Chef & restaurant consulting

Menu development, food costing, kitchen systems, product development and team training, from a chef who still runs a kitchen of his own. Sydney first, Australia-wide when the job needs it.

Start a conversationGet the free consulting guide
Gabriele Franco in a dark jacket and white roll-neck, arms folded

Most consultants have not cooked a service in years

Gabriele Franco was born in Carlentini, Sicily, ran kitchens for MSC Cruises as executive chef, and in 2024 took over La Botte D'Oro in Leichhardt, which he still runs.

That matters for a practical reason. Advice written by someone who no longer works a section tends to be advice a section cannot execute. Menus that read well and cost badly. Prep systems that assume a brigade you do not have. Standards that hold for a fortnight and then quietly slip back.

The work here is the opposite: developed on your equipment, costed against your suppliers, taught to the people who will actually be cooking it on a Friday night.

Three kinds of engagement

For restaurant and café owners, venue operators, new openings.

Restaurant & Café Consulting

Menus that cost properly, a kitchen that runs without you standing in it, and a team that can repeat the dish when you're not there. Chef Gabriele works the way an owner does, because he is one.

How restaurants & cafés work is done

What it covers

  • Menu development and recipe creation
  • Dish costing and margin review
  • Kitchen workflow and prep systems
  • Supplier sourcing — authentic Italian producers
  • Concept development and positioning
  • Ongoing advisory, monthly or by project

For food brands, manufacturers, private label and retail ranges.

Food Product Development

Recipes built to survive scale. Chef Gabriele develops the product, then works it back through yield, cost, shelf life and process until it can be made repeatably without losing what made it good.

How product development work is done

What it covers

  • Concept and recipe development
  • Bench trials and sensory iteration
  • Yield, cost and margin modelling
  • Scale-up and production-ready specifications
  • Ingredient and supplier sourcing
  • Range extension for existing products

For executive chefs, kitchen managers, hospitality training programs.

Chef & Kitchen Team Training

Training built around the dishes your kitchen actually sends. Pasta, pastry and Italian technique taught on your section, on your equipment, at your service pace.

How chef training work is done

What it covers

  • Fresh, filled and extruded pasta
  • Italian pastry and dessert technique
  • Sauce, stock and base fundamentals
  • Section setup, mise en place and prep discipline
  • Consistency and plating standards
  • Masterclasses for professional chefs

From first call to standing on its own

Every engagement runs in this order, like tickets on the pass.

  1. Step 1 of 5

    A conversation, not a pitch

    What the business is, what it's doing well, and what's actually going wrong. Half an hour is usually enough to know whether there's a job here and whether Chef Gabriele is the right person for it.

  2. Step 2 of 5

    He comes and looks

    A service in your kitchen, the menu, the numbers, the prep list. Most problems are visible in one shift — what gets ordered, what gets thrown away, and where the section falls behind.

  3. Step 3 of 5

    A written scope and a price

    What will change, in what order, over how long, and what it costs. No open-ended retainers unless you want one.

  4. Step 4 of 5

    The work happens in your kitchen

    Dishes developed on your equipment, costed against your suppliers, taught to your team. Nothing is handed over as a document nobody reads.

  5. Step 5 of 5

    It holds without him

    The measure of the job is whether the standard survives once he stops coming. That means written specs, trained staff, and a team that understands why, not just how.

Sydney first, Australia when it's worth the trip

Most engagements are in Sydney, across the Inner West, the CBD, the Eastern Suburbs and the North Shore, because being in the kitchen regularly is what makes the work stick. For projects interstate, Chef Gabriele travels for the on-site blocks and runs the rest remotely. Menu development, costing and product work do not always need him standing in the room.

Free consulting guide

Thinking of bringing Italian to your venue?

Leave your details and download Chef Gabriele's guide to authentic Italian menu development, kitchen systems, and building a concept that lasts — drawn from decades in Sicilian kitchens.

You get the guide and, now and then, a note from the kitchen. Unsubscribe from any email.

Questions owners actually ask

Do you only work with Italian restaurants?

No. Most of the work — costing a menu, fixing prep flow, training a section, developing a product — applies to any kitchen. The Italian expertise matters when a venue wants that identity to be genuine rather than decorative, but it isn't a requirement.

Do you consult outside Sydney?

Yes. Chef Gabriele is based in Sydney's Inner West and most engagements are in Sydney, but he travels interstate for project work and handles menu development, costing and product work remotely for clients elsewhere in Australia.

What does it cost?

It depends on the scope, which is why the second step is a visit rather than a quote. Short projects — a menu review, a costing exercise, a training block — are priced as a fixed fee. Longer relationships are usually monthly. You get the number in writing before anything starts.

How long does an engagement run?

A menu development or costing project is typically two to six weeks. Concept work for a new opening runs longer. Training is often a short intensive followed by a check-in a month later, because technique fades without a second pass.

Will you sign an NDA?

Yes, routinely — particularly for product development and pre-opening concept work. Nothing about a client's recipes, numbers or plans is discussed elsewhere.

Who actually does the work?

Chef Gabriele. There is no team of associates behind this. He is a working chef who runs his own restaurant, which is the reason to hire him and also why he only takes on a few engagements at a time.

Tell us about your venue

Describe where the business is now and what you want it to become. Chef Gabriele reads every enquiry and replies personally.

Start a conversation
Talk about your venue