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“I believe there’s no such thing as a bad student; only a bad teacher,” Huxtable says. “If [senior kitchen staff] are pushing them into staying at work when they’re sick, or bollocking them when they’re not ready for service … then young chefs leave the industry. And if they don’t come back, there’s not going to be an industry.” This is why he lives by the philosophy that a kitchen is a platform for young chefs to make mistakes. “If you can’t make mistakes, you’re not going to learn.” Working under some of South Australia’s top chefs - including Brendan Wessels at both The d’Arenberg Cube and Adelaide’s Aurora; Fabian Lehmann at Maxwell Wines; and Restaurant Botanic’s Justin James - introduced him to the other skills needed to hone his craft, including how to forage, enhance flavour and appreciate native ingredients. Huxtable hopes to take these skills and mentor the next generation of chefs. “I have a beautiful backing already, so it’s now my turn to teach what I know,” he says. “They are my priority.”
