Ultimo would like to acknowledge the Noongar people as the Traditional Owners of this land and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures; and to elders both past and present.
THE ULTIMO JOURNEY
The delicious business of food
Ultimo are a highly recognised Perth catering company and market leader in the industry. Since 1997 we have been connecting with West Australians through memorable catering and event experiences.
We have earned our reputation as Perth’s most trusted caterer for corporate events, private functions and weddings. Since commencing business, Ultimo has catered for functions and events with numbers ranging from 5 to 17,000 people. These functions include large indoor and outdoor events, weddings, formal dinners, cocktail parties, buffet dinners and many government contracts. Although Ultimo is based in Perth, we have successfully catered for large events and functions all around Australia. Including events in Kalgoorlie, Busselton, Northern Western Australia, Bunbury, Port Macquarie, Melbourne, Sydney, Maitland and Canberra.
Ultimo have established an enviable reputation for delivering fresh & modern cuisine, with a personalised experience, for each and every event. This experience includes a seamless organisational and holistic management approach, from start to completion.
Honest food has nowhere to hide. Our chefs design our menus based around local suppliers and fresh seasonal produce, creating food that evokes emotion with flavour, texture and contemporary presentation.
Our focus is always quality food, executed to perfection, served with class.
The Ultimo Philosophy
IMAGINATION
in all aspects of our food & events
INNOVATION
in our menus, systems, products & service
INTELLIGENCE
in our experienced & knowledgeable team
Our Team
Good people are the most important resource Ultimo can offer.
Recruitment and retention of our team is paramount to Ultimo maintaining our high level of service to our clients. Ultimo employs some the most knowledgeable and experienced hospitality experts in Australia.
Our company goal is to provide a professional, friendly and enjoyable environment for our employees, which ensures we are a preferred employer for the industries best talent.
Our team’s collective experience in the hospitality industry spans many years and provides us with the skills to reliably deliver the outcomes required to be a consistently successful event catering company. Employees we seek to join our team, display characteristics aligned with our company values, including integrity, “a can do attitude”, passion for the hospitality industry, initiative, knowledge, experience, and an understanding of the importance of customer service.
Our chef team consists of a diverse mix of local and international chefs with a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of the culinary arts. Many chefs have joined Ultimo with backgrounds from some of the best restaurants in Australia and beyond.
MEET OUR CORE MANAGEMENT TEAM
CLARK WILMOT
Corporate Accounts | Director
After retiring as a federal agent from the Australian Federal Police, Clark joined Ultimo in 2000 as a Director and has embraced the career change – his experience in all aspects of the catering industry, particularly for corporate accounts and functions is invaluable. He has successfully coordinated countless events for corporate and private functions including many VIP events for some of Perth’s most prominent business leaders.
Clark’s passion for the hospitality industry is fed by guiding staff to achieve outstanding results for clients and themselves. He is proud of his role in building Ultimo as a business and believes in retaining clients by building relationships with a continued high level of service and efficiency. Clark has an established reputation as a reliable, honest and diligent operator in all things catering.
EMMA BRAND
Marketing + Business Development
Originally from New Zealand, Emma moved to Perth after obtaining a Bachelor Degree majoring in Communications. Emma joined Ultimo in 2013 after travelling extensively and working remotely for her own digital design and marketing venture. Since joining Ultimo, she has been integral in our rebranding, repositioning and growth in the market – building the Ultimo brand to its esteemed position today. She delivers brand management, strategic marketing and business development, as well as hands on digital design skills to the business.
Emma has always felt a pull towards the hospitality industry – specialising in applying her professional skills in this space. This ensures she is well placed to create event concepts and develop and launch new products / services in the market with proven success. Emma demonstrates a deep understanding of current consumer needs and has successfully organised and managed large corporate events, securing premium locations and clients. Her ability to wear many hats in her role, along with her passion and drive, were responsible for her promotion to the role of Marketing & Sales Director in January 2019. She responds proactively to industry trends and creates engaging content and marketing campaigns, as well as driving our strategic development in her current Marketing & Business Development role.
PETER JAMIESON
Major Events | Director
Peter is a founding director of Ultimo from when the company commenced in West Perth in 1997, and oversees our major events & accounts. Peter’s logistical event management experience is second to none in the industry and he has been integral in growing Ultimo’s trusted reputation in this space. Known in the industry for making things happen and never daunted by a challenge, Peter listens to our clients’ needs and finds a solution, where other businesses might say it was too difficult.
Peter has overseen the operation of the Quarry since the commencement of our contract in 2014, with demonstrated success. He has excelled running some of Ultimo’s biggest accounts such as the WA Festival of Cricket, Kalgoorlie Cup, Groovin the Moo National Tour, Future Music and Stereosonic National Tours, City to Surf, Ironman Triathlons Busselton, Port Macquarie and Melbourne, Sydney Festival – to name a few. Brutally honest, a great lateral thinker and extremely motivated; Peter is the go-to person for large events in the Perth hospitality industry. Passionate about good food – he will ensure the quality of Ultimo’s menus, no matter the size of the function.
MAX LING
Executive Chef
Max joined the Ultimo team in 2015. Qualified and experienced in Hong Kong, Max went on to work in 5 star Luxury Hotels in Australia and Michelin Star restaurants around the world, including the highest hotel in the world, The Ritz Carlton HK.
Always aware of the latest trends of the culinary world, Max likes to combine cuisine styles with different methods when designing a menu. He researches the latest cooking techniques and applies them in larger scale to catering. Get Max started talking about food and you’ll see his passion. He just LOVES cooking. He seeks to use the best local products and is a firm advocator for supporting local suppliers and buying as geographically close as possible to ensure maximum freshness.
Max is an excellent communicator and an extremely organised team leader who thrives under pressure. He endeavours to create a professional and dynamic kitchen environment that encourages camaraderie amongst colleagues and delivers a high standard of food quality and presentation at every Ultimo engagement. An adept and calm leader, he oversees our commercial kitchen, and all of our countless functions and events, without ever throwing his tongs.
RAJA RICHARDSAMY
Executive Sous Chef
Joining our senior chef team in early 2021, Raja is a dedicated and knowledgeable professional chef with over 17 years of experience in food preparation and kitchen leadership.
His professional background includes senior chef roles in highly recognised establishments such as Aloft Perth, Westin Perth, Royal International Convention Centre Brisbane and Borneo Convention Centre Malaysia. He has worked for many 6 star and 5 star international brand hotels such as Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, Hilton, Raffles, Mandarin, Le Royal Meridien.
Raja has experience working with guest celebrity chefs, Michelin star chefs, and catering for international politicians including George W. Bush, Obama, Putin, Royalties like HRH Princess Anne and VIP’s like Sir Richard Branson, Celine Dion, Elton John, and Hollywood actor turned politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Singaporean/Malaysian with a Tamil background, Raja loves South East Asian influenced cooking & was classically trained in French cuisine. He is very passionate about serving only the best quality food to guests. Compliments from guests are what fuel his motivation to continually develop his skills and keep innovating.
NAKEERAN THILLAIRAJ
Sous Chef
Joining Ultimo in 2017, Nakeeran is part of Ultimo’s senior chef team. Originally from South India, he possesses a professional history working for renowned restaurants internationally, as well as his previous role as Sous Chef at Akis Woolloomollo, a one hat Sydney restaurant, Nakeeran is a skilled and experienced presence in the kitchen. Bringing strong technical knowledge and impeccable presentation to every function he is involved in. He lives by the philosophy of ‘if you can’t do it well, don’t do it at all’.
Nakeeran is an award winning chef, participating 2 years in a row in the Emirates Salon Culinary Competition in Dubai. Competing against 280 chefs, to win Bronze and Merit medals in the five course gourmet dinner category. He was also part of a team to achieve the TIME OUT award for ‘Best Bubbalicious Brunch’ at the Westin Hotel in Dubai.
His motivation to push himself comes from genuinely loving being a chef. He appreciates the opportunity to work with fresh quality ingredients every day, the adrenaline of a slick and busy service, and hearing guests tell him what they loved about the food. He believes cooking and serving food is about making people happy (both the guests and his colleagues). For Nakeeran, it’s all about nurturing people and showing them why an ingredient is so special. In his own words, “There is no job like it. Food is an amazing thing, and we see it and eat it wherever we go”.
LUIS ALEGRIA
IT Project & Operations Manager
Originally from Colombia, Luis has been with Ultimo since 2018, but it feels like he’s been a part of the team forever. The absolute epitome of team work, he is the go-to guy for anything the team might need. With a professional background as a Telecommunications Engineer, Luis worked for more than 3 years in the Colombian Telco industry, leading projects and implementing solutions for suppliers. Before deciding to travel the world and falling in love with Perth.
Luis is an extremely proactive professional, who will always dedicate himself whole heartily to the operations of Ultimo. He plays an integral and diverse role in the business, looking after everything from business development IT projects and operations. He is the first point of call for troubleshooting any challenges. Luis communicates across all departments to ensure the smooth and seamless execution of IT projects and operations.
HOLLIE MCDONALD
Senior Wedding Coordinator
Hollie joined Ultimo officially in 2018 as our wedding coordinator. But her professional background started with Ultimo over 10 years ago as part of our service staff team, as well as other roles for food businesses such as butchers, delicatessens and bakeries. Hollie moved onto Mecca to pursue Visual Merchandising & Retail Operations Management, but ultimately felt a pull back to hospitality and she eventually found her niche and passion running weddings and events for various venues and hotels. Growing up in Perth with both parents involved in the hospitality industry, it was inevitable she ended up in the same industry.
Hollie is obsessed with providing the best service and experience for all Ultimo couples and ensures that from first point of contact until last point of contact, communication is seamless. Aware of the emotional significance of a Wedding, Hollie is always across all logistical aspects of the event as well as taking time to connect on a personal level and build relationships with clients. She loves getting to work with different people and making lifelong connections and friendships – from her couples and all the industry suppliers, to the chefs and wait staff. Hollie believes you’ve got to be a little mad to work in ‘hospo’ and it’s a really unique and authentic culture. What gets her up in the morning is that no day is ever the same, there’s always a new challenge or learning curve.
TIANA ROWE
Function & Catering Coordinator
Tiana joined the Ultimo crew in late 2020. She has worked in the hospitality industry for majority of her working life, previously employed at the Novotel Vines Resort in Swan Valley and also spent time in Melbourne as a job advisor / hire agent. Working with Ultimo coordinating functions and driving our deliverable catering service, Tiana is organised, efficient and ensures everything she involved with is executed with incredible attention to detail.
Her love for the industry stems from working so closely with people from all walks of life – being able to provide a service that brings people together.
Originally from New Zealand, Tiana has a large family and lives with her partner and their young son Lyric. Tiana also owns and operates her own cake baking business, and happily keeps the Ultimo team plied with cupcake samples. She loves all things music and food (especially desserts and sweets) and enjoys travelling to new places, when covid allows.
