Top food talent to be showcased in Art Gallery of New South Wales expansion

The $344 million Art Gallery of New South Wales expansion, opening December 3, will take the importance of food in our cultural institutions to a level with a comprehensive offering by notable Sydney chefs Matt Moran and Clayton Wells, indigenous cooking educator Aunty Beryl van Oploo and restaurateur Palisa Anderson.

New venues MOD. Dining (Wells) and Kiosk (van Oploo) will provide all-day dining options alongside Crafted by Matt Moran and The Gallery Cafe which already operate in the pre-existing gallery building.

Culinary advisor Moran says food plays an increasingly important role within culturally significant buildings, referencing Peter Gilmore's hatted restaurant Bennelong at the Sydney Opera House.

The expanded gallery, also known as the Sydney Modern Project, is the most noteworthy cultural development in the city since the Opera House, expected to inject more than $1 billion into the NSW economy.

"It really is going to become one of Sydney's showpieces, it'll be a massive tourist destination," says Moran.

"And not only will the gallery be beautiful, but so will the food.

"It really is going to become one of Sydney's showpieces, it'll be a massive tourist destination."

"With Clayton, Aunty Beryl and the others on board we'll be able to bring a really diverse food offering. It's going to be a major drawcard."

Kiosk will offer a takeaway menu inspired by van Oploo's extensive experience as an indigenous cooking and hospitality educator, showcasing native ingredients such as wattleseed, lemon myrtle and Dunoon macadamia.

MOD. Dining is Wells' first project following the announced closure of his two-hatted Chippendale restaurant Automata on December 17.

"It's going to be fresh, fun, casual food [inspired by] all the flavours that Sydney produces," Wells says, hinting his famous fried prawn sandwiches may be making a comeback.

"Who wouldn't want to have a restaurant in an art gallery? Some of the most amazing galleries around the world have great food and beverage outlets in them.

"It's a very special thing to be involved in."

Chat Thai restaurateur and host of SBS series Water, Heart, Food Palisa Anderson has come on board to develop the new menu at The Gallery Cafe. She will also be involved in pop-up culinary events, to be announced, throughout the year.

Anderson says she wants to create a nourishing culinary experience "that delivers a sense of time and place".

"When you've consumed something amazing with your eyes, you also want to consume something amazing when it comes to your food," she says.

"It's such a personal thing for me because I grew up in the gallery [as an assistant to famed floral sculptor Tracey Deep]. I'm a born and bred Sydneysider, and it's an institution rooted within the city.

"To be included, and to help people digest all of that beautiful art, is really an honour."