Brooks trained in Culinary Arts at the Gold Coast Institute of TAFE and later earned a Level 2 diploma from the International Sommelier Guild. He began as a line cook and completed a four-year apprenticeship at Royal Pines Resort, a luxury hotel in Queensland—experience that set the stage for his two-decade career with the Four Seasons brand.
“I started to work in kitchens when I was 17 years old,” says Brooks. “I don’t want to be that cliché story, but my mum was a cook at a nursing home, and before that she and my dad ran a pub that we lived on top of, so it was just in the family.” After high school, Brooks thought he might pursue computers, an early interest—until his mum got him a job at a hotel, where he began a four-year apprenticeship.
“It was a massive hotel and I worked through every aspect—from pastry to banquets to fine dining in the brasserie to the clubhouse at the golf club,” says Brooks. It was also where his love of meat began to take shape. “The hotel had a house butcher; he was a fella from New Zealand named Stewie, and I spent about six months with him, just getting to know him and the craft.” During that time, Brooks learned to cure and smoke meats and fish. “I fell in love with it,” he says.
“I think that sort of tied in with my upbringing—we’re Australians, and although we lived next to the coast, we’re big meat eaters and big grillers. Lots of steaks and lamb on the grill every weekend, and always a roast.”
After completing his apprenticeship, Brooks planned to backpack through Canada with friends before moving on to the UK. But while in Canada, he met his wife, Rebecca, and decided to stay. He spent eight years in Vancouver with Four Seasons, the start of a two-decade career with the hotel group. From there, he moved to Boston and later transferred to the Four Seasons Miami property in Brickell.
“When I joined the property, we launched Edge Steakhouse. It was truly a restaurant for the community and helped me build my own community in Miami,” says Brooks. “We had some great times there, and we threw some great parties. Four Seasons is an amazing company to work with.”
Since moving to Miami 12 years ago, Brooks has earned several honors, including being named “Best Chef in Miami” by Miami New Times and recognition from Observer on its list of “New Miami Restaurants That Are Bringing the Heat” during his tenure as executive chef at Edge Brasserie and Cocktail Bar at Four Seasons Hotel Miami.
Although he valued his time with Four Seasons, Brooks reached a point in his career where he wanted something different and more homegrown. “I wanted to do a bit of soul searching,” he says. “I did some dinners and some contract work with Four Seasons, helping them out with other properties—Philly and San Francisco.” Still, he had no plans to leave Miami. “My kids have grown up here, and they love life here, as does my wife,” he explains. “So when Will and Carey approached me about joining the team at Sunny’s Steakhouse as executive chef, we had a chat, and I saw the space and just knew it would work.”
Sunny’s Steakhouse, which opened in October 2024, quickly became one of Miami’s toughest reservations, thanks to a menu of steakhouse classics and ice-cold cocktails. “It’s been everything I’d hoped it would be,” says Brooks. “My goal is to keep that consistency and, in 20 to 30 years, be considered a Miami institution and a cornerstone of Little River.”
