Raymond Lim

Cooks’ Blood... Love to cook simple as that!

Self-starter Raymond Lim Le Cordon Bleu Sydney cuisine graduate of 2010 always aspired to running his own business or two... Prior to Le Cordon Bleu, Raymond left his finance job and worked for Les Amis Group, one of Singapore’s finest Restaurant Group; starting with a 3 month stage before being offered a full-time position as an apprentice. Raymond said:

this is where he learnt a lot of his fundamental skills in the art of French cooking from the many chefs in the restaurant group and how to create dishes from nothing - a critical part of his career development

Raymond also spoke about the importance of having good mentors to provide the ever crucial “foundation grooming”; always ensuring he has a strong network of peers he can tap into when needed.

In 2014 Raymond had the opportunity to fulfil his dream and open his first establishment. “Starting out with only a small domestic stove in a very tight kitchen with a very tight budget was a great learning curve” said Ray. Working long days he slowly built up his first business from 3 to now 10 staff. With a vision to open five restaurants in the coming years, he is well underway to opening his second business Miss Murray, a more contemporary dining experience and Yan Restaurant; an Asian inspired Smokehouse this year. Raymond puts his success down to a few key lessons saying,

running a business as a chef you need to know how to cook, know your numbers and network - step outside your comfort zone and experience a different environment; meet different people and finally respect your local customers, listen to what they want (food wise) and not what you think they want

When asked what was Raymond’s inspiration and drive he simply said: “I have ‘cooks’ blood’, my father’s family are all part of the cooking world - it’s in my blood too I guess and simply cooking for people is the greatest privilege I have, and I get to do it everyday!” John Montagu Café has been frequently mentioned in the media over the last two years namely Broadsheet, Sydney Morning Herald and even made it into the Good Café Guide the first year of operation.

Inspiration behind the Café name John Montagu: In the late 1700s, John Montagu was claimed to have invented the sandwich. Meat slapped between two pieces of bread over a card game they say - a homage to the man himself!