When it comes to dining, Sydney is the new Mecca. There is something almost alchemic about it; a transformative magic that lifts fine to great and elevates popular to legendary. Of course, the buzzword now is native, with both ingredients and cuisines staging a triumphant comeback this year. We speak to five influential chefs who talk of food beyond taste, innovation beyond gimmickry, and presentation at par with artistry. These artists of ingredients spill the beans on how flavours evolve, their cooking styles and top food trends.
LOGAN CAMPBELL
Australia
BONDING OVER TEXTURES
Ingredients dominate the plate for Logan Campbell, who advocates discipline and respect for them. He is a great believer in authenticity and the art of experimenting. An executive chef for 12 years at Lucio’s in Paddington, Australia and recipient of two chef hats in 2014, he joined Jonah’s on the magnificent Whale Beach in Sydney in 2015 to create a contemporary Australian menu that focuses on seafood with a delicate Italian flavor.
Your earliest food memory
My father was a chef so watching him cook was one of my first memories.
Personal favourite
I don’t have a favourite only because what I create always evolves. I’ll make a dish and be happy with it then I revisit the dish months later with fresh eyes and rework it.
Top ingredients
I love passion fruit. The sweet yet acidic balance really appeals to me. The second would be seafood. It’s the ultimate in delicate proteins and the variety of textures and flavours available in our oceans really challenge me.
Artist or a chef
A chef is an artist. An artist is a chef. They create. Their mediums are different but the heart is the same.
Dream destination for a culinary tour
I have worked in Asia and have done many tours to Europe and North America. I have yet to see South America and India though.
If you weren’t a chef…
Teaching would be an option.
Biggest challenge
Finding the balance between what people are familiar with and therefore willing to pay for and the implementation of new, fresh, well-balanced ideas without being pretentious.
Food innovation or mere gimmickry
Innovation means change. Change is the only constant. What most people think is classically Italian is, in fact, not. Tomatoes do not come from the Italian peninsula and neither does basil or eggplant. Is buffalo mozzarella an Italian classic? How many water buffaloes were walking around during the time of Caesar? All of these things were imports till a few hundred years ago. There is gimmickry now but let’s not confuse that with innovation.
JAMES VILES
Australia
LESS IS MORE
Owner and Chef of Biota Dining and Rooms, James Viles was the youngest chef to be awarded a Chef’s Hat in 2004 during his time at Bowral’s The Schoolhouse Restaurant in his early 20s. Viles has made appearances on TV including 7 Network’s Weekend Sunrise and Sydney Weekender, and Channel Nine’s Fresh. Viles has worked internationally as executive chef at The Chedi Muscat, GHM Hotels at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai, alongside two-star Michelin chef Hans Haas and Alain Ducasse.
Your earliest food memory
Making gravy with my grandma from pan juices and vegemite.
Personal favourite
It would have to be a pork fat custard.
Top ingredients
Persimmon, quince, milk and acidic leaves.
Favourite chefs
Marc Veyrant, Michel Bras and Dan Barber.
Your style of cooking
Honest, pure and restrained.
An artist or a chef
I would consider myself a cook. We cook food for people. This is our responsibility.
Favourite junk food
Soft tacos with lots of leaves, pickles and spiced meat.
Dream destination for a culinary tour
Nepal and South America; deep, rich and vibrant.
If you weren’t a chef…
I would like to fly fighter jets.
Top five sources of inspiration
People, mother nature and family.
Biggest challenge
Reality TV shows and society wanting more and more. We should focus on less and less.
Food innovation or mere gimmickry
We will start to see a movement towards origins and localism in the future.
Vegetarian-only restaurants
I love vegetarian restaurants. Meat should be treated as a luxury.
JASON ATHERTON
Australia
ROOTED TO RECREATE
Polite and engaging, Jason Atherton is a man of balance whether it comes to work or spices. Owner of 18 restaurants across the globe, Kensington Street Social, Australia is the latest feather in his cap. Earlier, he was the executive chef at Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin starred Maze in London until 2010. He co-hosted the Sky Living TV series My Kitchen Rules in 2014. Atherton has worked with chefs that include Pierre Koffmann, Nico Ladenis, and Marco Pierre White.
Your earliest food memory
Eating sardines on toast with my stepfather when I was six years old. It was delicious.
Personal favourite
English breakfast.
Top ingredients
The basics are important. Garlic, olive oil and my larder to cook from.
Favourite chefs
Ferran Adri , Thomas Keller and Alain Ducasse.
Your style of cooking
Global, but deep-rooted in modern British cuisine.
Artist or a chef
A chef by far.
Dream destination for a culinary tour
Italy; Tuscany for sure.
Top five sources of inspiration
Fans of my cookbook, Internet, travelling, my team; chefs who inspire me. If I’m allowed a sixth, my wife and family.
Food innovation or mere gimmickry
It’s vital to continue to be creative and inspiring. Take Dali with his images or Heston with his cooking, it pushes boundaries; it makes us think and it inspires. Although sometimes, it might not work or people might not find it acceptable, but I think it’s subjective.
Is farm to table the way food will be in the future?
This is media rubbish. It’s always been like that. This really infuriates me. Where do people think chefs get their fresh food from? It has always been ground to kitchen.
Vegetarian-only restaurants?
I think it’s a great thing. In Shanghai, there is a vegan restaurant which is simply amazing. I love it.
PETER GILMORE
Sydney
CRAFT TO FINISH
Food inspired by the nature is the best way to describe Peter Gilmore’s cooking. Widely regarded as one of Australia’s best chefs, Gilmore woks with traditional techniques giving them a new Australian interpretation. The Bennelong menu has been curated by Gilmore, stirred by intimated conversations with farmers, fishermen and breeders nationwide, showing mostly Australian Ingredients in wholesome yet original form.
Your earliest food memory
Picking a mandarin from a tree in my backyard.
Top ingredients
Seafood like quality shellfish and heirloom vegetables are my favourites.
Your top three favourite chefs
Andoni Luis Aduriz, Michel Bras and Dan Barber.
Your style of cooking
Innovative, textural and respectful.
An artist or a chef
I think a chef is both a craftsman and an artist.
Dream destination for a culinary tour
Japan
If you weren’t a chef…
I would have been a horticulturalist or a landscape artist.
Biggest challenge
Finding the next perfect marriage of flavours.
Food innovation or mere gimmickry
There are all sorts of approaches to innovation; there are some innovations that use old techniques and simply making them modern again.
Vegetarian only restaurants?
I think the way forward is having a greater ratio of vegetables over protein but I still feel protein elements are important within my cuisine.
BRENT SAVAGE
Australia
LOCAL GOES GLOBAL
Cooking became a creative process for Brent Savage rather early in life. He usually opts for simple pleasures and co-owns Yellow, one of Sydney’s best restaurants, inspired by European dining that looks at contemporary food and wine served in an informal atmosphere at competitive prices. Savage loves cooking with vegetables and has a solely vegetable-driven menu at Yellow, focusing on interesting and heirloom wine varietals, grown by local suppliers.
Your earliest food memory
My grandmother taking me foraging for blackberries and mushrooms.
Personal favourite food
The Bentley Chocolate Bar would have to be right up there given that it’s been on the menu since day one.
Top ingredients
It depends on the season. Right now, I’m enjoying working with root vegetables like celeriac and Jerusalem artichoke. I also like collaborating with local growers to plant new products that are rare such as broad bean shoots and Mexican cucumbers.
Favourite chefs
Ferran Adria and Michel Bras.
An artist or a chef
Neither! I consider cooking to be a craft.
Dream destination for a culinary tour
I’m cooking in Burgundy, France next year.
Top five sources of inspiration
People who work for me, the producers at our local growers markets and the fast paced food environment around us.
Biggest challenge
The cost of food is one of the biggest challenges, although for that reason you have to be more creative.
Food innovation or mere gimmickry
No, I think food innovation, like all trends is circular. At the moment we are seeing a lot of pickling, salting and curing which are all ancient methods of preservation.
Vegetarian only restaurants
Given that we have just transformed Yellow into a vegetarian restaurant at the beginning of the year, I am very much in favour of them. As long as they are approached with the same consideration and quality as every other restaurant, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be as successful or popular.
(The article was published in the INDIA TODAY SPICE edition dated December 2016)
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