivers officially the most foodie region in NSW’ - see SMH Good Food Guide 2022)
OUTCOMES
The nature of collaborations has led to ongoing positive workplace cultures like:
Several young chefs feeling empowered to do their own pop-ups
Venues validating young chefs by putting event pop-up dishes on real menus afterwards
Venues empowering their young chefs via other events like in-house “takeovers”
Several mentors, chefs and host venues have independently continued on other collaborative events
Young chefs have gained employment with host venues