There’s more to dining at Marble & Grain than wagyu. Photo: Darcy Oliver.
In the five-star hotels and hatted kitchens where Brenden Gradidge worked, premium ingredients were often non-negotiable. But in today’s dining climate, the executive chef for Capital Hotel Group has focused that pedigree less on extravagance and more on creativity and problem-solving.
The evidence is in the kitchen of one of the group’s celebrated restaurants, Marble & Grain, where skill, seasonality and smart menu design are used to deliver a dining experience that still feels generous, even as ingredient costs skyrocket.
While primarily a European steakhouse, the restaurant offers plenty of variety. A seasonally shifting menu has brought lighter, fresher dishes this summer, from kingfish crudo with herb salsa to almond-crusted snapper with zucchini pesto and crisp-skinned chicken paired with panzanella.
And while a well-documented rise in costs has sharpened the focus on how value is created on the plate, for Brendan that doesn’t mean shrinking portions or simplifying dishes. It means innovation.
“Exceptional dining isn’t limited to premium cuts,” he says. “The right technique can make any cut shine.”
While a beef tenderloin needs little explanation, secondary cuts demand time and care. Lamb breast, for example, is brined, slowly confited in its own fat overnight, pressed, then pan-fried — a process that transforms a cheaper cut into something rich and satisfying.
“You’re pouring skill into it,” he says. “That’s where the value comes from.”
Innovation also plays out behind the scenes through in-house dry ageing, a costly and time-intensive process that sees large cuts of beef carefully temperature-controlled for up to 40 days.
During that time, the meat loses about 30 per cent of its weight as moisture evaporates, concentrating flavour and improving texture.
“In that way, it’s an expensive process because we have to absorb that cost,” he says. “But it brings value to the meal and a point of uniqueness to our restaurant.”
The evolving menu is as much about people as produce. Changes to the offering keep regular diners engaged, but it also sustains creativity in the kitchen.
“If a menu becomes stagnant, it’s uninspiring for customers and for chefs,” Brendan says. “That’s why we’re always creating.”
That philosophy extends to Marble & Grain’s series of cooking masterclasses each year, often developed in collaboration with suppliers.
A winter truffle masterclass paired a grower with a co-created menu, giving diners insight into cultivation, seasonality and pairing. Another focused on “forgotten cuts”, with a butcher guiding guests through parts of the animal that rarely make it onto home menus.
For Brendan, the lessons learned by participants reinforce the same point his career has always circled back to: great dining isn’t about excess.
“It’s about understanding ingredients, applying technique with intention and meeting diners where they are — delivering food that feels thoughtful, generous and worth returning for.”
@this.is.canberra This is Marble & Grain, Canberra’s European inspired steak house 🥩 Marble & Grain delivers a refined dining experence built on premium local produce, seasonal flavours, and a dedication to exceptional service. 📍 Marble & Grain, 25 Mort Street, Braddon 📆 Lunch 12 pm – 2 pm | Bar Menu 10 am – late | Dinner 5:30 pm – late.
For more information, visit Marble & Grain or book yourself into the next masterclass, Butchering & Barbecue.
