Claude's alumni move on

Claude's closed its doors last month after a 37-year run, but its legacy is being felt with a rash of new restaurants. Claude's head chef Ben Sears is the latest to join the launch party, opening Moon Park next month in the former Selby Road Bar site in Redfern.

Oddly, the French-leaning Claude's is flaming an Asian invasion. Moon Park will be Korean-inspired, while Claude's co-owner Chui Lee Luk threw open the doors on the weekend at Chow Bar & Eating House in Surry Hills. Lee Luk's former business partner, Phillip Haw, has opened a modern Asian eatery, Red Rabbit, at Claude's old digs.

Melbourne-raised, Sears's CV doesn't hint at Korean. He's a product of Andrew McConnell's kitchens, including Cutler & Co. But his partner, Eun Hee An, who also worked at Claude's, is Korean.

Ned Brooks, who has worked at MoVida in Melbourne and Sydney, will manage front of house.