PEOPLE

Bistro and wine bar Bishop Sessa in Surry Hills is the brainchild of Melburnian nose-to-tail chef Paul Cooper (Pied à Terre (London), The Botanical, The Provincial, O’Connells) and industry stalwart Erez Gordon (Jacques Reymond, The Botanical, Mezzo (London), The Argo).

Both Cooper and Gordon have young families, so adding a young restaurant to the mix wasn’t necessarily in the plan, but they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take up residence in one of Crown Street’s most iconic sites – the old home of the well-loved French restaurant, Tabou.

Bishop Sessa takes a more casual approach to modern European dining than its predecessor and is focused on local, sustainable produce wherever possible.

Paul Cooper, Chef, Co-owner

Paul Cooper grew up in the Mornington Peninsula region of Victoria and his first hospitality experience was as a waiter at a local restaurant, where he met his now wife, Jaclyn Cooper. He soon moved into the kitchen and made his way up through the ranks, finally moving to Melbourne to work at Matteo’s and then Bistrot d’Orsay.

Looking for broader experience, the pair headed overseas, travelling through Spain, Italy, France and the UK. Paul worked at several high-profile restaurants including Tom Aikens and Foliage at the Mandarin Oriental (both 1 Michelin Star) and ABaC in Spain (2 Michelin stars), finally landing at Pied à Terre Restaurant, London (2 Michelin stars) for two years working with Shane Osborn. Paul’s experience at Pied à Terre saw him start out working with pastry and bread, and accordingly his desserts and breads are of an outstanding standard. Everything served at Bishop Sessa is made on the premises.

When Paul returned to Australia he worked with The Botanical, The Provincial and O’Connells before moving to Sydney to start Bishop Sessa with Erez Gordon.

Cooper’s experience at Michelin starred and hatted restaurants has gifted him a sophisticated suite of techniques, whilst his passion for accessible, interesting food and sustainable produce ensures his dishes are attractive to a broad range of diners.

Paul and Jaclyn had a daughter, Madison in 2012.

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Erez Gordon, Co-owner

Erez Gordon took an unlikely path into hospitality. Starting out at a rough pub making its way to gentrification, Erez was the security guard who explained to the regulars that their old pub had changed. There were knives, a few fights and a gun, but eventually the regulars moved on and Erez moved from the door to behind the bar.

It was a niche that suited him well and when he travelled to London, he ended up behind an entirely different kind of bar calming down celebrities moved on from their tables at the famous Mezzo, a restaurant so busy that no matter who you were, there were two sittings for each table. Returning home, Erez put his resume under three doors, and eventually became the maitre’ d of Jacques Reymond and then general manager of The Botanical. After many years as a restaurant consultant, Erez and his wife Liz moved to Sydney so his young daughters, Astrid (2) and April (3) could be closer to his in-laws.

Erez bought Bistro Bruno in 2011 and opened Bishop Sessa with Paul Cooper in 2012.

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