T in Brunswick has a beautiful new rooftop bar that boasts views out across the city skyline and a gloriously inclusive menu that will bring smiles to vegans and meat-eaters alike. Chef, Lloyd Kembrey likes to riff on some pop culture "favourites", doing his own versions: Vegan Mac Daddy is a big hit, as are the Vegan Buffalo Soldiers and Macho Nachos. Nice.
Hi Lloyd. Let’s start with how long you’ve been a chef.
It’s hard to remember. A fair while. I’d say I’ve been cooking full time for about 16 years.
And did you always want to be a chef?
No. I always wanted to get out of the country, so I came to Melbourne and went to Uni and started working in kitchens to put myself through Uni and by the end of it, I decided I’d done the wrong thing and started cooking properly.
It’s amazing the amount of chefs who tell me that’s how they got into it.
I don’t think many people nowadays know what they’re going to do when they’re 17 years old.
What was your pathway from there? What sort of restaurants did you get into?
I’ve always done pubs pretty much. I’ve done the odd stint in a café, but it’s not really for me. I like the late nights and the weekends.
That works well. Some people aren’t into those so-called anti-social hours.
I’m not a morning person, so this is good.
Perfect. And is that your preferred style of cooking? Pub food?
I do like all kinds of food. I’ve always had a French and Italian influence in what I do, rather than Asian stuff, I guess. I do like good, honest pub food.
Have you travelled overseas and tried food elsewhere?
No, not extensively. I’ve been to New Zealand.
Well, it’s pretty good food in New Zealand.
New Zealand is very similar to Australia. Lots of seafood.
Vegan stuff; it takes a while to get your head around it but once you’ve got the basic concepts, it’s fairly easy to put something up. You can look at something in the paper and think, I can do that without meat.
Here at the Cornish Arms you have a lot of vegan options.
Yes, the last job I had was at the East Brunswick Club and that’s where I learned vegan food. They were known for that there. I was unsure at first. I think a lot of chefs are unsure of it. Especially at the start. But you can learn about it quickly enough if you keep an open mind. I took the vegan stuff over here when I started and it was the right place for it. It fits right in with the tone of the suburb and the vibe here.
Absolutely. How do you go about creating your vegan dishes? I love eating vegan food but I’m not so well-versed in cooking it just yet.
A lot of it is getting back to basic processes and a little bit of science. We’re lucky these days because you can hit Google and get some good ideas. It’s about building up a few basic principles and when you get those you can modify them to come up with almost anything you want. Vegan stuff; it takes a while to get your head around it but once you’ve got the basic concepts, it’s fairly easy to put something up. You can look at something in the paper and think, I can do that without meat.
As you say, there are a lot more products available now. Like vegan cheese that’s actually edible.
Even when I started cooking vegan, I wouldn’t go near the cheese product. I guess if you’re vegan and passionate about it, you’d eat the cheese. But it wasn’t really cheese. Now they’re getting very close to it.
And you can add in nutritional yeast to get the added layer of flavour.
There are all kinds of tricks. A lot of it is about substitutions and pairings that work differently, tricking the palate into tasting something. You use a lot of mushroom to give that umami and meaty sort of full-bodied flavour you get out of eating beef.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I like to take the piss out of pop culture and fast food and it works really well here. I tend to imitate and take down McDonald’s and KFC and pizza joints and things like that. A lot of the dishes we have on here are direct rips of famous fast food dishes. The young clientele we have really like that sort of thing.
It’s not all vegan here though?
No. We like to say it’s inclusive. There aren’t many places you can go as a couple the vegan is going to be happy but also there partner is happy with their choice. We do some really nice steaks here and all the pub regulars; pork belly and duck.
Now that you are a way down the chef path, do you think it’s a good industry to be part of?
I can’t see myself doing anything else, as much as sometimes you get up and think why have I done this? But I can’t imagine myself sitting in an office or anything. It is a lifestyle but I’d be lost without it, I reckon. It’s really good.
163A Sydney Road, Brunswick