With the two-hatted Automata and his casual diner A1 Canteen, Clayton Wells has built himself somewhat of a reputation. The boy from Sydney’s western suburbs could in fact be considered the King of Kensington Street – reigning over a dining precinct near Sydney’s Central Station where many others have tried and failed.
Both restaurants operate from large, open plan kitchens – turning out produce driven plates of food to customers with reputation driven expectations.
“People come in expecting a certain experience – a level of food, a standard of service – and what we want is for them to leave with more than that. On an operational level, and with open kitchens, I need my team to understand my expectations so we can exceed those of our diners. That takes discipline and it takes training – and we’ve gotten to the point now in service where all it takes is a look from me and they know.”
But it’s about far more than just a look. Wells has done the time to earn the respect that warrants the look. Originally he wanted to be an architect which makes perfect sense. Based on the architectural principles of durability, utility and beauty – he has built a career and two successful restaurants with precision and purpose; balanced squarely on an underlying foundation of solidity and structure.
"Open five nights and two days for lunch, Automata seats 62 guests across two floors."
From Apprentice to World-Class Chef
Wells started as an apprentice in the Hawkesbury in 1999 working in hotels for five years before moving to the city to take up post as chef de partie at Quay and then junior sous chef at Tetsuya’s – catapulting himself into a world of fine dining and inspired cooking under the guidance of two world renowned leaders.
From there, he expanded his culinary horizons even more, travelling overseas for a stint in Michelin starred restaurants in the UK and Scandinavia before returning home in 2011 to open David Chang’s Momofuku Seiobo alongside head chef Ben Greeno where he stayed as sous chef for three years.
"With Rodney Dunn at Agrarian Kitchen – Clayton encourages young chefs to travel and taste as much as they can."
As a noted leader in the foodservice space and with an ever evolving menu that changes every few weeks – Clayton uses his influence as an opportunity to educate the customer by using lesser known cuts of meat and serving them in a way that is refined but still approachable.
"Slicing Automata’s pastrami-like beef tri tip which is dry roasted with mustard, coriander seeds and pepper then smoked."
With the Sydney dining scene and diner continuing to evolve and with many restaurants struggling to keep up, Clayton saw an opportunity to open a fun casual dining restaurant in the Chippendale dining precinct. In mid-2018, and just 20 metres from Automata, the 56 seat A1 Canteen was born.
"Preparing A1’s Salted Beef Bagel using beef silverside."
Looking Ahead
With a 20-year career cooking in some of the world’s best fine dining restaurants under the guidance of some of the industry’s greatest – and approaching five years leading a team of his own at one of Australia’s favourite venues – what does the future hold for Clayton Wells?
Whatever the future holds – if the past is anything to go by – it’s clear that all is well that ends Wells.
