community - 2026-06-14

Miguel Maestre says Manly beachfront restaurant launched his public career

Source: manlyobserver.com.au

Before Miguel Maestre became one of Australia’s most recognisable television chefs, he says the key shift in his career happened in Manly. Reflecting on his path from restaurant kitchens to national food shows, Maestre says opening El Toro Loco on the Manly beachfront in November 2009 changed the course of his working life and set up the public profile that followed.

Before Miguel Maestre became one of Australia’s most recognisable television chefs, he says the key shift in his career happened in Manly. Reflecting on his path from restaurant kitchens to national food shows, Maestre says opening El Toro Loco on the Manly beachfront in November 2009 changed the course of his working life and set up the public profile that followed. Maestre had already built a serious kitchen career by then, but he describes the Manly period as the moment everything accelerated. He was the head chef at El Toro Loco after what he says were ninety-five consecutive double shifts, with early starts that included 5am visits to the fish market. There was no social media profile and no mainstream television presence at that stage, just the demands of running a busy brigade. His first break on screen had come earlier while he was working under head chef Ed “Fast Eddie” Halmagyi at Cru restaurant at the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Halmagyi was presenting on Better Homes and Gardens at the time, and filming took place where they worked. Maestre says a producer spotted him in the kitchen and asked him to help Halmagyi on camera, opening the door to television. Another...