Born on a farm in Mullumbimby and shaped by kitchens around the world, Chef Louis Tikaram infuses his heritage, global experiences, and love for local produce into every dish he creates.

Chef Louis Tikaram grew up on a 110-acre farm in Mullumbimby, on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia. His culinary journey began beside his Fijian-Chinese grandmother, exploring his Fijian heritage in the kitchen. His appreciation for his family’s culture deepened while living in Fiji as a pre-teen. After high school, Tikaram pursued his passion for cooking in Sydney, apprenticing at Longrain under Chef Martin Boetz, who became a lifelong mentor. He later worked at Bentley Restaurant + Bar with Brent Savage and honed his craft at the renowned Tetsuya’s, where he learned the discipline and consistency of Japanese cooking.

With opportunities to work in kitchens across Vancouver and Barcelona, Tikaram developed a global perspective. When Boetz left Longrain, Tikaram stepped in as executive chef, refining his personal culinary style based on a heartfelt philosophy: “I believe in flavoursome, healthy food—the kind I love to eat. I stay true to what I love to cook.” His creativity earned him the 2014 Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year award, catapulting his name internationally and catching the attention of Los Angeles investors.

Tikaram took on the role of executive chef at E.P. & L.P. in West Hollywood, incorporating Southern California’s fresh produce with flavors from his cultural heritage. “The menu at E.P. & L.P. tells the story of my life, the places I’ve traveled, and the food that inspires me,” he says. His dishes combined ingredients like fresh turmeric, galangal, and hand-squeezed coconut milk with SoCal flair. Over six successful years in the U.S., Tikaram appeared on The Today Show, CBS This Morning, and in Food and Wine Magazine, as well as starring in an Emmy-winning episode of The Migrant Kitchen.

In 2019, Tikaram returned to Australia, drawn back to Brisbane by an opportunity to recreate his success with Stanley Cantonese Restaurant at Howard Smith Wharves. Showcasing Queensland’s finest produce, he reinvents Cantonese classics like Peking Duck and Lobster Lo Mein, making a significant impact on Brisbane’s dining scene.

Outside the kitchen, Tikaram enjoys family time, running, cycling, and surfing. A passionate advocate for ocean conservation, he supports various environmental initiatives, maintaining his profound respect for the sea and its creatures.

Q: Your current venue – Tell us a bit about Stanley: its cuisine, the style of the menu, the produce you use, your favourite dishes, what you love most about working there?

Stanley’s philosophy is centred around great food, friends, fishermen and farmers. Inspired by my travels across the globe though grounded by local roots, Stanley’s menu showcases some of the best QLD seafood, meat, vegetables and fruit which I think are the best in the world. Stanley’s ethos combines the best produce, mostly sourced locally, supporting our Australian industry with traditional Cantonese flavours. A fresh perspective and mindset of venturing outside the box adds to the unique experience of Stanley. 

Everything is served share style so it feels like a big celebration you would find at home for a Christmas lunch for example, sharing, laughing, drinking and having a great time.

My favourite dishes at the moment is the BBQ meats and peking duck, these dishes are such a labour of love and take up to 5 days to prepare so I feel they are so special on the menu and I do enjoy them so much. 

I love working at Stanley with the team we have grown over the last 5 years, I have made some of the greatest lifelong friends who feel like family now, I love to showcase the food I learnt growing up as a kid with my grandmother and now to share these special memories with customers is a pinch yourself moment every time.‍

‍
Q: What do you love about living and working Brisbane?

Brisbane has been so great; we have only lived here for 5 years now though we love this city! Of course, the life style and quality of living is exceptional though the best part is the direct connection and relationship you have with all local producers, most of Stanley’s produce comes from just a few hours away so its super easy to find inspiration for the menu.

 
Q: What do you do on your day off? What do you eat?

A day off in Brisbane usually consists of lighting the BBQ in the backyard and a lot of time in the pool hahahah we love making big fresh salads and grilling up either steaks, chicken or local king prawns. 

Q: Favourite restaurant?

Favourite restaurant is SK, its perfect for a date night as the food is always perfect, and they really look after us. 

Q: Favourite drink?

Tommy's margarita of course.
 

Q: Two staple ingredients in your fridge or pantry?

Crispy chilli oil & Fish Sauce.
 

Q: What should everyone be able to cook?

When I was a young chef, the test was always an omelette, I think that’s a good one.
‍

Q: Favourite Stockyard product?

Dry aged Angus T-Bone.
‍

Q: How do you enjoy your beef? (or steak?)

Simply grilled with salt, medium rare no sauce!
 

Q: Is there an often underrated cut you love to cook with? Why?

Knuckle, I like to slice it thin and stir fry it, it has good flavour and a nice chew to it that goes well in a classic sizzling beef hahahah.
 

Q: Why Stockyard? What makes Stockyard beef special in your eyes? 

The fact that Stockyard Beef comes from just a few hours away from the restaurant is mind blowing after cooking in Sydney & Los Angeles for so many years, to have the Hart family always dine at the restaurant with us is a dream come true for a chef, a local family-owned farm who shares the same passion for an exceptional product from paddock to plate makes us so proud to serve Stockyard Beef.
‍

Q: Talk us through a couple of the dishes you make with Stockyard.

Our signature dish using Stockyard Beef is stir-fried diced Black Angus beef served with black pepper sauce, baby king brown mushrooms & shallot, if we take this dish off the menu I feel like a riot will break out hahahaha it’s a classic and our customers absolutely love the tender chunks of beef. We also showcase Kiwami Wagyu, simply grilled over charcoal, that is an absolute showstopper.