I last spoke to Matteo Tine in 2018 at his now closed restaurant, Mr Ottorino, and when I looked back over that chat, I’d mentioned that Matteo started talking as soon as I walked in, that his enthusiasm was contagious and that talking to him felt like a really fun ride. Nothing has changed. I stepped through the door of Orlo, Matteo ran up the stairs to greet me and just started talking. It was wonderful. He gave me a tour of nearly open Orlo which is a beautiful venue with multiple zones and v...
Jun 07, 2024•37 min
Today I’m talking to Aiven Lee at Yum Sing House. Evolving from its original iteration when it opened in 2021, at Yum Sing House the spotlight is no longer on the karaoke upstairs, although you can certainly still belt out the hits should you wish, but the focus is now the culinary experience downstairs. Helmed by Malaysian-born Head Chef, Aiven who was head chef at Longrain and Mamasita, the menu is inspired by the food of Aiven’s childhood and the memories he has of his mother cooking vast amo...
Jun 04, 2024•20 min
I sat down with brothers, co-owners and chefs Parmjit Singh Ahuja and Gurpreet Singh to talk about their restaurant Divine Darbar. They made me a delicious chai and talked about growing up in New Delhi and how food was a central part of their family but that they had never intended to become chefs. Parmjit has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Gurpreet has a Masters in IT. While studying, they got part-time jobs in kitchens and they felt drawn to hospitality in such an overwhelming way that ...
Jun 02, 2024•18 min
Le Yeahllow is a happy place. It’s bright and light and the display cases, like a jeweller’s, are full of gleaming treasures. Owner Samsky Yeung who also founded White Mojo coffee shops, opened Le Yeahllow in 2021 when he took over the former Adriano Zumbo Patisserie space in South Yarra and started baking and delivering cakes around Melbourne. Sam says, “Le Yeahllow was born from a simple idea: to create celebratory cakes that bring happiness to people's lives,” and he explains the name as bein...
May 31, 2024•19 min
This is a bonus episode in the truffles series with Julian Hills with Navi, who kindly had a second attempt at a chat with me after my equipment failed the first time through. In 2023, Julian was named Good Food Guide's Chef of the Year, and Navi has maintained its Two Hat-status as of 2024. Julian is a creative and passionate chef; a lovely man and he has an enduring fascination with truffles. I was very happy to get to talk to him and this time share it with you.
May 30, 2024•14 min
It is always lovely to catch up with chefs and see what they are up to. I first met Salvatore Giorgio when he was at Bar Bambi and then I had my 300th chef chat with him out at Marnong Estate. Salvatore has been working in kitchens since he was 11 years old. He loves the adrenaline rush of service and appreciates a well organised kitchen and he is certainly always up for a challenge. Since starting at Bar Rosella, he has changed the menu and upped the food ante. Wine was already well sorted by o...
May 29, 2024•30 min
#238 Gabriele Coniglio On Truffles | Officina Gastronomica Italiana by Jo Rittey
May 26, 2024•7 min
Originally from Nelson in Aotearoa, New Zealand, head chef Ryan Lynch is doing creative things out in the Yarra Valley at Locavore Studio. I was lucky enough to be invited to dinner out there and the way he treats local produce is glorious. I was sure Ryan would have some things to say about truffles and I was not disappointed.
May 26, 2024•12 min
I spoke to Mark Ebbels a while ago when he was head chef at TarraWarra in the Yarra Valley. He’s still out in that beautiful area, and most recently has been working on menu creation and set up at Re’Em part of the Helen and Joey estate. Mark is a passionate and creative chef with a real heart for local Yarra Valley produce and it was such a pleasure catching up with him again and talking truffles.
May 26, 2024•11 min
This is the fourth instalment of my truffle series. In this episode, I talk to Jason Staudt at Stokehouse. I spoke to Jason quite recently and so when I turned up again on a Friday afternoon, I felt like I was catching up with an old friend. We drank wine and talked truffles and laughed a lot. It was wonderful.
May 26, 2024•15 min
This is the third instalment of my truffle series. In this episode, I talk to Jordan Clay from Pipi's Kiosk. Pipi's is one of my absolute favourite restaurants and it is always a pleasure to talk to Jordan. I am fairly certain I have secured some kind of homage to Jo Rittey vanilla and truffle ice cream, but I might be wrong. Whatever they do down there, it is always good and whether that is poutine with truffle or ice cream, I know I will be in good hands.
May 26, 2024•11 min
#233 Annie Smithers On Truffles by Jo Rittey
May 26, 2024•12 min
I recently saw an Instagram post from Robert at GGs Gourmet Food where he was heralding truffle season. It got me thinking. I don’t know much about truffles but they do seem to cause a stir in certain circles. Some refer to them as black gold, others as a culinary treasure. I wanted to find out what makes them so special, so I had a chat to Dion Range at Stonebarn Truffles in WA. He gave me the very well told back story to truffle cultivation, which was fascinating. Then I got in touch with some...
May 26, 2024•29 min
Dingo Ate My Taco are the team responsible for bringing birria tacos to Melbourne back in 2020 lock-down. And thank goodness they did. Since then, the Dingo kitchen has been pumping out authentic, and an entirely made-from-scratch menu of traditional Mexican and Texan dishes including their iconic birria, breakfast tacos (set to be the next big thing for Melbournians) plus so many other true-to-style MexTex dishes. The kitchen is headed up by Isaac Castellano, who at only 22 became Head Chef and...
May 25, 2024•19 min
When you enter Mill Place Merchants, you enter another world. For a start, it’s one of those delicious hidden bars we can’t get enough of in Melbourne. Entering through a red door at the end of a laneway you find yourself in a sewing room complete with machine, mannequin and rolls of fabric and once through the full-length mirror at the end of the room, you are in the golden age of the thirties and forties speakeasy. Mill Place Merchants see themselves as ‘custodians of a tradition,’ curating co...
May 14, 2024•34 min
#229 Tom Jones-Davies | DOC St Kilda by Jo Rittey
May 09, 2024•47 min
The Kitchen of Somewhere is a deeply personal story of how food shapes our connection to place, the environment and most importantly our understanding of who we are. It weaves a narrative inspired by a plum-velvet, covered notebook found by Anna shortly after her mother's passing by suicide.The notebook was bursting with stories of her mother's travels, and the recipes she collected along the way. Using this notebook as a guide, Anna travelled over 64,000km to retrace her mother's steps and craf...
May 01, 2024•35 min
#227 Winston Zhang | Akaiito by Jo Rittey
Apr 30, 2024•36 min
The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition is an annual event to support a personal vision for the world of food, demonstrating how food can have a positive impact on society at large through ethical and sustainable food practices. When it comes to choosing the judges for this prestigious award, the Academy looks for chefs who hold sustainable and ethical food sourcing as a central to their cuisine. The five judges chosen for the 2024-2025 competition are Brigitte Hafner (Tedesca Osteria, V...
Apr 25, 2024•28 min
Partners in life and love, Patrick Kwong and Cindy Pan opened Ronin almost two years ago in the space that was previously occupied by Massi and for a millisecond, Cucina Povera. The high-ceilinged industrial slab feel of the room serves as the perfect backdrop for Patrick to shine and shine he does. Patrick learned Japanese cuisine and, more specifically sushi from two Japanese masters. His technique and flavours are exceptional. But Patrick’s food is only one part of the experience at Ronin. Pa...
Apr 24, 2024•33 min
Tommaso Bartoli is a passionate chef who learned to cook in Florence but felt a love for food and cooking much earlier on when he watched his mother and other family members cook. He talked about coming in from soccer training, smelling his mother’s cooking and running up the stairs. After working for a few years in restaurants in Florence, Tommaso was ready to try something else and 12 years ago came to Australia. He worked for nine and a half years at DOC and now is co-owner and chef at Park S...
Apr 23, 2024•42 min
#223 Greg Feck | Marnong Estate by Jo Rittey
Apr 19, 2024•31 min
I drove to Sorrento on a sunny autumn day just as owners Nika, Stefano and Valentino were moving things from their original venue, Bardo a few doors down to their recently opened Sardo. I immediately felt like one of the family as Nika made me espresso and I sat down to chat with her and Valentino. Sardo is the nickname given to people from Sardinia, the same way we might call an Australian an Aussie. Valentino Mela is originally from Sardinia and grew up cooking with his grandmother and mother....
Apr 16, 2024•27 min
I went in to Flour Child as day was turning to night. Through the huge windows upstairs on Acland Street, the panorama of palm trees, the Luna Park rollercoaster and the setting sun is perfect. Where else would you want to be? As I waited to talk with executive chef, Alessandro Bellomunno, I chatted to co-owner Simon and had delicious and quite theatrical cocktails made by Michael; think, Purified Negroni with smoke. Alessandro apologised for being late, but really, it was his day off and he had...
Apr 03, 2024•30 min
Larry Xie is here for a good time and that’s what he wants for guests to Bansho as well. He is the epitome of hospitality and is constantly seeking ways to learn more about food and wine and to welcome his guests with warmth and conviviality. No stranger to hospitality, Larry grew up with a family who ran coffee shops and motels in Melbourne and, as a teenager, he worked for his parents, before moving to the States for University . After a brief stint studying finance, Larry decided it wasn’t fo...
Apr 02, 2024•43 min
I was lucky enough to be invited to The Westin Melbourne’s nod to Wicked, the Musical, a glorious High Tea with a very prominent green focus. High Tea at The Westin is an impressive affair. The team goes all out on theme, creativity and flavour and the Wicked High Tea was no exception. I was keen to talk to Executive Chef, Apoorva Kunte about the approach behind a themed High Tea. I was also keen to talk to him again, because I had such a lovely time talking to him in 2022, and since then, he ha...
Mar 26, 2024•27 min
#218 Sam Hopkinson | Botanical Hotel by Jo Rittey
Mar 21, 2024•26 min
I have a special place in my heart for Bar Carolina in South Yarra because I wrote about it for Concrete Playground when it opened in 2017 and I also had a Conversation with a chef with the chef at the time, Paolo Masciopinto. But I hadn’t been out the back before and when new head chef Pieter Buijsse suggested going out through the kitchen to his office, I was thrilled. Walking out through the action is my idea of a good time. Happily wedged into the tiniest office I have ever seen with a cup o...
Mar 07, 2024•38 min
When diners walk into Desi Dhaba, owner Amit Tuteja wants them to feel as though they have come home to India. The decor is bright and cheerful, and the food is rustic, filling and delicious. Named after the highway eateries, or Dhaba, in India where truckies and people on road trips call in to eat local treats, Desi Dhaba is all about using local produce with raw spices and recipes direct from India. Amit is a veteran of the hospitality industry, arriving in Melbourne from Delhi when he was 20....
Mar 06, 2024•42 min
Today I am talking to Jake Read at Neptune in Windsor. I’ve always had a soft spot for Neptune ], so what better excuse to head back over there than a new head chef. Last year, after 12 years working in the UK across Michelin and boutique hotel restaurants as well as running his own private dining business, Jake Read felt drawn to Melbourne. He had been following some Melbourne venues on social media, but says when he sat down and ate at the likes of Old Palm Liquor and Liberty Bar, he knew he w...
Feb 27, 2024•29 min
