None of us should be surprised to find Neil Perry fronting up to a robata grill and mixing it with miso as he refreshes the menu of a premium Japanese diner.

Saké Restaurant & Bar in Sydney's historical precinct The Rocks is just around the corner from the original site of Rockpool, the restaurant where Perry perfected a multi-fusion menu that earned him the moniker father of modern Australian cuisine. There were Japanese influences on that menu way back then.

"I started [the fusion dishes] at Barrenjoey House, where I was cooking French Provincial food," he tells Life & Leisure. "I'd been to Paris and tasted some amazing food and when I came back I began asking myself what was I doing cooking French food in Palm Beach. It sort of dawned on me that I really loved Chinese cooking, I really loved Italian, I was quite interested in Middle Eastern at that stage and Japanese cuisine. So I decided that what I loved eating should influence my menu."

That was the early 1980s and by the time Perry got to Bluewater Grill at Bondi Beach in 1985 he was heavily integrating Asian influences. "By the time I got to Rockpool, it was completely evolved."

His first exposure to real Japanese cuisine came in the mid-1990s when the Australian government sent him to a cherry blossom festival. His love affair with the food of the country has not dimmed. As recently as 2015, he wrote a guide to his favourite Tokyo restaurants for the inflight magazine of Qantas, where he is creative director – food, beverage and service.

What brought Perry into the Saké kitchen was the creation late last year of Rockpool Dining Group after the Urban Purveyor Group acquired Rockpool Group. This added Rockpool Bar & Grill, Perry's upmarket Chinese venture Spice Temple, the Melbourne-based Italian restaurant Rosetta and the Burger Projects brands to Urban Purveyor Group's own portfolio, which included Saké, Fratelli Fresh, The Cut Bar & Grill and The Bavarian.

Plans to grow

Rockpool Dining Group is now the largest restaurant group in Australia, comprising more than 55 dining and entertainment venues with revenues in excess of $350 million and 3000 employees across the premium, casual and fast-casual dining segments.

The group, led by hospitality veteran CEO Thomas Pash with Perry as culinary and brands director, is expected to grow to more than 70 venues over the next 12 months. Notable upcoming openings include Rosetta at Grosvenor Place in Sydney, Fratelli Fresh Entertainment Quarter, Munich Brauhaus Southbank, multiple new Bavarians and Burger Projects across Australia, and a dining and entertainment precinct at the International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour featuring new spins on Saké and Fratelli Fresh.

Award-winning Saké, with sister venues at Double Bay, Melbourne and Brisbane, is one of the group's premium brands but its menu had not changed much over its six-year lifespan.

"One of the things we're focusing on is that Japanese emphasis on ingredients and seasonality," Perry says.

That freshness of produce is close to the heart of his sustainability mantra. "You know, just the name, the Rockpool Dining Group, comes with a set of responsibilities, so we have to make sure that all of the years of building that philosophy comes across to the rest of the group. Tom's very excited about sustainability melding the cultures of both groups and we intend the thing to be made better by all the things we both have to add to it."

Perry felt the refresh should start with the classics; working first with those "very Saké signature dishes" such as the miso toothfish. "Nobu made that famous," he says, "but what I don't like about that marinating is it really gets into the fish and cures it. It makes it sweet and salty and changes the texture so that it becomes quite firm.

"I felt very strongly that the natural flavour of the fish had to come through. So all we do is paint a little bit of miso glaze on when it's ordered, wrap it in the bamboo leaf with just a little tiny bit of kombu butter and nori and then roast it. When it comes out we just open it up and add a little bit more kombu butter. So when it comes to the table you really get that beautiful natural delicate flavour of the sea."

Focus on flavour

Some changes are simple but effective. The kingfish was originally cut carpaccio-style into eight slices but Perry didn't think they delivered enough of the natural flavour and texture of the fish. So he cut it into five thicker, sashimi-style pieces, which focuses both the mouth feel and flavour of the fish.

Pressure on the robata influenced his final approach to the crispy ginger garlic chicken. Initially he wanted to smoke a whole chicken on the grill but he ended up employing a Chinese technique of master stocking, glazing and then frying. "In a funny way I kind of ended up in the same place but via a different route," he says.

For another dish, Cape Grim short-rib bo ssam – which diners wrap and eat in lettuce leaves – the inspiration is Korean but the flavour is thoroughly Japanese. The oily and silky short ribs ("my favourite secondary cut on the animal", Perry says) sit alongside a ssam sauce of red miso and chilli, dashi-simmered garlic confit and fresh kimchi in place of the regular fermented kind.

A radical touch on the menu is a very untraditional line-up of vegetable side dishes – so that the meal is not such a protein-driven experience, he explains.

The sweets have just been revised and Perry will be back soon to work on the eight or nine dishes that remain untouched.

NEED TO KNOW

• Address 12 Argyle Street, The Rocks, Sydney. Tel (02) 9259 5656. See sakerestaurant.com.au 

• Drinks A revised cocktail list cleverly incorporates Japanese ingredients such as shichimi and shiso, and an impressive saké list has helpful flavour profiles. Tasting flights are available.