Conversations
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Matteo Tine at Mr Ottorino
Matt started talking pretty much as soon as I walked in to Mr . His enthusiasm is contagious and talking to him feels like a really fun ride through a whole lot of Sicilian-Melbourne history with a mouth-watering run-down of the delights of his restaurant thrown in for good measure. Matt, coming out of the…
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Kate McKay at Heart of Hall
Heart of Hall is Melbourne's newest cooking school and if you take a class here, you will be in excellent hands. Kate McKay has cooked and taught cooking in many places around the world and she exudes the sort of enthusiasm all inspiring teachers should have. Hi Kate. Now I’ve read a little bit about…
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Giacomo Quinti at Quinti – Tiscan Lifestyle
When I go into , Giacomo is just finishing lunch with his family; his wife, Giselle, their little girl, and his mother who is over from Italy. Quinti feels as though you’ve stepped into a home in Tuscany. Giacomo and his father renovated the interior themselves and it is all recycled wood with photos and…
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Johnny Di Francesco at 400 Gradi
The first Australian ever trained in Naples under the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (the association for authentic Neapolitan pizza), Johnny Di Francesco opened the first in 2008, before putting the restaurant on the map in 2014 when he was awarded worlds best pizza maker at the World Pizza Championships. With numerous venues around Melbourne, Johnny…
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Rita Macali at Supermaxi
Having been told by Gourmet Traveller’s Michael Harden that I “must” speak to Rita at , I was excited to meet her. On a Melbourne day where it was very hot and then poured with rain, I drove to Fitzroy North and while I waited for Rita to finish rolling pasta, Giovanni made me the…
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Oliver Gould at Palermo
Oliver Gould is softly spoken and fairly intense, and I mean that in a good way. He knows what he's doing and he values his team and the journey they go on every night. He is known for being at the helm of for 10 years and also for winning Young Chef of the Year…
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Declan Carroll at Angus & Bon
Irishman Declan Carroll came to Australia on holiday 18 years ago, fell in love with the place and has been cooking up a storm here ever since. A passionate devotee of wood-fired cooking, Declan was last at for four years and has now taken up the wood-fired grill challenge at , Prahran’s recently opened New…
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Adam Robins at Riddik
Riddik has only been open a week and when I went in mid-afternoon today to chat to head chef, Adam Robins, it was bursting at the seams. Adam took time out of the busy-ness to talk to me and I appreciated his openness and candour about the job. He exuded such a love for the…
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Ivan Roianov at Terindah Estate
Terindah Estate is a beautiful winery on the Bellarine Peninsula where you can eat gloriously while looking down the vines to the ocean and across to the You Yangs. You can't ask for a better dining experience than that. New to the restaurant but bringing a great deal of experience from Europe and Dubai is…
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Paolo Masciopinto at Bar Carolina
My chat with Paolo was full of smiles and laughter. He clearly loves what he does and this comes through in his delicious take on Italian flavours. has only been open for a month and yet people familiar with his food from are already coming in their droves. I ate there on a Monday night…