Celebrity chef plans Sydney restaurant

Celebrity chef Albert Roux is hopping on the Sydney bandwagon with plans to open a restaurant in the city.

Roux shot to food stardom in the 1980s alongside brother Michel, but at the ripening age of 77, you wonder why he would consider Australia for anything other than retirement.

''I'm probably the main reason for his interest. But he loves Sydney and still has plenty of energy,'' says Sydney restaurateur Tom Rutherford, who spent six years in the Roux brothers' kitchen at Le Gavroche in London.

Rutherford says it isn't just an idea; he's scouting sites and they hope to open a bistro in the city centre by the end of 2013.

''We're serious. Chez Roux Australasia is formally incorporated,'' he says.

So why doesn't Roux just buy into Rutherford's Palm Beach restaurant, Beach Road, which Rutherford had on the market for years before relaunching it as the French-leaning Bistro Rivage?

''He wanted to, but I said no. It's too small, it's a one-man band. So he said, 'Let's go and open another place.'''