To kick off 2020, chef Matt Germanchis and partner Gemma Gange have expanded their footprint in Anglesea, with the opening of Fish by Moonlite – an extension of their Captain Moonlite offering, in the form of a fish and chippery.

Located in the Anglesea Shopping Village, this is not your average fish and chip shop.

With a limited menu, customers know they are getting the freshest seafood – something that oddly enough can be difficult to come by in seaside towns. Germanchis himself is in the open kitchen, cooking up battered flake that is served perfectly crisp, as are the chips, which have you reaching for just one more. The oysters taste so fresh, it’s like taking a dip in the sea.

Fish by Moonlite also doubles as a fishmonger, where a selection of fish can be purchased and cooked up at home for lunch or dinner.

Very early on his career, Germanchis took an opportunity to work on the Greek island of Skiathos.

For nine months, he ran a little taverna, where he had limited seasonal produce at his disposal, offering him the chance to truly get creative.

MORE: Chef Matt Germanchis on why seasonal eating is the only way

Speaking to Neos Kosmos in 2014, the chef cited the experience as the true turning point in his culinary career – a poignant statement given he has worked at some of Melbourne’s best restaurants, including Pandora’s Box, MoVida and Pei Modern.

“Up until then in my career I almost felt like a robot doing other people’s work,” he said. “I can cook, I can cook really well, but to have a personality about cooking really takes another step and I think Skiathos really brought that out in me.”

And in the past two years the chef has proven just how much personality he has, relocating himself by the sea once again, but this time down Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

Germanchis and Gange took over the Anglesea Surf Life Saving Club in 2017 to establish Captain Moonlite. A welcoming space with stunning ocean views, together they have managed to create a local favourite with a simple, flavoursome menu that promotes fresh, locally sourced produce.

When asked six years ago, while the Head Chef of Pei Modern at the Sofitel Hotel, what he predicted for himself, Germanchis had responded with a laugh: “probably going full circle and just ending up in a small place cooking souvas, or something like that”. But what was seemingly an off the cuff remark, seems to have been a true prediction – albeit with the souvas.

Germanchis has come full circle, and nobody is complaining.