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Ben John at Bistro X at The StandardX
Ben John is the chef behind Bistro X at The StandardX in Fitzroy. He trained in Aotearoa New Zealand, came up through some of Naarm’s most exacting kitchens, and has led teams at places where standards are high and pressure is constant. At Bistro X, he’s building something deliberately more relaxed: a neighbourhood bistro inside…
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Punit Ferrnandes
It’s been a few years since I last saw Punit Ferrnandes, back when Elichi was still open in Black Rock and the world and hospitality felt very different. In the time since, he’s lived what feels like several careers’ worth of experience: closing a restaurant, cooking through lockdown with his family, stepping into senior hotel roles, winning…
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Esca Khoo at Tyga
I first spoke to Esca Khoo a few years ago. Since then, he’s travelled, cooked and learned his way across Southeast Asia. What’s stayed constant is his generosity and the size of his heart, something that shows up as much in the way he runs a kitchen as in the food he cooks. Now he’s…
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Jacob Muoio at Moondrop
Moondrop has only just opened, but it already knows exactly who it is: a Shanghai-1920s fever dream on Gertrude Street, all low light, Mahjong tiles and jazz-era swagger, it’s the kind of bar that looks effortless. Of course, it isn’t. When a venue with a big past goes dark, it leaves behind more than a fitted-out bar.…
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George Peppou at Vow
What happens when a chef wanders off the line and into biotechnology? In George Peppou’s case, you get Vow, a company growing meat in a new way, not instead of animals, but with far fewer of them. Cultured meat starts with a tiny sample of animal cells, nurtured in a stainless-steel tank the way yeast…
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Michael Stolley & Hung Hoa Duong at Disuko
I sat down with Culinary Creative Director Michael Stolley and Head Chef Hung Hoa Duong at Disuko, the new terracotta-glowing, disco-ball-speckled takeover of the old Madame Brussels space. Michael is the big-picture force, the one thinking in concepts, mood, music and menus, while Hoa brings a grounded precision shaped by Nobu, Kisumé and a long, steady engagement with…
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Darryl Hand at Hotel Indigo & Holiday Inn
There’s something genuinely uplifting about sitting down with someone who’s spent over forty years in hospitality and still lights up when they talk about food. That’s Darryl Hand. He’s been in kitchens since the days of Hilton Melbourne’s grand dining rooms in the ’80s, cooked for queens and rock stars, and seen hotel dining evolve…
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Francesca Giorgi Monfort at Frankie’s Pie Shop
Francesca Giorgi Monfort didn’t set out to become Melbourne’s most interesting pie maker. The Swiss-born chef’s path has been anything but straightforward: from PR and art galleries in London to restaurant management in Europe, and finally to the kitchen where she found her true calling. After working at Farmer’s Daughters, Marion and heading the kitchen…
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Mirco Speri at Sincero
Sincero in Malvern is the second restaurant from chef Mirco Speri and the team behind Buono in Parkdale. While Buono captures the easy warmth of a bayside ristorante, Sincero brings a quieter confidence to Glenferrie Road. Open since April 2024, it’s already known for what Mirco calls Italian my way: familiar flavours, local produce, and the occasional twist;…
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Anuj Sanghi at Bar Mercado
Today I’m chatting with Anuj Sanghi, who’s opened Bar Mercado on Peel Street, right across from the Queen Victoria Market. The name Mercado means “market” in Spanish, and that’s really the heart of what Anuj has created, a place for people to gather, share food, drink, stories, and cultures. Every morning he walks over to the market to hand-pick his…