It’s not often you find an entirely gluten-free menu, but co-head chefs are doubling the creativity at The Botanica Vaucluse to make it happen.
Abby James, who trained at Sydney’s Quay and Jonah’s, joined the team in 2023 and stepped into the head chef role in 2024. Her Co-Head Chef Thai Sams joined the team from Bentley Restaurant and Bar in the same year.
Entirely gluten-free, the menu is a refined evolution of Botanica’s signature style. It balances light, playful notes with more elegant, mature flavours.
Hero dishes include the stracciatella with charred greens and leek oil; Skull Island tiger prawns with creoja and shishito peppers, Glacier 51 toothfish with buttermilk and smoked hock; and Margra lamb with kombu, buttermilk, and pea blossom. The wood-fired focaccia with whipped cultured butter showcases the chefs’ technique and dedication to high-quality gluten-free dining.
Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Mark Moran Group Evette Moran says its rare at this level to have a completely gluten-free menu.
“It’s something we’re really proud to continue,” says Moran. “This new chapter is about staying true to our farm-to-table ethos while giving our guests something fresh and memorable every season.”
James and Sams bring 28 years of fine dining experience to The Botanica.
James was born in Malaysia, and grew up with bold flavours shaped by her Chinese, Japanese, and Native Malaysian heritage. Her fine dining foundations at Quay were followed by a hands-on role at Marramarra Lodge on the Hawkesbury River, where she worked alongside local fishermen, oyster farmers, and the lodge’s vegetable garden.
“The Botanica is not changing, we’re just doing it better,” says James. “With two chefs leading the kitchen, the philosophy stays the same, but the creativity and energy have doubled.”
Sams, who has worked under Peter Bryant and David Pugh, brings fine-dining discipline to the kitchen, leading with perfectly cooked proteins and refined sauces. He was raised in a coal mining family in northern NSW, food was never about luxury but about togetherness, simplicity, and respect; with nothing wasted.
The Botanica Vaucluse’s new menu officially launched on Friday 3 October. For more details and to make a booking, visit: https://www.thebotanicavaucluse.com.au/.
Photography provided by The Botanica Vaucluse.
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Maia Hart
