Australian Story: May 13

Over the next three weeks, Australian Story goes behind the scenes at some of Australia’s top restaurants, profiling proprietors Josh Niland, Shaun Christie-David and Kylie Kwong.

On Monday it showcases Josh Niland of Saint Peter restaurant and Fish Butchery in Paddington, Sydney.

It was a fear of failure that pushed young chef Josh Niland to wild experimentation.

“Everything was going to go to shit, and I needed a plan for how to get out of it” – Josh Niland

To save money, he began using the parts of the fish he’d been throwing away, making bold culinary concoctions – think ice cream from eyeballs – with stunning success.

“Some chefs do things that sound extraordinary, and you think, well, there’s a reason why people haven’t done this before. But when Josh invents something, you think why hasn’t everyone been doing this forever?” – Nigella Lawson

Josh is arguably Australia’s hottest chef right now and his ‘nose to fin’ approach has made a big splash worldwide. But he reveals the genesis of his drive and love of food: a life and death battle when he was just eight years old.

8pm Monday on ABC.