Conversations
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Jasmin Lefers at Wine 1160
Jasmin Lefers grew up with inspiring cooks and although she didn't initially strike out on the cooking path, she is now one of those lucky people who get to embrace their passion with their jobs. At present she is working with the staff at Armadale's newest wine bar, Wine 1160, but generally Jasmin's working life is a…
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Luke Stepsys at Panama Dining Room
Luke Stepsys became the owner and executive chef of Smith Street icon, Panama Dining Room, in 2014. A chef for 25 years, he has worked in hatted restaurants in Tasmania, Adelaide, Sydney and Queensland. His Panama Dining Room menus tend to European-style, steeped in traditional flavours but with a twist that befits the Northside. Hi Luke. How…
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Franky Pham at St. Cloud Eating House
Franky Pham loves recreating the food memories he has from his childhood. And luckily for us, he wants to share those memories along with his mother's and grandmother's traditional cooking with us. Franky has an infectious joy. Chatting to him was an uplifting experience. Tell me about your background in food. I started when I was…
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Emma Nicholas at Miinot Gelato
Emma Nicholas is one of those people who would be at the top of the list of who you would invite to dinner. She has an infectious joie de vivre and talking to her about Miinot Gelato and the community aspect of running a small neighbourhood shop, you start thinking that gelato really should be…
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Pierre Roelofs at Dessert Evenings
Pierre Roelofs is an extraordinary dessert chef. I spoke to Pierre in his fifth year of dessert evenings. Hi Pierre. How long have you been a chef? I’ve been a chef since 1994. I started in New Zealand at the Bronze Goat, an iconic restaurant on Ponsonby Road. It’s a long time ago. Where did…
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Melissa Wong at Grain & Nori
Melissa loves food and hospitality. Running Grain & Nori fulfils both these passions. Recently back from a trip to Japan, she is even more full of enthusiasm about sushi and Japanese traditions. What kind of tea is this we’re drinking, Melissa? It’s green tea with toasted rice. I love it. How did you get into…
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Rekha and Prateek Dhawan at Mukka
Mukka is Hindi slang for punch and that’s exactly what the Dhawan family are doing on the Melbourne Indian restaurant scene; packing a punch and breathing new life. I had a chat with Rekha and her son Prateek about garam masala, fresh ingredients and their passion for authentic Indian food. What made you open your…
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Charlotte Miller at Dietitian and Nutritionist
With all the white noise out there about food, whether that be the latest trends in food, the hottest new restaurants, the constant Instagram food porn feeds, or food guilt and 5:2 diets, paleo lifestyles, and juice cleanses, the philosophy behind chef, dietitian and teacher, Charlotte Miller’s practice is simple. Hi Charlotte. What is the idea…
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Renee McCready at Raw Ki Flow
Renée is a passionate advocate of the plant-based diet. She has been supplying beautiful salads and raw dessert treats to health shops and cafes for years. Renée’s raw vegan caramel chocolate slice is insanely good. Seek it out! What’s the philosophy behind raw food? The concept of eating raw has been around for a long time,…
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Joe Grbac at Saint Crispin
Saint Crispin is named for the patron saint of cobblers, tanners and leather workers. It’s appropriate given the building originally housed a cobbler’s workshop. Run by Scott Pickett of Estelle in Northcote and Joe Grbac, former executive chef of the Press Club, Saint Crispin is now a Melbourne institution. I had a chat with Joe…