From legendary Perth fine diner The Loose Box to Europe, America and beyond, Casa head chef Paul Bentley has covered a lot of ground in his career. For the 2026 Yes, Chef! season opener, the veteran cook is sharing lessons and stories learned along the way.
Paul Bentley's visit to Perth in early 2020 was only supposed to be a stopover. Life had other plans. And, as a result, Perth eaters dined happily ever after with Bentley laying down new roots in his old hometown, initially by injecting some Japanese-Italian brio to the cooking at Si Paradiso, and drawing on his time in Mexico to sharpen the food at seaside Mexican cantina, El Grotto.
These days, Bentley spends his days overseeing the cooking at Mount Hawthorn wine bar Casa and its pizzeria off-shoot: two eateries that aren't just making Mount Hawthorn great again, but regularly host guest chefs from around the country while helping train a new generation of cooking talent.
Bentley, incidentally, was also the OG consultant chef for Lawson Flats, which makes him the perfect person to kick off the 2026 season of the club's monthly hospitality talk series, Yes, Chef!
On Tuesday January 27, he joins Yes, Chef! host Max Veenhuyzen for a free-flowing conversation to discuss the journey so far: from earning his stripes at legendary Perth fine-diner The Loose Box under Alain Fabregues, to cooking and owning restaurants around the world, to coming back home and observations on the current dining landscape.
After the chat, everyone's upstairs to Luis' to continue the conversation and to get a taste of why many regard Casa as one of the city's best places to score ace Mexican(ish) cooking.
LF Members: Free
Non-members: $15 (includes a drink)