This is the fine dining we like. Large windows overlooking the water in Pyrmont, in the Sydney bay: with well spaced tables and attention to detail without too much excess. Welcome to the reign of chef Federico Zanellato...

Federico Zanellato, head chef of LuMi Bar & Dining and The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide's 2017 Chef of the Year, shares some of his much-loved home recipes.

The innovator

Federico Zanellato, LuMi (Citi Chef of the Year)

Is this young Italian 2016's answer to Tetsuya Wakuda? It's not such a long bow, when you look at what he's putting on the plate. Innovative and original, with a distinctly Japanese aesthetic, his Italian food breaks rules in all sorts of delicious ways. 

The gleaming glass-walled space on Pyrmont Wharf is lit by a starry ceiling of pendant lights, and service strikes that very Italian note of both informality and care. 

Who the hell would pipe a glossy black sesame emulsion on top of salt-baked beetroot? And make it look like a party-time continental cake? And make it taste earthy, explosive, incendiary? Only someone like LuMI's Federico Zanellato. 

"My background is Italian. I was born there but I've spent most of my time travelling and working elsewhere, including in Japan," he said. "The menu at LuMi is a mix of my experience. We didn't plan on it having an Italian and Japanese fusion, it just happened and it's evolved."
 

An eclectic list that delivers a brilliant spread of interesting things to drink, with adventure, challenge and quality as touchstones of the collection within the wine menu. The cuisine might be Italian-esque, and is bolstered by a raft of excellent choices from Italy, including aromatic whites of Trentino, structured reds of Tuscany and Piedmont, and a collection of tempting Franciacorta that will have you straying from 
Champagne staples. What thrills, however, is the divergence from the known, with a judicious selection of fine, artisanal sake (the dishes of the food menu weave Japanese cuisine elements in seamlessly, so no need to scratch your head!), textural orange wines and a short but wonderful collection of Mount Etna nerello mascalese. It's a list that suggests playing it safe will reward, but letting a breadth of drinks be part of the dining program for an even more thrilling experience. Very clever indeed.

As an entree to tomorrow’s prestigious announcement, we are happy to divulge today the winner of Australia’s Hottest Dish for 2015.

It is the thoroughly modern crowd-pleasing dumpling, Gruyere-filled agnolotti with porcini butter, by Federico Zanellato of LuMi, Sydney. If you want to try this dish in the restaurant, you’d better book now.

It could be small coins of spelt ravioli holding hot buttery pumpkin puree, or soft capsules of paper-thin agnolotti encasing nonna's tomato sugo, but it will be extraordinary, as Federico Zanellato​ packs elegance, power, structure, acidity, balance and finesse into the very idea of pasta.

Thirty-two, 20, 30, 20, 34. Add up the ages of the core kitchen team at Pyrmont's impressive new modern Italian, and you reach a grand total of 136. Average age, 27.2. On the floor, there's nobody over 30. That's par for the course these days, but still, there's something special going on in this glowing, glass-walled lightbox perched on the waters of Pyrmont Bay next to Sydney Wharf.

Because these aren't young amateurs, they're young professionals

What happens when an Italian chef turns to the East for inspiration? Asian-Italian dining at its knockout finest, that’s what, writes Pat Nourse.

It’s a remarkably informal dining experience for such beautifully conceived and realised food. It has something that so much modern food lacks: soul. 

My high resolution crystal ball tells me Sydney’s hamburger fetish is ready to jump the shark. I’m also forecasting a murky future for our bastard take on rootsy, greasy, cheesy, pulled, smoke-licked, Down-South Americana viddles. So here’s the spice rub: what’s next?

Federico Zanellato might just have the answer. Although he was raised in Padua, in Italy’s Veneto region, Zanellato hasn’t taken the standard Italian tour of duty. 

LuMi Dining in Pyrmont is set atop Wharf 10, opposite The Star casino. The glass-fronted restaurant offers an enchanting view of sparkling harbour and city lights, with an equally impressive tasting menu to match. Led by chef Federico Zanellato and his wife and head sommelier Michela Boncagni, LuMi is earnest but relaxed fine dining, right on the harbour.

Want spectacular food in waterfront surrounds? Look no further
LuMi is an exciting restaurant to come to Sydney. 

Two cuisines collide at LuMi Bar & Dining. The menu is a fusion of Italian and Asian.