Conversations
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Darren Robertson at Three Blue Ducks
When I rang Darren Robertson, he was sitting out by the bins at the back of Three Blue Ducks at The Farm in Byron Bay, on a break before lunch service; a good reminder that being a celebrity chef is not all beer and skittles and you don’t get to be as well-loved as Darren…
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Trevor Perkins at Hogget Kitchen
Trevor Perkins is a passionate advocate for eating locally and sustainably. Local for Trevor is West Gippsland where he cooks overlooking the vines at Hogget Kitchen. On the day I visited, the countryside was shrouded in a smoky haze from nearby bush fires, a reminder of our footprint on this land that was so well…
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Paul Wilson at Morgan’s
I drove to Sorrento on a hot summer’s day and sat out on the terrace at Morgan’s, rosé in hand and with a beautiful view of the beach and bobbing boats in the bay. I ate grilled snapper with a snow pea tendril salad. It was delicious. I have been wanting to talk to Paul…
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Mo Zhou at Gaea
Mo Zhou didn’t start out wanting to be a chef, but a gap half year at Uni opened his eyes to Europe and food other than the Chinese food he had been brought up with. A stage at Attica and then roles at Vue de Monde and The Press Club further inspired him and he…
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Nic Backhouse at The Stables at Stones
I was recently lucky enough to be invited to Corner Inlet for the first of many more to come gatherings supported by GoodFish (Sascha Rust) and the Australian Marine Conservation Society. It was a wonderful opportunity for conversations between chefs and the fishers of Corner Inlet, where commercial fishing has been carried out with integrity…
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Rory Greenwood-McNeair at Galah
C.S. Lewis was definitely onto something when he had children entering other worlds through a wardrobe. But Galah goes one step further with creating a bottle shop as an entrance to a super cool loft bar. Native Australian floral ingredients, feature bark hangings and retro Scandi-ish furniture is already a great start. Then there’s the…
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Jeremy Raven at Drumplings
Drumplings is one of those places where you walk in and the dining space is cool, kinda edgy, you already know that the food is going to be delicious because, well, cheeseburger dumplings, how could it not be? Then you walk out the back and it’s all artificial grass and street art and basically an…
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Dan Szwarc at Hotel Argentina
When I walk into Hotel Argentina, Dan greets me with a kiss on the cheek, “That’s how we say hello in Argentina,” he says. I love it. After our chat, I am treated to a delicious array of dishes from the new menu, inspired by the food he grew up with in Argentina. He tells…
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Amber Kaba at The White Jacket Effect
Amber worked at Quay in Sydney before heading over to work in Michelin starred restaurants in London. She loves being a chef and is a passionate advocate for the industry. She has also seen the dark side of it. After acknowledging her own alcohol demons and coming out the other side, the recent loss of…
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On Saengyojanr at Ging Thai
Often described as a mother hen in the kitchen, because of her great sense of family, loyalty, and care for her team, Chef On grew up around food and cooking. From an early age she learned the art of traditional Thai in the family kitchen with her mother and grandmother and then at the age…