Conversation with a chef

Tommaso Bartoli is a passionate chef who learned to cook in Florence but felt a love for food and cooking much earlier on when he watched his mother and other family members cook. He talked about coming in from soccer training, smelling his mother’s cooking and running up the stairs. After working for a few years in restaurants in Florence, Tommaso was ready to try something else and 12 years ago...

#223 Greg Feck | Marnong Estate by Jo Rittey

I drove to Sorrento on a sunny autumn day just as owners Nika, Stefano and Valentino were moving things from their original venue, Bardo a few doors down to their recently opened Sardo. I immediately felt like one of the family as Nika made me espresso and I sat down to chat with her and Valentino. Sardo is the nickname given to people from Sardinia, the same way we might call an Australian an Aus...

I went in to Flour Child as day was turning to night. Through the huge windows upstairs on Acland Street, the panorama of palm trees, the Luna Park rollercoaster and the setting sun is perfect. Where else would you want to be? As I waited to talk with executive chef, Alessandro Bellomunno, I chatted to co-owner Simon and had delicious and quite theatrical cocktails made by Michael; think, Purified...

Larry Xie is here for a good time and that’s what he wants for guests to Bansho as well. He is the epitome of hospitality and is constantly seeking ways to learn more about food and wine and to welcome his guests with warmth and conviviality. No stranger to hospitality, Larry grew up with a family who ran coffee shops and motels in Melbourne and, as a teenager, he worked for his parents, before mo...

I was lucky enough to be invited to The Westin Melbourne’s nod to Wicked, the Musical, a glorious High Tea with a very prominent green focus. High Tea at The Westin is an impressive affair. The team goes all out on theme, creativity and flavour and the Wicked High Tea was no exception. I was keen to talk to Executive Chef, Apoorva Kunte about the approach behind a themed High Tea. I was also keen...

#218 Sam Hopkinson | Botanical Hotel by Jo Rittey

I have a special place in my heart for Bar Carolina in South Yarra because I wrote about it for Concrete Playground when it opened in 2017 and I also had a Conversation with a chef with the chef at the time, Paolo Masciopinto. But I hadn’t been out the back before and when new head chef Pieter Buijsse suggested going out through the kitchen to his office, I was thrilled. Walking out through the ac...

When diners walk into Desi Dhaba, owner Amit Tuteja wants them to feel as though they have come home to India. The decor is bright and cheerful, and the food is rustic, filling and delicious. Named after the highway eateries, or Dhaba, in India where truckies and people on road trips call in to eat local treats, Desi Dhaba is all about using local produce with raw spices and recipes direct from In...

Today I am talking to Jake Read at Neptune in Windsor. I’ve always had a soft spot for Neptune ], so what better excuse to head back over there than a new head chef. Last year, after 12 years working in the UK across Michelin and boutique hotel restaurants as well as running his own private dining business, Jake Read felt drawn to Melbourne. He had been following some Melbourne venues on social me...

Sebastian Pasinetti is no stranger to hospitality, being born into a hospo family and taking the plunge himself at 15. He is the co-founder of OKO Restaurant, OKO Rooftop & Cafe and OKO Catering and a proud queer Person of Colour. Sebastian is also the Co-Founder of Minds en Place, a hospitality hub for diversity, wellbeing and hospitality and the Head of Partnerships at Kelly's Cause Foundation,...

I caught up with Murat Ovaz at I Carusi II in St. Kilda and I felt as though I was catching up with an old friend. I spoke to Murat when he opened Yagiz in South Yarra about six years ago and that was a fun conversation about the adventures that had got him into hospitality and becoming a chef. The food at Yagiz was next level. Murat was putting up clever interpretations of the food he grew up wit...

Matthew Butcher is a larger-than-life character, who loves hugs as greetings and immediately made me feel at home and as though I was talking to an old friend when I went in to talk to him at Ronnie’s. Matthew talked a lot about how lucky he has been in following his dad’s advice to surround himself with good people, having worked for Shannon Bennett and Ryan Clift at Vue de Monde and Josh Emett a...

Nordic-inspired Freyja, (the golden teared goddess of Norse mythology) the glorious two-level restaurant on Collins Street was the last piece in Soren Trampedach’s puzzle to bring people together to work and play in his Work Club Global human eco-system. It also stands alone as a statement restaurant headed in the kitchen by Michelin star chef Jae Bang. For Jae, the Nordic approach to Australian c...

I met Juan Berbeo on Christmas Eve in the entrance to my apartment building. He was wearing an apron and I asked if he was doing some cooking. He replied, “Yes, I’m a chef.” You can imagine my excitement. We had a brief chat in the lift and to my delight, he agreed to talk to me for Conversation with a chef. Juan is Executive Chef and the guy behind the concept of Berbeo Bros. Arriving in Melbourn...

If you’re into excellent croissants and inventive viennoiserie (think chocolate fondant croissants), you’ll have heard of Penny for Pound. Pastry chef, Matilda Smith, and her partner in life and business, Ben Wilson opened their original hole in the wall shop in Richmond in 2018. They quickly garnered a following and Penny for Pound became the go-to spot for Richmond locals craving the perfect cro...

I drove to Geelong on a sunny day at the start of January to talk to Eddie Basich. We had a coffee at Pavilion Geelong, and it was full summer carnival vibes. People were having picnics, the pool and waterfront were packed and there was a cruise ship out in the bay. Eddie is a private chef with 37 years’ experience cooking in hotel and restaurant kitchens here and in the UK. What he loves most abo...

Elia Donati has loved food and cooking since a young age, watching his mamma and nonna in the kitchen preparing his favourite meals. It wasn’t until he was 22 and in search of adventure on the other side of the world that he started learning to cook professionally. As soon as Elia moved to Melbourne he fell in love with it, and he particularly loved discovering all the cuisines we have here, in pa...

The term Madeleine de Proust refers to the powerful and evocative sensory trigger that elicits vivid memories and emotions, often associated with Marcel Proust's literary exploration of involuntary memory in his novel "In Search of Lost Time", in French A la Recherche du Temps Perdu. This phenomenon highlights the profound connection between sensory experiences, such as taste or smell, and the ret...

I went to have a chat to head chef, Jason Yong at Wagyu Ya Teppenyaki at The Glen. Now I hadn’t been to The Glen before, so rookie mistake, I followed Google Maps which led me to a carpark that ended up being at the polar opposite end of the mall and I did spend quite a bit of time trying to find the restaurant. But it is actually not that hard at all. Come in off Springvale Road, and it is up on...

#203 Diego Cardenas | Pincho Disco by Jo Rittey

Natalie Jefferson is passionate about food and keen to share that passion with others. After years in kitchens in Melbourne and London and a long stint running her own café, Our Kitchen Table, Nat has taken a side step into the kitchen of our Food Studies Department at school. You can imagine my reaction when she was introduced at a staff meeting as the new Food Studies Assistant and former chef....

I don't know about you, but the luxury hotel world feels like another dimension to me; a glamourous, celebrity-filled world. Then there are the people behind the scenes who make it all happen. My only insight into their world is through White Lotus, The Night Manager and The Grand Budapest Hotel, which are documentaries, right? I was invited to a glorious Melbourne Cup Day Champagne breakfast at T...

#200 Stephanie Stapleton | Ms Jackson Restaurant by Jo Rittey

I had a lovely chat to Jake Furst earlier this year and then had an incredible wine lunch at Cinder, one of the restaurants he oversees. I have also been wanting to talk to his younger brother, Zackary, head chef at Bar Liberty for a while so when I saw they were collaborating on a four-course dinner that channels their Polish roots, I couldn’t think of anything better than hearing all about it fr...