But it was no one-off achievement for Simon Evans and Tom Chiumento. Together they and the original owners of Caveau have accumulated 15 hats at the Keira Street restaurant.

Mr Evans and Mr Chiumento were already chefs at Caveau when it was sold and knew how to maintain the standard. The key to their ongoing success has been to keep challenging themselves to continually improve and raising the bar they set themselves.

Since they took over the two chefs have never rested on their laurels. They know earning a hat is no fait accompli. And that earning another hat in 2019 is an endorsement of their efforts to keep at the cutting edge.

"You don't keep a hat indefinitely. You have to win it every year. So every year is like a new hat," Mr Evans said.

From their previous experience in restaurants in Australia and overseas they know they have to consistently work hard to keep receiving hats. This year they achieved that while bravely trying something new. And they see the latest hat as a real endorsement.

"Over the last three years our food has evolved. If you read the last two reviews we have had they read like quite different restaurants," Mr Evans.

"The previous year was more about our commitment to locality and this year as we have moved towards using more native ingredients they have noticed that. So we are having that consistency even though our food has been evolving and changing. We are using ingredients I have personally only been cooking with for a couple of years. It shows the overall standard of our service, the wine and our cooking techniques and methods are of a high level no matter what ingredients we are working with.

"The quote at the end was really good for us. They said "the commitment to using native ingredients across the eight course tasting menu feels genuine rather than gimmicky and the results are truly delicious". It was great for us to read that and see they have understood what we are trying to do here".

Mr Chiumento said along with doing the best they can for their customers another reason they try so hard every year to achieve a score good enough to earn a hat was what it means for Wollongong. "We want to help bring more people to Wollongong and expose it as a dining destination. And when we are all striving to keep getting better in the region it is better for everyone".

Mr Chiumento said it was all about dedication to maintaining a really high standard.

At 15.5 the score is Caveau's equal highest result and was only 0.5 off earning the Wollongong eatery two hats. Which remains a goal the two chefs and restaurant owner continually strive to achieve.

The interior of Caveau has changed a little since the eatery was reviewed for the 2019 Good Food Guide. But the two men don't want to change too much from what their customers like. What remains critically important to them both is the customer experience and everything on the menu being done as well as it can possibly be done.

Mr Evans said ensuring the consistency of the produce is also part of the process. As is the standard of the front-of-house team.

"We need to show now we can hold the standard and increase it over the next year," he said.

"It is about refining what we do and every night making sure our customers are having the best experience they possibly can".

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