Top former Rockpool chef swaps Sydney for Elwrays country food truck

A regular fixture at some of the most celebrated and hottest restaurants in Sydney, chef Khan Danis has been spotted by eagle-eyed foodies in recent weeks, not at Totti's in Bondi but at a food truck in the Southern Highlands.

One of the most respected chefs in the country, the former executive chef at Rockpool Bar and Grill and, more recently, Totti's has had a tree-change, joining the hipster food truck world.

"I don't have a tattoo yet," quips Danis, who has landed in the picturesque town of Robertson, parked in the sprawling site of the local farm machinery outlet.

Danis has teamed up with his son, Ben Geddes (Billy Kwong, Buon Ricordo), building a large-format truck pimped out chef-style with its own cool room.

Geddes first jump-started Elwrays as a coffee destination, but it has turned up the volume with its diner-style fare. Elwrays bottles its own cumquat, lemon and lime soda, and makes its own pickles.

"We're using really good cheese, asiago and pecorino and mushroom bechamel in the toasties," Danis says.

As executive chef at Rockpool Bar & Grill, Danis worked at the home of what some argue is Australia's best burger. And father and son haven't dropped the burger ball at Elwrays.

"We do a smashed beef patty cheeseburger with really thinly sliced onion, Oklahoma-style," he says. There's also a bacon and egg roll on the menu luxed-up with red braised pork belly to get your morning rocking.

The duo are toying with opening occasionally on Saturday nights. "We did a [trial] with roasted lamb with kale slaw that sold out," Danis says.

Open Tue-Sat 5.30am-2pm, 71 Hoddle Street, Robertson