Lauren Eldridge has joined Van Haandel Group as group head pastry chef.
Eldridge has begun working closely with the teams at Stokehouse (St Kilda and Q), Pontoon and Fatto Bar & Cantina.
Eldridge’s previous experience is extensive, having worked at Osteria Francescana in Italy as well as stints at Le Cinq and Guy Savoy in France.
Eldridge has also worked across Australia at Marque Restaurant.
In 2015, Eldridge was the winner of the Josephine Pignolet Award (SMH Young Chef of the Year). She was the first pastry chef to win the award and the first female in a decade to win.
Most recently, she won the 2016 Gault & Millau Potentialist of the Year and also participated in the 2016 Young Chefs Lunch for Good Food Month in Sydney.
Eldridge also featured in an episode of MasterChef Australia series nine as part of an immunity challenge.
“It’s a real coup to have Lauren join our group, bringing further youth and ingenuity to our team, and we can’t wait to see what she has in store,” says Frank Van Haandel.
To celebrate, Stokehouse St Kilda is holding a special dessert degustation dinner on 30 August. The dinner will be held in the Stokehouse Palm Room with a menu of desserts designed by Eldridge. This will be the first opportunity for Stokehouse customers to try a selection of Lauren’s award-winning creations.
The dinner will include matched beverages selected by Gavin Cremming, who has overseen the wine offer at Stokehouse since the reopening.
The Stokehouse wine list was recently awarded the Best Wine List of the Year Best New List — The Tony Hitchin Award 2017 in the Australian Wine List of the Year Awards.