Neil Perry

Perry was born in Sydney and attended Newington College and Drummoyne Boys' High School. At Newington, a GPS school which stipulates a strict dress code, he wasn't allowed to have long hair. He used to grow his hair in the holidays and roll it up in combs when he went back to school. The school sergeant recognised what he was doing and sent him to the barber to have it cut off. In Year 10, Perry called his mother and said; "I'm leaving school." Following this, he began attending Drummoyne High, a public school, and did not cut his hair for two years, leading to his signature look of a ponytail. In February 2015 Perry was the guest of honour at the official opening of the Founders Hospitality Centre at Newington.

Since November 2013 Rockpool has been in the former Burns Philp Building in Bridge Street, Sydney. It was completed in 1901 to the design of Arthur Anderson of A.L. & G. McCredie & Anderson.

In the Australia Day Honours List of 2013, Perry was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the General Division "for significant service to the community as a benefactor of and fundraiser for charities and as a chef and restaurateur."

2009 saw the opening of two more Perry restaurants in Sydney, both located in the same art deco building on Bligh Street in Sydney's CBD. First to open was Spice Temple in the basement level. Like the now-defunct XO Perry opened in Surry Hills some years ago, Spice Temple represents another foray by Perry into more traditional Asian cuisine—specifically regional Chinese food this time—given a sophisticated polish. Spice Temple was soon followed by the opening in the above level of a sibling instalment of Melbourne's successful Rockpool Bar & Grill. Since 2010, Rockpool Bar & Grill Sydney has been the recipient of the Wine Spectator Grand Award.

Though this new incarnation of Rockpool had only been open for a brief time, in mid-2008 Perry had a change of heart and suddenly announced that Rockpool would be returning to its original form as a fine-diner. As Perry put it: "Rockpool classic". The restaurant has since reopened, with an ethos and menu akin to its old form.

Perry is a principal supporter of the Bestest Gala Dinner and has managed to secure the support of Chefs from around the world to donate time and resources for this charity dinner. In 2008 over 50 chefs from Australia's best restaurants participated with teams from Matt Moran (Aria), Guillaume Brahimi (Guillaume at Bennelong), Philip Johnson (E'cco), Shannon Bennet(Vue de Monde) and Scott Hallsworth (Nobu).

In 2007, Perry opened Rockpool Bar & Grill in Melbourne. Less formal than Rockpool, the restaurant is an upmarket steakhouse, located in Crown Casino. High quality beef cooked over wood-fire grill, supported by a modern and international à la carte menu form the backbone of the food served. In spite of the riskiness of opening a large restaurant (serving up to 200 people a day) in a venue as high profile and lucrative as Crown Casino, the restaurant has proved a major success for Perry. Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne has also received positive reviews from critics since opening, including being awarded two coveted "chefs hats" in the Melbourne Good Food Guide.

The series premiered 21 May 2007 on The LifeStyle Channel. It shows the journey of Perry setting up a steakhouse venue in Melbourne. Perry deals with set-up costs of $4.5million.

Commenced in October 2004, the seven-part half-hour series profiles the restaurant Perry as chef. The series also features some of Australia's most renowned chefs. Along with Perry who is the host, Armando Percuoco, Guillaume Brahimi, Karen Martini, David Thompson, Steve Manfredi and Tetsuya Wakuda contribute to and provide information and opinions on the themes of each episode. He has also appeared on MasterChef Australia.

Food Source is an insider's guide to food in Australia and features leading Australian Chefs, food and wine producers and over 20 recipes. The series began in 2001, with series 4 (Food Source:Far North Queensland) being filmed in 2004. It continues to be shown on the LifeStyle channel, the LifeStyle Food channel and BBC2.

Perry became head chef at Barrenjoey Restaurant, Palm Beach and was given creative control over Perry's in Paddington. In October 1986, Perry opened the Blue Water Grill at Bondi Beach which became an overnight success. He then opened Rockpool in February 1989 with his business partner and cousin Trish Richards.

Neil Arthur Perry AM (born 29 June 1957) is an Australian chef, restaurateur, author and television presenter. He also is the co-ordinator for Qantas Flight Catering under his company Rockpool Consulting. He also cooks high quality Korean BBQ foods and is an expert in Asian cuisine.