Restaurant Orana chef and new MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo has teamed up with venture capitalist Mark Carnegie to open a new venue, however, this time around it won’t be a restaurant, cafe or wine bar.

Instead, it’ll be a food laboratory where indigenous ingredients will be investigated and tested for commercial purposes.

Jock Zonfrillo says that there is a missing link between businesses looking to use native ingredients, and those with the know-how.

“We have companies calling us every week asking for our help. They want to use these native ingredients but don’t know where to start. All they know is that there are amazing ingredients coming out of Australia – potentially the next goji berry – and they want to work with them.”

Called Australian Flavour Lab, the new venture will employ a mix of research scientists and chefs, with the goal of working out what these native ingredients actually are, what benefits they have and how to get the most out of them flavour-wise.

Right now, The Lab is already working with multiple companies on a number of product launches, including an Australian spirit, a coffee product, a fresh food range and a shelf-stable packaged range.

Australian Flavour Lab is set to open in the Bistro Blackwood site – Jock’s casual eatery below Restaurant Orana – next year.