From Breakfast Chef to Lunchtime Artist

Halcyon House award winning breakfast chef Dylan Cooper has food (and art) running through his veins. Growing up in Northern NSW he loved to paint the natural beauty around him, but his dad had different ideas and sent him off to be a chef-something he is forever grateful for as his bread and butter.

Travelling the world and working in some of the finest kitchens with some of the best chefs (Longgrain, Sake, Portena/Bodega) gave Dylan the edge to develop his skills and return home to take on the coveted role at Paper Daisy, Halcyon House. Awarded the ‘best hotel breakfast’ in 2018 by Gourmet Traveller, Dylan says “I love the early mornings at Halcyon, beachfront in one of the most beautiful spaces I’ve worked in, plus I get to paint by lunchtime and pick the kids up from school-bonus”

Dylan fervently believes food is art and this is evident in the dishes he creates, such as the coal-roasted pepper and white beans, fried eggs, green tomato pickle and house made sourdough- delicious.

Dylan the artist, mixes his love of painting landscapes with his passion for cooking, creating a new body of work ‘the Halcyon series’ capturing the stunning white lines and textured interiors of the boutique hotel. “I was opening early one morning and there was literally no one around- I was stopped in my tracks by the amazing colours and autumn hues, I just had to paint them”

The Halcyon series has been a roaring success, with guests and collectors alike requesting their special part of the hotel to take home with them long after their stay. Dylan is preparing for an emerging artist group show at Michael Reid Gallery in Sydney early 2020 and aspires to do a show at Halcyon in the future.

For now Dylan’s feet are firmly on the Paper Daisy kitchen floor, he has found his work, life balance and is thrilled that he can cook in the morning, paint by midday and hang out with his children by the afternoon- an idyllic state of Nirvana!

View more of Dylan’s work on Instagram @dylancooperart