#186 Ben Parkinson | Pipi's Kiosk

I went in to Pipi’s Kiosk halfway through May to talk to co-owner and chef, Jordan Clay. I am a long time fan of Pipi’s, because of its setting right on the beach looking out across Port Philip Bay and of course, because of the food. When I spoke to Jordan, we had just put an offer on an apartment in Port Melbourne and I thought to myself, imagine if we get this and I can just walk down the beach and have a glass of wine and some fish at Pipi’s. So when we were successful with the apartment and had got over the move, that’s exactly what I did. Ben Parkinson is head chef at Pipi’s and on the day I went in for that living-life-like-its-golden moment, he had a sardine special on that blew my mind. Plump butterflied sardines served with lardo on pickled daikon and grated frozen kumquat. Dish of the year so far. SO, of course I suggested to Ben that I come back and have a chat with him. He graciously accepted, even coming in on his day off, which we discussed along with his thoughts on chef life, why he thinks cooking is a craft and not an art, but he absolutely loves it, and of course, the sardines. Ben is thoughtful and articulate and clearly passionate about what he does and I could have talked to him for hours. But we certainly packed a lot into an hour and you are in for a treat.