“I think French food is really misunderstood in Australia,” says Josephine Perry. In response, she recently opened her first restaurant, Missy French, in Sydney’s Potts Point. Serving a modern take on the country’s culinary best – fricasse of spatchcock and steak frites are favourites on the menu – in a cavernous room of marble and Noah Taylor artworks, Ms Perry is fast on her way to achieving what she set out to create: “A restaurant that both Aussies and Frenchies love.”

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Ms Perry comes from restaurateur royalty as the daughter of renowned chef Neil Perry. Having worked at her father’s restaurant Rockpool for some seven years, and subsequently managed his new venue Burger Project, Ms Perry developed the skills necessary for her own venture, created in partnership with a fellow Rockpool alumnus.

And while you can see the slickness of her father’s approach to hospitality in Missy French, it’s differentiated by its own quirks, too. “I would love Missy French to be self-sufficient in the next year or so and then start opening more venues,” says Ms Perry of her business plans. “Right now, we’re just trying to do the very best we can with the space and resources that we have and keep all of our amazing customers happy so that they keep coming back.”

Photography Liz Ham | Styling Jolyon Mason
Make-up Linda Jefferyes | Hair Sophie Roberts