Alexandra CarltonJul 29, 2026 – 5.00amIt’s 2pm, exactly 3½ hours before the first guests are due to arrive for a once-in-a-lifetime dinner, and chefs Josh Niland and Wylie Dufresne have plonked what they hope is a finished dish on a table near a window so they can see it in the clearest possible light.Niland, world-renowned Australian fish pioneer, squints as he snaps a photo on his iPhone. Dufresne, American master of molecular gastronomy, leans forward and examines it from beneath the blue baseball cap that rarely leaves his head.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles