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James Meehan
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i. Biography
The work is Filipino Australian barbecue built around skewers, charcoal, glaze timing, and direct handover. In James Meehan’s practice, the grill is not a backdrop: meat is cooked on sticks, glaze is applied just before the barbecue, rice sits beside it, and Achara cuts through smoke and sweetness. The format depends on immediacy — the queue, the cook’s timing, and the point at which hot food leaves the grill for the customer.
The Path
The current work at Hoy Pinoy is grounded in a practical kitchen progression. James Meehan moved from dishwasher-apprentice beginnings at Cafe Italia to founding a Filipino Australian barbecue operation in 2013, then to a 2015 head-chef role at Frankie Says, and back to the ownership and cooking identity that define his work now. The cooking draws on the grammar of kitchens — washing, learning, cooking, leading — and returns it to a service model where the cook’s hand is still visible. As owner, founder, and chef behind Hoy Pinoy, Meehan works in a form of Filipino barbecue over charcoal where timing, heat control, glaze, and handover carry as much weight as the recipe.
The Work Today
The specialty is direct: skewered meats cooked over charcoal, Filipino style. Meehan’s barbecue style uses mangrove and branch charcoal for a consistent slow burn, giving the grill a steady base of heat. The meats are glazed just before barbecuing and served directly to customers, keeping the structure close to Filipino street-vendor eating rather than translating it into a distant plated format. The glaze functions as part of service timing. It is applied close to the fire and close to the moment of eating, so sweetness, smoke, and char arrive together. Chicken and pork belly Filipino barbecue skewers are served with rice and Achara, the pickled papaya that sharpens the plate against the grill’s smoke and sweetness. The working balance is clear: soft rice, rich meat, bright pickle, and charcoal. Many of the flavours used by the business come from Regina Meehan’s family playbook. That gives the cooking a defined source: not a generalized version of Filipino barbecue, but family-rooted flavours carried into a public food operation through skewers, queues, service, and smoke.
Signature
James's signature dishes include Inihaw na Manok, Inihaw na Baboy, lechon cebu, and lechon kuali. The set marks the working range: grilled chicken, grilled pork, lechon traditions, crispness, richness, heat, and seasoning in food meant to be eaten without delay.
Acclaim
The recognition is in the coherence of the operation. Meehan owns the Melbourne name he founded, and the work has a clear craft language: charcoal, skewers, Filipino glazes, rice, Achara, and direct service. Its distinction is consistency. From Cafe Italia to Hoy Pinoy, from the Filipino Australian barbecue operation founded in 2013 to the 2015 head-chef role at Frankie Says and back again to the grill, the work holds to a precise service idea: cook over charcoal, glaze at the right moment, and hand it across while the food is still carrying heat and smoke.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of James
What is James Meehan's current role?
As of 2026, James Meehan is Owner of Hoy Pinoy.
What is James Meehan known for?
Skewered meats cooked over charcoal, Filipino style.
