Hailing from Richmond in British Colombia, Canada, Nico moved to Australia in 2017, building up a repertoire of working with native Australian ingredients from his first role at Vue de Monde.

​He recalls tasting desert limes and muntries for the first time there, and becoming partial to native citrus fruits and berries, which can be eaten whole with their skins. Nico would later join Ezard and Amaru, where he would develop an understanding of Asian flavours and further his knowledge of native Australian ingredients.

Four years after his arrival in Melbourne, Nico joined the modern Australian restaurant SUNDA, known as one of the first establishments to cross native Australian ingredients with Southeast Asian flavours.
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From here, Nico went on to open ARU, Sunda’s sister restaurant, the dishes here taking a broader approach, this time spanning the reaches of East Asia, still with a native Australian influence but with the added element of a woodfired hearth.
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Despite his Canadian heritage, Nico cites Japanese and Vietnamese cuisines as his comfort foods, having first been exposed to them in the multicultural melting pot of kitchens in Vancouver, where he was introduced to a wide range of ingredients and flavours.

Outside of work, Nico turns to baking. A self-taught baker, what he appreciates about the craft is not being able to fix something on the go.

​As he says, “Actually having to reassess and remake something completely, makes you think deeply about how the ingredients interact.’’