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By Nicholas Carolan

The restaurateur with Rick Owens and red wine on his wish list

For anyone who has dined in one of his restaurants, good taste should come as no surprise

"Anything Rick Owens always works for me," says Maurice Terzini, who is often seen stalking the floor of his restaurant group's many venues clad in Owens' designs and those of the label he shares with his partner Lucy Lucy Hinckfuss, 10 Pieces. The American designer has also inspired some of those same venue's interior designs. "[Owens] doesn’t get any better!"

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It should come as little surprise that Terzini also has exceptional taste in wine. You could do worse than following his lead this Christmas and secure a bottle of Bindi Dixon 2017 Pinot Noir. Terzini will be having his "chilled over Christmas lunch, [which] would be quite satisfying."

Bindi Dixon, 2017 Pinot Noir, $60. Shop now

Terzini treats the walls of his many venues in much the same way a gallerist would, often exhibiting the work of his artist friends and enlisting their creative talents to reimagine any number of surfaces contained therein. On his art wish list, then, is a Jenny Watson painting. This one, *Planet of the apes*, comes courtesy of the Anna Schwartz Gallery (POA, naturally). "I have never purchased [a Watson], but lately have been looking at her work and loving it again."

JENNY WATSON, *Planet of the Apes*, 2017, Oil and acrylic on red velvet; acrylic on panel; Text: “*An orchestra was on television*”, 144 x 81 cm; panel 18 x 14 cm

How does Maurice Terzini, the most tireless man in Sydney hospitality, spend Christmas?

“Probably [the] first thing [will be] a real sleep in as most of our venues are closed [for the] only day of the year!” he says. Then it’s on to Melbourne, his former hometown and the city where he both cut his teeth and is often credited with reenergising the local hospitality scene around food and wine, and their place in contemporary culture. “Christmas family lunch [has] really become much lighter so we have enough energy to hang out with the kids,” says Terzini, who this year welcomed another son, Leonardo William. Rather than stuffing ourselves and having no energy left!”

By New Year’s Day, however, it’s business as usual, as the restaurateur’s flagship venue Icebergs once again gears up for its annual party, now in its 16th year. And after a blockbuster year, Terzini’s forecast for the coming one indicates that there will be no slowing down, with the opening of the iconic London bar Scout on level two of the Dolphin Hotel; a guest curatorship of the Vivid food program at Carriageworks; and a position on the judging panel of the Restaurant & Bar Awards in London.

“Learning more about everything I can is important to me too,” Terzini says. “And if the gods permit, [there will be] a sabbatical in Milan so my children can learn Italian!”

Tile and cover image: Supplied

topics: All I Want For Christmas, CULTURE NEWS, Maurice Terzini, Rick Owens