Chefs Bios

Joe Pavlovich

New Zealand born, Joe Pavlovich, Head Chef at glass brasserie, has a wealth of experience in the kitchen, and is one of Australia’s most sought after chefs. His skills and passion have lead him to prepare meals all over the world for the likes of Richard Branson, Princess Mary, James Packer, John Symond and  Charlie Palmer.

Joe began his career at the Kermadec Ocean Fresh Restaurant, one of Auckland's top fine dining restaurants. The restaurant specialised in premium fresh seafood, selected daily from the catch of the owner's fishing fleet.
In 1997 Joe travelled to Australia, joining Serge Dansereau at Kables. During his three years at Kables, Joe received invaluable classical training from Serge and the skills required to run a efficient hotel kitchen with a large team of chefs. From Kables, Joe went on to work as Chef de Partie at Sydney's fine dining Establishment, Est.

In 2001 Joe joined Luke Mangan's Bistro LuLu as Sous Chef, quickly rising to become Head Chef. He successfully ran the acclaimed kitchen until 2005.
Joe is based at glass brasserie in Sydney but also oversees Luke's international restaurants. 

Marjon (MJ) Olguera

Marjon (MJ) Olguera was born in the small town of Singleton in the Hunter Valley.  He has over a decades experience as a chef, and has been working with international restaurateur, Luke Mangan, since 2004. As one of Luke’s most outstanding protégés, MJ was appointed Head Chef at The Palace by Luke Mangan in Melbourne and managed all culinary operations at the establishment, until it’s sale in late 2011.  .

MJ has worked with Luke at glass brasserie, Hilton Sydney; Bistro Lulu, Paddington and has assisted Luke at functions for Richard Branson and Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Copenhagen. He also spent time working at Salt Tokyo, playing an instrumental role in its opening.

Together with Luke, MJ has travelled to Singapore, America and Hong Kong for special events and private functions.  He successfully competed in the MLA Chef’s Challenge in Dubai (2008), representing Salt Tokyo.

Prior to working with Luke, MJ completed his chef apprenticeship at Appelation (Hunter Valley), One Broke Road (Hunter Valley) and Whale Beach Restaurant (Sydney)

MJ will now take on the role as head chef of Luke Mangan's newest venture, Salt grill Jakarta which will open its doors late February/early March of 2013.

Kathy Tindall

Kathy Tindall, sits as Head Chef of Salt grill in Surfers Paradise. Kathy’s affiliation with Luke Mangan began way back in the October of 2005 where she began working for him at glass brasserie, Hilton Sydney. During that time, she played the role of Chef de Partie at the restaurant but her enthusiasm and culinary talent quickly took her up the ranks to assume the role of Head Pastry Chef, Sous Chef and eventually, as the Head Chef of the restaurant.

Working with Luke allowed Kathy opportunities to travel and prepare meals around the globe. In addition to demonstrating her culinary knowledge and passion for food, she has even took one step further and moved on to assure Luke of her management skills by overseeing the smooth kitchen operations for Richard Branson’s Private Game Reserve in South Africa, as well as to assist in the organisation of large scale events such as G’Day USA 2008.

Kathy began her career as a chef in 1998 at the Novotel Darling Harbour in Sydney. Working as part of a busy hotel kitchen and a large team honed both her culinary and management skills. During her term at the restaurant, Kathy has even won the Award for Excellence from The Home Economics Institute of New South Wales.  In 2000, Kathy moved to GPO Sydney, No.1 Martin Place, as a third year apprentice in Prime restaurant. Kathy became determined to work towards having international experience under her belt and after a successful period working locally, Kathy made the decision to move to England where she worked as a Sous Chef at the prestigious - The Glasshouse Restaurant, located in the English Lake District.

In 2010, Kathy’s international experiences put her in good stead to head the culinary team of Salt grill Singapore before moving back to Australia to work on launching Luke’s latest venture in Surfers Paradise, showcasing her versatility and creativity throughout the menu.

Tom Wells

Tom Wells was born in High Wycombe, England and found his passion for cooking during his time at high school. He enrolled at Stafford College, where he continued his education and qualified in hotel catering. In 1998, Tom took on his first job in a professional kitchen as a Commis Chef.

His career has taken him all around the world, working at top hotels in England, Malta and Australia. In 2004, he helped to launch the Cunard Ocean liner ‘Queen Mary 2’ and remained with the cruise line for over 2 years, before returning to England.

The talented chef speaks of a long list of achievements including winning the ‘Aubrey Allen Chef of the Year’ competition in 2008, which was judged by 3 Michelin star chefs including Chef Pierre Koffman and his role as Head Chef at Turners Restaurant, Harborne Birmingham, when they earned their first Michelin star;

In 2009, Tom took the opportunity to return to sea, working with P&O Cruises and Luke Mangan. He played the role of Executive Sous Chef for Salt grill and was responsible for the successful set up of three of Luke’s Salt grill restaurants onboard the Australian luxury cruise liners.

Tom is a talented chef with a cheerful manner. He has an amazing eye for detail and strives to provide guests with the best possible culinary experience.

Sharing Luke’s philosophy of using the freshest seasonal produce from the region, Tom’s experiences put him in good stead to head the culinary team of Salt tapas, Singapore. The capable individual has showcased his versatility and creativity through the menu and through this he has now been appointed as head chef of Salt grill, Singapore.

Matt Leighton

Having found his passion for cooking at a young age, Sydney native Matt Leighton first dipped his fingers in the culinary world at just 18 years of age, and now at 25, has carved a name for himself as a rising star in the Singapore dining scene.

He started his career in the main kitchen at the iconic Hilton Hotel in Sydney before moving through to the highly awarded glass brasserie, by celebrity restaurateur Luke Mangan. Matt then joined Mangan’s The Palace in South Melbourne where he served as Sous Chef till 2011.

Matt returned to the familiar territory at glass brasserie after the closure of The Palace and in January 2013 he has joined Salt tapas & bar by Luke Mangan in Singapore in his first Head Chef role.

Luke’s philosophy is that a meal should be an occasion, thus it is always paying attention to the details that make a difference to the dining experience. A perfectionist with a keen eye, Matt is able to exemplify that even at such a young age and so early in his career. He constantly strives for excellence and never settles for second best. A great leader and mentor, Matt readily provides guidance to his peers.

Matt brings his experience and dining philosophy to the culinary and service teams. With grounding in the Luke Mangan empire and a long career ahead of him, Matt looks forward to taking Salt tapas & bar to a new level of success.

Koji Fukuda

Chef Koji was born in Osaka in 1972.

After graduating from high school, he began work at a French restaurant in the Hilton Osaka. At the age of 26, he went to New Zealand to pursue further work in the restaurant field.

Koji’s professional work has gained a high reputation in the industry and in 2004 he took the salmon prize at the New Zealand Culinary Fair.

Koji first met Luke Mangan while he was working as a member of the founding team at White, which was Luke’s first restaurant in New Zealand, at the Auckland Hilton.

Koji went on to become Executive Chef at Otto’s in the Metropolis Hotel, Auckland.

After returning to Japan in 2006, Koji took the role of Sous Chef during the launch of Luke Mangan’s first appearance in Asia, Salt Tokyo. Luke then took Koji to some of his other restaurants, with some time at glass brasserie in the Hilton Sydney and during the opening of Salt grill in Singapore.

He has also cooked with Luke at various VIP events such as a dinner for Charles, Prince of Wales and Bill Clinton, President of the United States.

Since 2011 Koji was appointed as Executive Chef at Salt Tokyo.