If you have eaten lamb at Three Blue Ducks at Nimbo Fork and walked away smiling, chances are you have Francesco Mauro to thank. Based in Killimicat, Australia, Frankie brings a career shaped by family, travel and a deep respect for produce to one of the region’s most talked-about kitchens.
Frankie’s food story starts early. Really early. At five or six years old, he was already making salami alongside his father, continuing a family tradition that sparked a lifelong fascination with food, farming and animals. From those beginnings, his career has taken him everywhere from sandwich shops to the sharp end of fine dining. Along the way, he has picked up influences from countless cultures, cuisines and mentors. Ask him to define his cooking style and he will tell you he does not really have one anymore. It is simply his own, shaped by experience, travel, his nonna and his dad.
At the heart of Frankie’s approach is a simple goal. Cook delicious food and make people happy. He is not interested in chasing trends, and he is not trying to reinvent the wheel. What he loves most is the act of cooking itself and the surprise on a guest’s face when a dish really lands.
In the kitchen, his most repeated phrases are “practice makes perfect” and “we all need to learn”, which says a lot about how he leads a team. As for secrets or shortcuts, you will not get much out of him there. A magician never reveals his secrets but “repetition and passion”, he says, “are the best tricks of all”.
Lamb plays a central role on the menu at Nimbo Fork. Alongside trout, it is one of just two proteins that have always been present. In fact, Three Blue Ducks at Nimbo Fork was the very first GLQ5+ customer. Coming from a background where lamb was rarely eaten, Frankie sees it as a rediscovery. An animal he had not worked with for years, now offering endless opportunity. Gundagai Lamb features prominently, with rumps, racks and backstraps appearing frequently on the main and chef’s selection menus. Rump is his pick for versatility, while racks remain a clear favourite with guests.
If there is one thing Frankie wishes more people understood about lamb, it is that it goes far beyond cutlets. It is an animal with depth, variety and character, especially when handled with care. And if you ever wondered how far his creativity might stretch, he admits he has even thought about lamb as dessert. His answer? A lamb marrow fudge tart. Hard to imagine, but knowing Frankie, probably delicious.
From cured meats made as a child to thoughtful lamb dishes on the plate today, Frankie Mauro’s journey is built on respect for craft, repetition and flavour. It is exactly the kind of thinking that makes Gundagai Lamb feel right at home on the menu at Three Blue Ducks at Nimbo Fork.