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Episodes
Best built his reputation the hard way at Marque, seventeen years of three-hat, top-50 cooking that, by his own account, took more than it gave back. He talks candidly about closing those doors in 2016 by the skin of his teeth, about losing a hat and losing financial viability in the same breath, and about how long it actually took to work out who he was as a chef once the accolades stopped defining him.
Ten years on, he’s running Infinity, high above Sydney in the Tower, and he’s made a call most restaurateurs wouldn’t touch: an entirely Australian wine list. No safety net of international labels, no champagne carve-out. Sommeliers pushed back. One told him the concept was weak. Mark Best leaned into the friction anyway, and the diners backed him.
Along the way there’s a tasting of the Chalou โQuixoticโ Pinot Noir, made by Nadia Wallington and her husband Steve in a genuinely symbiotic vineyard-and-winery partnership, paired with Infinity’s dry-aged, chargrilled coral trout. There’s a proper conversation about mentoring the generation of chefs who came through Mark’s tiny kitchen, Dan Hong and Victor Liong among them, and what he actually looks for in people. And there’s an unfiltered take on where Sydney’s dining scene is heading, on cultural cringe, on old vines and new heads, and on why he’d rather do good work quietly than chase anyone’s approval.
It’s honest, occasionally profane, and full of the kind of hard-won perspective you only get from someone who’s actually lived through the highs and the wreckage of hospitality. If you care about Australian wine, Australian food, or what it actually takes to build and rebuild a career in this industry.
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What would it take for you to walk away from something you’d built? Drop it in the comments ๐
Go check out Infinity: https://infinitysydneytower.com.au/ and Chalou: https://www.chalouwines.com.au/
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๐บ Watch full episodes on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow us on Instagram @the.wined.up, @infinitysydneytower, @chalouwines and @markbest
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#markbest #infinitysydney #chalouwines #drinkaustralian #TheWinedUpPodcast #wedrinkwetrywelearnweconnect
We Drink. We Try. We Learn. We connect. Drink Responsibly. ๐ท
YouTube Chapters
00:00 Three Hats, One Restless Chef
01:00 The Wined Up Ice Breaker Questions
07:05 Portraits, Truth and a Craftsman, Not an Artist
09:34 Wheat Country, No Chefs, No Celebrity
11:37 The Night the Lightning Struck
13:10 What Mark Best Cuisine Actually Means
16:09 Chasing the Hats and the Weight of Getting There
19:32 Closing the Doors on Marque
20:57 Stepping Into Infinity and the All-Australian Bet
28:55 The Chalou, the Coral Trout and Why Customers Bought In
39:51 Passing It Down: Mentoring the Next Generation
45:47 Why Mark Best Doesn’t Chase ApprovalShow More
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About Us
The Wined Up is an independent Australian wine, food, travel and hospitality media platform.
Through podcast interviews, editorial features and digital content, we share the stories behind the people, places and experiences that shape our industry.
We champion Australian wine regions, independent producers and hospitality businesses, helping brands connect with an engaged audience through authentic storytelling.
Hosted by Trent, The Wined Up celebrates the stories behind wine, food, travel and hospitality.
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