Conversation with a chef

Today I’m chatting to Melbourne Cake Couturier, Aidan Robinson, from Chic de Partie. And what an absolute pleasure it was. Aidan got in touch with me through Instagram and I am so happy he did. He is one of those chefs who so love what they do that it almost shines out of them. Aidan always knew he wanted to be a chef, and more specifically, a pastry chef. He started his career aged 15 in Manchest...

What started as a blog and a way to connect to her family, friends and home country, Argentina, has become a thriving business for Paula Delapenna. Paula makes the famous Argentinian sweet treat, alfajores, and sells them online through her site, En Casa Cooking Space, and in markets around Melbourne. She also makes beautiful, rustic cakes based on recipes from her baker grandmother. I sat down wi...

Esca Khoo is a rising star, although he doesn’t really know what to do with such accolades and the press coverage he has been receiving since he stepped into the head chef role at Miss Mi in the Mövenpick Hotel. Esca is humble and self-aware and never imagined that he would be where he is now. He just really loves cooking and wants to share through his food happiness as well as memories and the th...

Funny story. I actually met Ha in the spa pool in my apartment building. He was talking to some other neighbours in the pool about restaurants and about his cooking school, Otao Kitchen, which obviously piqued my interest. I told him about Conversation with a Chef and very happily for me, he agreed to talk to me. I had walked past his original cooking school venue on Victoria Street so many times...

When I went to Taxi Kitchen to speak to Tony Twitchett, there was a lot going on in Federation Square. There were people ziplining across the Yarra, Harry Potter fans dressed as wizards, primed for the 20th anniversary free outdoor screening of Harry Potter, The Philosopher’s Stone, children running towards the 16-metre-tall Christmas tree in Christmas Square and the annual firies Christmas drinks...

Today I’m chatting to Vincent Uso from Canelé Alain, a pastry business in Richmond making the unique little cakes from Bordeaux, the canelé. Vincent does a great job describing what these special little treats are in the conversation, so I’ll leave that to him. If you have never tried a canelé, you absolutely must. They are crispy and caramelised on the outside with a molten centre and they are de...

Hi and welcome to another episode of conversation with a chef. I’m Jo Rittey and I love sharing with you the conversations I get to have with talented and passionate chefs. It’s the back story, if you will, to the food they are putting up. I begin today by acknowledging the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, traditional custodians of the land where this conversation takes place and I pay my re...

Telina Menzies came to my attention through her Instagram stories and posts. She posts photos and stories about food and the great people who surround her and her two French bulldogs. You can tell from her posts that she loves what she does and has a heart for the hospitality industry and the mental health of those who work within it. You can also tell from her posts that she is a down to earth no...

Alan Chong made the news last year when he gave meals away to struggling Melburnians negatively impacted by the fallout from Covid-19 lockdowns. Over the course of a few months, Chong and his team at Tian 38 cooked and gave away hundreds of meals to people who weren’t eligible for JobKeeper or JobSeeker, people who were vulnerable and struggling in the pandemic. But that’s not the only reason Alan...

I must admit to being slightly starstruck when talking to Diana Chan today. And when I say slightly, please read, enormously. Diana is the 2017 MasterChef Australia winner and beams a sunny and positive presence out through her socials. So, you can imagine my excitement when PR company, Harvey Taylor got in touch to see if I would like a chat. Of course I would! I asked Diana what her greatest suc...

Babylonia Fitzroy, on their website and at their entrance on Smith Street, invites you to “enter into enchantment”. Owners Prawin John Peter and Geoffrey Sage have created their own little oasis down in Fitzroy, complete with a lush outdoor garden courtyard and waterfall wall feature and a cosy front dining room with green leather banquettes, cream-painted brick walls and antique Turkish lampshade...

I was so excited to be able to talk to Guillaume Brahimi in the month his Melbourne restaurant, Bistro Guillaume celebrates its 10 year anniversary. I knew all about Guillaume having watched with delight, his five minute Plat du Tour episodes which aired on SBS during the Tour de France and featured famous dishes from the regions the cyclists were passing through. Guillaume’s love of cooking and h...

I often have to pinch myself that all these incredible chefs are happy to sit down and chat to me. I’m very lucky. Sometimes I contact a chef I’d like to talk to and then on the way to the chat, I have that whole imposter syndrome thing where I think, hang on a minute, this person is actually a really big deal, who do I think I am? That’s what happened on the tram on my way into the Melbourne CBD...

When I got in touch with Dylan Kemp, he was just about to leave Melbourne for Queensland where he has relocated to open a new venue in Kings Beach. We resolved to chat once he was settled, and I was impressed when he got in touch just a couple of days after arriving to make a time with me. This was one of those conversations where I was absolutely hanging off Dylan’s every word. Dylan’s understand...

I was surprised to learn that it has been four or five years since I last spoke to Gabriel Alonso at Juliet Melbourne. Time certainly flies when you’re having fun. I loved talking to Gabs back then and hearing about his love for hospitality and it was so lovely to be able to talk to him again. Gabs has done the 2020 pivot, but still speaks with absolute passion about what he is doing, which is bak...

David Dellai and I have honestly been trying for weeks to sit down together for a chat and all sorts of lockdowns and other things got in the way. But it was absolutely worth the wait to sit down with David and talk about his love of food and cooking, which stems back to when he was four years old, actually, and to find out more about Venetian food and how to choose the best white truffle. David s...

Prior is a huge pastel cathedral ceilinged wonder of a café on High Street. It has a log burner in the middle for cosy winter days, a courtyard out the back for the warmer weather and a delicious menu every day of the week. Nick Korceba has been in the game for 20 years, but still speaks with passion about the food he is preparing. His former boss, Shane Delia, has spoken highly of Nick’s work as...

Cru means raw in French and I’m always going to be drawn to anything French. I’m also drawn to the fact that Cru is very close to where I live and just one of those lovely neighbourhood wine bar treasures that serve excellent food and wine in a lovely setting. Whether you’re sitting out the front in the buzz of the café deli area or out the back in the courtyard, it’s just a really nice place to b...

Today’s chat is with Florian Ribul at Vex in Westgarth. I wrote about Vex for Broadsheet a few weeks ago and was keen to catch up with Flo again to hear more. He made me a coffee and we sat outside in the courtyard beneath the huge lemon tree. The way Flo talks about cooking and his life as a chef is captivating, and I could have easily listened for hours. But since opening a couple of months ago,...

Talking to Ryan Berry, head chef at Naughton’s Hotel in Parkville was a real highlight. Ryan is thoughtful and extremely articulate in the way he talks about cooking, teaching younger staff how to navigate chef life sustainably and with joy, and how important it is to work with ethical and passionate suppliers and producers. Naughton’s is one of those beautiful pubs where the décor makes you wish...

Michael Bacash | Bacash by Jo Rittey

Today’s chat is with Julian Summer at Pier St. over in Portarlington. Pier St is owned by Peter Roddy and his partner, Ebony Vagg and a couple of years ago, I had the absolute pleasure of speaking to Peter at their other venue, Noir in Richmond. Julian did part of his apprenticeship at Noir before heading to Perth and working at Wildflower, a fine dining restaurant specialising in native ingredien...

Some people dream of rooms lined with books, and I do love that idea too, but for me being surrounded by bottles of wine just feels right. So, sitting amongst the glowing bottles and talking to Kyle Nicol about his time in a Michelin star restaurant in London and his love of native ingredients, was absolute bliss. I have been into Rascal before to talk to Elliott Pinn who was head chef at the time...

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 away but I feel lucky that Greta and her Irish Dave remain amongst my...

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 here, he has opened four successful pizza restaurants, earned the title of best Neapolitan style pizza in Sydney a...