Conversations
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Sando Mateos at La Concheria
When I first arrived in Melbourne nine years ago, I was introduced to a beautiful group of Mexican Irish friends, or more specifically, Mexican girls with Irish partners. My initial fascination with this particular combo quickly disappeared into the absolute joy I had spending time with them. Many in that group have moved on or…
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Luigi Esposito at The Amalfi Way
Luigi Esposito grew up in Naples and from a very early age, learned the art of Neapolitan pizza when he worked with his nonna selling pizza fritta to locals. He went on to work in pizzerias around Naples and then the world before deciding to come to Sydney. In the 11 years he has been…
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Bree Gaudette & Matthew Ronalds at Hello Friend Foods
I recently had the absolute pleasure of zooming with Bree Gaudette and Matthew Ronalds from Hello Friend Foods. Well, Bree and Matthew actually ARE Hello Friend Foods; a Melbourne company making delicious vegan cheese. Quite cinematically, the pair met when Bree took an Uber Matthew was driving, they got talking about the cheeses Bree had…
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Dougie Thompson at Dinner at Dougie’s House
I reckon Dougie Thompson is the nicest guy in hospitality. He has been in the game for 15 years, working his way up from kitchen hand to head chef in a few venues around Melbourne before he and his wife went on a two-year adventure around the world in search of street food. When he…
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Elisa Hill
Elisa Hill comes from regional Sao Paolo in Brazil and has worked in the kitchens of Paris and London, including two Michelin star restaurants, and a venue that cooked for the Queen and Prime Ministers. She also had her own restaurant in Sao Paulo before coming to Melbourne not long before we went into lockdown.…
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Chris Orr at Wee Man’s Kitchen
Chris Orr is a Glaswegian chef with an infectious lust for life and passion for hospitality. Widely travelled and having worked in many different kitchens with a range of cuisines, Chris has lots of great stories and ever-evolving ideas for food. He now has his own kitchen, Wee Mans Kitchen, which runs out of the…
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Michael Craig at Red Sparrow Pizza
I always love stories about chefs from other countries who have heard about Melbourne and are drawn to its reputation for diversity and excellence in food. I like it even more when they get here, love it, stay and become part of the Melbourne community. Thats what Michael Craig and his partner Shelley Scott did…
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Meni Valle
Meni Valle is an Australian-Greek food educator, cookbook author and glorious cook. While she has always been an advocate for Mediterranean food and its benefits, in her latest cookbook, Ikaria, she not only extols the food, but also the way people are eating that food and living together. As the title might suggest, this book…
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Raph Rashid at Beatbox Kitchen
Raph Rashid is the tonic Melbourne needs right now with his weekly instalments of favourite homecooked meals from his childhood in Raph’s Mean Cuisine on IGTV and YouTube. He cooks up a storm in his Brunswick home kitchen and every week invites a friend along for the ride. It’s uplifting and wholesome and you can’t help but…
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Iain Alexander at Hazel Private Dining
I’ve never actually met Iain Alexander in person. He reached out on Instagram just to say that he had been inspired by the chats on Conversation with a chef. At the time he was living in Melbourne and working for Scott Pickett, which is always going to go in someone’s favour, as far as I’m…