Ben Shewry

During 1977, the year that punk music broke open worldwide, Ben Shewry was born in Waitara, a freezing-works town in rural New Zealand. The son of artistic and open-minded farming parents Ben grew up in household where making a little go a long way was not only the rule but the necessity, alongside a strong sense of environment, place and personal identity.

Ben made the strange decision to become a chef at age 5, first set foot in a commercial kitchen at age 10, had his first paid restaurant job at 14 and began full time chef studies at 16. After qualifying as a chef at 18 he worked in the New Zealand city’s New Plymouth and Wellington. After moving to Melbourne, Australia to expand culinary horizons in 2002 Ben was employed at Attica restaurant as head chef in 2005, before talking ownership in 2015.

Ben has dedicated the past 19 years at Attica to discovering what it means to be a cook in Australia from a cultural, community, creative and committed perspective (the 4 C’s). He is releasing his second book, “Uses for Obsession” on the 1st October 2024; a hard-hitting and honest (to a fault) memoir.