When I was doing some reading about Elliott before going to chat to him, I discovered that, not only is he from Christchurch, but he went to school in the same part of town as me, albeit years after me…! I mention age, only because Elliott might be young in years, but he has had quite the trajectory, starting off his career cooking in one of New Zealand’s best restaurants, Pescatore, in the George Hotel overlooking Hagley Park in Christchurch. He moved to Sydney after the earthquakes and worked ...
Oct 22, 2019•23 min
When I walked through the door of The Hardware Club, Nicola greeted me like an old friend and revealed that he’s a big fan of my podcast and knew that he was the 202nd conversation I’d had. That made me happy and I felt happier still, perched up at the bar and hearing all Nicola’s stories of growing up in Verona, doing a stint in a hotel restaurant in Mykonos and coming to Melbourne. A year ago, he and his friend, Andrea Ceriani bought the restaurant they have called The Hardware Club. Housed in...
Oct 17, 2019•42 min
Nathan Scarfo is set to open his first solo venture, Risi in Moonee Ponds in March next year. Full of personality, it's clear from the moment you meet him that Nathan loves life, hospitality, and cooking Italian food. This is one of those conversations that would definitely have been great as a video because of the animated way Nathan talks about his passion. I learned a lot about risotto, reality tv cooking and Moonee Ponds and I can’t wait to try Nathan’s risotto in March. We chatted in a roof...
Oct 03, 2019•35 min
Today’s chat is with Sandy Melgalvis at Common Ground Project, a not for profit café just out of Geelong. Sandy and I sat outside surrounded by chooks, raised garden beds and children running around in the sun. I had been wanting to talk to Sandy for a while because her name kept coming up in very favourable terms when I spoke to other chefs. Note to self: do not listen to Russell Brand in conversation with Lena Dunham while driving to talk to a chef; my brain was scrambled from the intellectual...
Oct 03, 2019•26 min
When I went into Gatherings, Alex apologised for the mess, saying it had been a big night the night before. It wasn’t messy and I loved the way Alex’s eyes lit up as he described giving over his space to Mitchell Teirney and Josh Hunter for their dinner: Know the whakapapa (origin/story) of your kai (food); a celebration of traditional Maori food, storytelling and wisdom. Alex, himself, is all about provenance, basing his plant-based and seafood menu, as well as his wine list on produce and wine...
Sep 25, 2019•23 min
Flip Grater is an impressive woman. She is an incredible singer-songwriter who has toured the world several times, she has produced four albums and an EP, with one of those albums produced in Paris, she has two cookbooks under her belt and with husband, Youssef has, perhaps most importantly created a beautiful little daughter, but also vegan deli and wine bar, Grater Goods by day and Pinot Cave by night. I have been looking at photos of her vegan treats on Instagram and couldn’t wait to go in fo...
Sep 23, 2019•26 min
When I arrive at Prince Dining to chat to Executive chef Dan Hawkins, the dulcet tones of a jackhammer greet me and I’m pretty sure my face said it all. Sensing my alarm at competing with construction for a conversation, the lovely Prince Hotel staff took Dan and I up to one of their beautiful hotel rooms so that we could chat in peace. Dan is a gentle giant; tall and with a really lovely approach to equilibrium and wellbeing, be that with food, family or the people he works with.
Sep 22, 2019•29 min
Hamed Allahyari is a Persian chef with a heart for others and a soul-warming laugh. I went out to Sunshine Café in Sunshine the other day and spoke to the café’s other founder, Jen Morillac. Jen and Hamed wanted to run a place that could employ refugees and asylum seekers who have had difficult time finding employment in Australia. In addition to that loveliness, they are making everything except the croissants from scratch, aiming for zero waste and do not have takeaway cups. Hamed wasn’t there...
Sep 18, 2019•32 min
Eileen and I sit down to chat by the open sash window in Napier Quarter, the cute blue stone wine bar on the corner of Napier and Kerr Street. Afternoon sun is glowing on the buildings opposite and deliciousness wafts out from the kitchen. After the chat, owner Daniel Lewis helps style my portrait taking, brushing away any stray dust from the outside wall…and from Eileen…This feels like family and it feels like home and I like that a lot.
Sep 18, 2019•16 min
Maureen Andrews is one half along with Gary of the mother and son team behind Ostrich and the Egg, a South African eatery and bar in St Kilda. When you step through the door off Inkerman Street, you feel as though you are stepping into their home. Not surprising really, Maureen has always welcomed and cooked for family, friends, the community and once for 500 people at a volleyball club event. She loves it! Gary made me a cup of rooibos tea and I sat down for a lovely chat with Maureen before sh...
Sep 17, 2019•15 min
Mandacaru is a little bit of a different business model to the usual restaurants I visit. Chef and owner, Carla, is making delicious Brazilian dishes from a commercial kitchen just a little bit bigger than a shipping container out the back of an industrial-feeling complex in Port Melbourne. She feeds people through Menulog, Deliveroo, festivals and larger catering events. Carla’s eyes dance when she talks about food and cooking up dishes from her homeland. The Brazilian community is certainly ha...
Sep 16, 2019•19 min
I first met Dave a couple of years ago when I went into Embla for a chat. It would have been one of the first conversations I did and I loved every minute of it. Back then, Dave was running between Town Mouse and Embla and doing an excellent job at both. Now he is solely overseeing Embla. I still asked the same dumb question about his cooking style and I love that Dave has now put me in my place twice about how much chefs hate being asked that. But I’ll tell you something else, when I arrived at...
Sep 05, 2019•22 min
Nicola Romano | Oster Eatery by Jo Rittey
Sep 04, 2019•26 min
This was such a great chat. They are ALL great chats and I can’t even tell you how lucky I feel to be able to sit down with these chefs and just ask them anything I want to about their craft and things that occur to me mid-flight. Dan was so accommodating and really went with the flow and answered all of my questions in such a delicious way. All this, while the end-of-winter sun slanted in through the art deco windows of the Prince Dining Room. This is a pretty special place and Dan is cooking u...
Aug 27, 2019•28 min
When you walk into Curly Whiskers in Brighton, it feels as though you are walking into someone’s house; someone who is an amazing cook. It smells divine and Silas and owner, Rosalin are working in the ‘kitchen’ which is very much part of the dining room. A large island bench divides the back workspace from the tables and chairs; everything is on display and they like it like that. So do the diners. When I arrive, Silas is grating fresh truffle, which he tells me is for the crème brûlée...
Aug 19, 2019•26 min
When Cristian Folletti talks about pasta, his eyes light up and he gesticulates even more animatedly than ever. A relative newcomer to the chef scene, Cristian had already learned a lot from his aunt in Italy, who is also a chef, so that when he went to culinary school, what he was learning was really the ‘why’ behind the ‘how’. I sat down with Cristian, his girlfriend, Olivia and his Executive Chef, Karan Negi at the Melbourne Marriott Hotel for a chat. Olivia darted around taking photos of us ...
Aug 11, 2019•18 min
Jessi is eating a bowl of dahl when I go in and asks if I mind him eating. Having seen how crazy busy it gets at Daughter in law from the minute the doors open at 5 o’clock, he should definitely be having that dahl. There won’t be a moment to breathe until much later in the evening. We have the chat and then I’m about to leave when Jessi insists I have a cocktail. It’s a new one they’ve been experimenting with; Negroni with coconut cream. Then he brings out a couple of oysters to have with it an...
Jul 29, 2019•38 min
Joe Grbac was my first Conversation with a Chef four or five years ago when he was at Saint Crispin and had the idea that talking to chefs would be a great thing to do. Today I went in to the city to have a chat with him about his solo venture, Saxe, which has been running for two years and Saxe Kitchen, the more casual downstairs sharing-plate type iteration. We really got straight to the meaty stuff, discussing the state of the industry and the ways a chef can keep on growing. Fabulous.
Jul 24, 2019•18 min
I drove to Flinders on the Mornington Peninsula on a wet and wild winter’s day to talk to Michael Cole, Chef of the Year Australia 2019 and 2017, and finalist in the international Finale of the Bocuse d’Or in Lyon earlier this year. I imagined I’d hear about his journey as a chef from the beginnings of a life on the pans through to such spectacular results, and I certainly did. I also heard about an avalanche in Japan, love rekindled and a genuine passion for cooking excellent food. I felt as th...
Jul 17, 2019•57 min
Akad, or AK, as he is known, always loved cooking as a child and couldn’t wait to leave school to become a chef. Having learned the ropes at Rockpool, he went on to Il Bacaro in Little Collins Street and then tried his hand at Chinese Fusion. He’s now happily cooking Middle Eastern street food at Balagan Kitchen and, reading over out chat again, I laughed at my reactions of obvious surprise and pleasure at his use of ingredients and the way he described some of the dishes.
Jun 26, 2019•21 min
I’m a big fan of Scott Pickett’s restaurants and, in fact, my very first Conversation with a chef was with Joe Grbac who, at the time, was co-owner of Saint Crispin With Scott. Having had a chat to two of Scott’s chefs already, Tim from Matilda and Valentin from Estelle, I was not about to miss out on talking to Charlie at newly opened, Lupo, especially having tasted some of Charlie’s food at the opening night this week. Talking to Charlie, I was reminded about the greater loveliness of these ch...
Jun 20, 2019•16 min
My friend, Alycia put me on to Savannah, the junior sous chef at Stokehouse Q. Savannah sounds like an incredibly driven young chef on paper and it is even better talking to her in person. As much as I love talking to people passionate about what they do, I am a terrible phone conversationalist. Lucky for me, Savannah pulls me through with her irrepressible energy and ways of seeing things. Mark my words, there will be a film made about Savannah, one of these days, and I am convinced she’ll put ...
Jun 19, 2019•23 min
Pierrick Boyer has worked with some of the top chefs in the world, the likes of Alain Ducasse, Christophe Michalak, Pierre Marcolini and Stephane Leroux. Pierrick himself, has won many awards and most recently was acknowledged as the Gault and Millau Pastry Chef of the Year in 2017. What’s even more impressive is that having closed his business last year due to loss of business following ongoing construction across the road, he has now picked himself up, re-opened his Prahran café, Rêverie, and ...
Jun 08, 2019•21 min
On the day I chatted to Tom, it was his 32nd birthday. He has plenty to celebrate. Co-owning three popular restaurants in Melbourne with your brother and best mate is not something to downplay. And Cheek is super cool. It spaces the fun out over three levels. The first floor I knew about and boasts a restaurant with a backlit wall of wine bottles and a dry ageing fridge sporting a lot of meat. Tom gave me the tour up one floor to Peaches, the ever so pretty blush-pink bar with suede booths and t...
Jun 05, 2019•26 min
I visit James Kummrow on the coldest day in Melbourne so far this year. Dodging hail showers, I’m happy just to get through the doors of Fatto Bar & Cantina relatively unscathed. The I meet James, a man who exudes contentment. This is a man who loves what he does. Talking to him, I am treated (as I so often am talking to chefs) to moments of rapture as he articulates his passion for hospitality and the journey that brought him to where he is. And where he is, Fatto, is a place he even comes ...
Jun 05, 2019•29 min
When I step into Etta on a grey and bitter day, the first thing that strikes me is how delicious it smells in there. The open kitchen is a hive of industry and whatever it is they are preparing, I wish I was staying for dinner. The second thing I notice is how great the music is, and the third, how lovely it always is to talk to a fellow New Zealander. Charlie is softly spoken and perhaps not someone who likes to talk about himself. That doesn’t stop him from articulating his passion for good fo...
Jun 05, 2019•15 min
I’d been trying to talk to Matti Fallon for a while and it just didn’t happen. Timing is everything and when I sat down with Matti, it all becomes clear, as you’ll read further down in the chat. When I was trying to catch up with him in January, he was working on his Broadsheet Kitchen suburban Chinese takeaway from the nineties offer AND becoming a father. He was so lovely about wanting to be part of Conversation with a chef at the time, but very understandably had a whole lot of life coming at...
Apr 11, 2019•17 min
When I announced to Daniele that I would be recording our conversation so that I could type it up later AND that I would need a photo of him, he looked like someone who had been told I would be stealing his soul. I like to think that Daniele’s enjoyment of the conversation steadily improved as we went on and that there was no soul-stealing involved. For my part, I relished every minute and learned a lot about Italian food, the possibilities of Italo-Asian fusion and about the head chef of Tipico...
Apr 09, 2019•21 min
My chat started somewhat unconventionally with Almay asking me some questions. Turns out we have a lot in common. We both love French, history and academia, we both knit in what spare time we have, and we both arrived in Melbourne eight years ago. From there our paths diverge. Almay co-owns and runs highly successful Neighbourhood Wine Bar with her husband, Simon, and I have the pleasure of getting to talk to her about it.
Mar 23, 2019•32 min
In a very six degrees of separation moment, as I wait to talk to John Rivera at Lûmé, his sous chef, Michael comes out to say hello. Michael is Jodie Odrowaz’s (last conversation) boyfriend and when I talk to John about that, he tells me Valentin (conversation before Jodie) is coming in for dinner that night. My mind is blown and I love it. It feels right that all worlds should collide here. John is passionate about bringing people together and creating a sense of community amongst chefs, especi...
Mar 07, 2019•33 min
