Restaurant wins fourth chef's hat

A Pearl Beach restaurant has been awarded a Chef's Hat in the 2019 Good Food Guide for the fourth year running.

Pearls on the Beach proprietors Scott and Melissa Fox received the Hat at the Good Food Guide Awards held on October 8.

"We're the only hatted restaurant on the Central Coast and we're really proud to be recognised as one of the best restaurants in the country for the fourth time," Mr Fox said.

Mr Fox describes Pearls as a contemporary Australian restaurant with an international menu, nestled right on the sand of Pearl Beach.

He attributes Pearls' success to his and his wife's understanding of what makes a good dining experience, their expert team and a refusal to pigeonhole Pearls into any one box.

"Melissa and I moved to the Coast after growing tired of living in Sydney," Mr Fox said.

"We wanted a sea change and there were no doubts about moving to the Coast," Mr Fox said.

The Foxs' have been running Pearls ever since and celebrated 16 years as owner-operators back in June.

"Melissa and I are both country kids.

"We grew up knowing that food tastes better when you pick it out of the ground, not off a shelf, and I think that's always been reflected in our menu," Mr Fox said.

Unlike others, their menu is not fixed and instead changes, sometimes weekly, depending on the quality of produce that season.

"We try to build our menu around the best and freshest produce on the market.

"We don't do signature dishes and instead focus on putting out food that inspires us and I think that gives us an edge over other restaurants on the Coast.

"We like to keep our menu open and that helps us appeal to more diners."

SOURCE:

Interview, 17 Oct 2018

Scott Fox, Pearls on the Beach

Reporter, Dilon Luke