Conversation with a chef

Daniel welcomed me into the ‘red room’ at Bang Bang’s newest venue in St Kilda. Although it’s only been open a few weeks, Bang Bang St Kilda already has a following. As executive chef and now a full partner in the Bang Bang group, Daniel oversees three restaurants and two additional kitchens across Melbourne’s southeast. His chef career has come full circle, as he met his wife in St Kilda and they...

Callum Nugent might be relatively new to Stokehouse Pasta & Bar, but he's no stranger to high-pressure kitchens. Since stepping into his first official head chef role in December, he's embraced the challenge with enthusiasm. His love of food started young; he remembers being glued to TV cooking shows at just three years old and spending time in the kitchen with his mum, nonna, and godmother. With...

Cameron Tay-Yap didn’t really set out to be a chef, initially cooking for his family was a way to avoid doing his homework. But in secondary school, he took a chance on hospitality, and a friendly rivalry with a classmate pushed him to take food seriously. That competitive streak led to a stage at Attica, where he found his rhythm in the high-stakes world of fine dining. Since then, he has travell...

Johnny Ly has been the head chef at Green Man’s Arms for five and a half years, bringing creativity and passion to plant-based cooking. His journey began at University House at Melbourne Uni, where he completed his apprenticeship and worked for a decade, gaining experience across a variety of cuisines. After stints at RACV fine dining and vegan eateries like The Alley and Serotonin Eatery, he was...

Dan Lidgard has always known he was meant to be a chef. Growing up in Mt Maunganui, New Zealand, he was drawn to the kitchen from an early age and never looked back. His career has taken him through some of Australia’s best restaurants, including Stokehouse and Attica, where he honed his skills and developed his own bold, produce-driven style. Now, as executive chef at Patsy’s, Bau Bau, and Bistro...

Simon Cassar has always been immersed in food, working in hospo from a young age and then as an editor at Urban List, where he wrote about Melbourne’s dining scene. Now he is the owner of his own pizza shop. His journey from writer to pizzaiolo wasn’t immediate. He spent time working at DOC in Mornington, running pop-ups in Sorrento, Flinders and over summer at Quealy Wines in Balnarring, and obse...

Michael Lambie is a renowned chef and restaurateur who has significantly influenced Melbourne's dining scene since the late 1990s. Originally from the UK, Lambie trained under esteemed chefs, including Marco Pierre White and Alain Roux, before relocating to Australia. In Melbourne, he made his mark with establishments such as Stokehouse, Circa at The Prince, Taxi Dining Room, and Lucy Liu. After s...

Why doesn’t almond milk ever taste like real almonds? That question sent Marialuisa Castrignano on a journey to create Al Naturale, a nut milk company dedicated to making fresh, high-quality almond milk right here in Melbourne. Frustrated by store-bought options that lacked real almond flavour, she set out to craft a pure, additive-free alternative—one where you could actually taste the richness o...

Zac Shearer is a chef with a deep-rooted love for food that started in Tasmania, where his dad was a fisherman and his mum took him on trips to Melbourne’s Food and Wine shows. He’s been cooking since he was 18, spending time in Melbourne kitchens such as The Lincoln and French Saloon. Now, he’s taking on a new challenge—training to be a food studies teacher—while also launching Tiny Bar in Brunsw...

Lyndey Milan is a vibrant force in Australian food, known for her warm personality and deep love of good food and wine. With decades of experience as a TV presenter, cookbook author, and food educator, she’s passionate about making cooking accessible and enjoyable. She was the food director at Australian Women’s Weekly, has hosted numerous TV shows, and also created Tasting Success, a mentoring pr...

For over 30 years, Phillippa Grogan has been a beloved name in Melbourne’s food scene. Founder of Phillippa’s Bakery, she draws inspiration from her New Zealand childhood and nine formative years with Sally Clarke at her restaurant and foodstore in London. Phillippa is unyielding in her use of top-quality ingredients, traditional recipes and flavour. Phillippa is absolutely all about flavour. Beca...

The role of Head of Fermentation is not something you come across every day. In fact, Caitlin Koether is somewhat of a pioneer in this space and holds one of the first such positions in Australia, a role with The Mulberry Group which was uniquely crafted around her expertise. Caitlin’s work is all about preservation, finding ways to extend the life of seasonal produce, create new flavours, and red...

Mordialloc is a vibe and the team from La Cabra are here for it. Set just back from the beach, and only metres from the train station, the latest Mexican addition to the Mordi strip is also La Cabra’s ninth and biggest to date. Housed across three levels in a heritage building, complete with a rooftop deck and stunning views across the bay, it is perfect for watching the sunset with a spicy marg i...

Max’s Restaurant was the first winery restaurant on the Mornington Peninsula and was started by owner and chef, Max Paganoni in 1994. The views are spectacular. From the dining room, you look out over the vines to Western Port and across to Seal Rock. Max has always been passionate about using and promoting local produce and he has now very happily brought in two equally enthusiastic chefs, Michae...

Geraldine is a lovely rural town in South Canterbury in the South Island of Aotearoa, New Zealand and it is also home to the family-owned business, Barker’s. Barker’s have been filling kiwi pantries since 1969 and their products are still made on the family farm in Geraldine. I remember Barker’s blackcurrant syrup and Barker’s jams when I was growing up, but they have so many more products than th...

Chris Wong, chef and co-owner of Lilijana Eatery in Port Melbourne, brings a unique culinary story to Melbourne’s food scene. A former professional hockey player who spent nearly a decade travelling to and from Scandinavia for the winter season, Chris was inspired by the comfort and tradition of the Nordic cuisine he ate in his friends’ homes. His restaurant, named after his wife Christine’s grand...

Kay-Lene Tan is a renowned pastry chef celebrated for her innovative desserts that combine storytelling with bold flavours. Before embarking on her culinary career, she worked as a documentary maker, with a background in mass communication from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore. A turning point came during a “quarter-life crisis,” which led her to pivot toward her passion for food, eventually enro...

Today I’m talking to Bartek (Bert) Glinka & Brendan D’Amelio at Uncle’s Smallgoods. Bert and Brendan are friends, brothers-in-law and the charcuterie makers supplying many Melbourne cult institutions. You’ll find their pastrami at places like Hector's Deli, Nico's and Hugo's and their bacon is fried in cafes like ST ALi, Rustica, and Earl Canteen. Bert and Brendan’s smallgoods journey started when...

I've had a few chats with Matti Fallon over the years and they have always been good ones, so when he suggested a catch-up over lunch, it was a hard yes from me. We sat by the front window of Mr Vincenzo's with Mornington Park and Port Phillip Bay across the road and we feasted: stracciatella, artichokes, walnut vinaigrette and peas, snapper crudo, zucchini flowers, ricotta filling and whipped avo...

Baba’s Deli is lovely. Owners Max and Aleesha have nailed what it means to offer excellent hospitality: friendly service, excellent sandwiches and $3 coffee. While getting chefs in to make sandwiches wasn’t the original plan, it has worked out well for everyone, with friends, Daniel and Luke leaving stressful restaurant jobs to have fun every day wrangling the likes of Mama’s Vodka, the chicken sc...

Zero95 Alphington was still being set up when I arrived to talk to Executive chef Daniel Mastramico and he gave me a quick tour of the brand-new pizza and gelato venue, There’s a gleaming Marana oven for the pizzas, a mural on the cool room wall by TD Illustrations, and photos in the dining room of Daniel’s parents’ engagement party 52 years ago. With seating for 80 inside and 40 outside overlooki...

Tracey Lister is a Melbourne-born chef with more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, both in Australia and Vietnam. She is also the author of four cookbooks (KOTO: A Culinary Journey Through Vietnam (2008), Vietnamese Street Food (2011), Real Vietnamese Cooking (2014) and Made in Vietnam (2017)) and she is the owner of Brunswick Kitchen cookery school. When I went in to talk w...

Ben is the award-winning chef and owner of renowned restaurant Attica, where his innovative, boundary-pushing cuisine has earned him global acclaim. Known for his deep connection to sustainable and native ingredients and a commitment to excellence, Ben's culinary vision goes beyond the plate. His book, Uses for Obsession offers a vulnerable, humorous, and hard-hitting exploration of his journey, a...

Circl is a wine-centric restaurant led by a team of friends and hospitality experts in Punch Lane in Melbourne's CBD. Unique in concept, with an impressive 1,500-bottle wine list and strong 150+ by-the-glass offering, Circl wants diners to try some of the world’s most exciting and up-and-coming wines, alongside European-inspired food with Scandinavian finesse. I went in to chat to Executive Chef E...

Originally from Adelaide, Chris Rendell grew up in Melbourne and started chef life as an apprentice under Robert Castellani at Carmine’s before heading to Sydney and working for Neil Perry at the Rock Pool Group’s Star Grill and then at Christine Manfield’s iconic The Paramount in Potts Point. After four years in London working with David Thompson, as well as at Sugar Club, The Grocer of Elgin and...