エピソード

  • #386 Rob Kabboord | Rühe

    #386 Rob Kabboord | Rühe
    2026/10/04
    I first spoke to Rob Kabboord six years ago, just before COVID upended Melbourne hospitality and changed the shape of the industry. A lot has happened since then. Rob has cooked, travelled, collaborated, co-written a play and, somewhere along the way, made the move to regional Victoria. Now he is part of Rühe alongside sommelier Daniel Saligari in Kyneton, a neo-bistro with a little punk in its bones and a very clear sense of place. I took the train from Melbourne to see him, which turned out to be half the pleasure. Just over an hour out of Southern Cross, then a walk through town in the rain, and suddenly I was sitting in this warm, thoughtful dining room on Piper Street talking to someone I hadn’t properly caught up with in years. We talked about theatre, Burgundy, hospitality, the appeal of neo-bistro, why Rühe looks and feels the way it does, and what it means to build something new in a small town with a big food culture.
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    39 分
  • #385 Sumalee Sae-tang, Manpreet Singh & Chef Sahakorn Sanitmacharo | Ladyboy

    #385 Sumalee Sae-tang, Manpreet Singh & Chef Sahakorn Sanitmacharo | Ladyboy
    2026/10/03
    Once I’d switched off the recorder at Ladyboy, owners, chefs and partners in life Sumalee Sae-tang and Manpreet Singh very kindly brought out some dishes from their Beyond Bangkok menu for me to try. As we talked over the food, Sumalee began to tell me more about how much she loves what she does. I also had the chance to meet Gun, their chef, who is from southern Thailand and is enjoying sharing the food of his own region through the series’ first menu. Sumalee and Manpreet met while studying cookery in Melbourne in 2005 and took over the Richmond restaurant more than a decade later. Sumalee is from Bangkok, and their regular menu draws on the food she cooks at home. Beyond Bangkok gives the team room to explore other regions of Thailand while keeping the dishes their regulars would be very unhappy to lose. The yellow curry, I learned, has survived an attempted retirement. They love working with local suppliers, choosing produce, wines and beers for the restaurant. Sumalee still goes out every Tuesday and Friday to buy the vegetables and herbs herself. She wants to be sure she’s getting the best and freshest, and particularly loves picking out the herbs and chillies. We had talked during the recording about how much a customer’s thank you means to her. Afterwards, hearing her enthusiasm for even the shopping, I was glad we’d had time to keep talking.
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    27 分
  • #384 Jeremy Sutphin Executive Chef | The Ganley Group

    #384 Jeremy Sutphin Executive Chef | The Ganley Group
    2026/10/01
    There’s something very grounded about the way Jeremy Sutphin talks about food. He grew up in the American South around big gardens, smoked meats, family cooking and that wonderful idea of Southern hospitality, where feeding people is simply part of life. Now, 20 years into living in Melbourne, he’s overseeing a growing group of pubs and venues by The Ganley Group, including St Kilda’s Fifth Province, Angus and Bon, Freddie Wimpole’s, The Bay Hotel in Mornington, The Windsor Castle and The Carlton Club. His job these days involves plenty of suppliers, spreadsheets and menu planning, but what really lights him up is still the simple stuff: tomatoes straight from the vine, tending a fire, watching the smoke from his old offset smoker, and the satisfaction of making something delicious from good ingredients.
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    29 分
  • #383 Andrea Vignali | Al Dente Enoteca

    #383 Andrea Vignali | Al Dente Enoteca
    2026/09/30
    Stepping off Nicholson Street into Al Dente Enoteca, I was immediately taken with the exposed brick, the wall of wine and the rare quiet of a restaurant between services. Andrea calls this stretch Melbourne’s “Italian Golden Mile”, with neighbours Scopri and Bar Olo helping make it a very good street to be hungry on. He is funny, candid and full of stories. Al Dente began with pasta sold through Instagram during lockdown, when staying in Australia meant finding a way to support himself and others in the same position. Six years on, he still gets his greatest pleasure from cooking for people, although there is plenty competing for his time. Our conversation took us from his grandfather’s pub to the cacio e pepe tucked inside his tortelloni, with a rather frantic search for kangaroo in Rome along the way. This was such a great chat. I can't wait for you to listen.
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    42 分
  • #382 Ryan Dunn | Langlands at Hyatt Centric Melbourne

    #382 Ryan Dunn | Langlands at Hyatt Centric Melbourne
    2026/09/29
    I had never been up to Langlands, 25 floors above Melbourne in the Hyatt Centric. Ryan Dunn knows it can be a little too well hidden. With the dining room now opened up to the skyline, we sat looking over the wave of Southern Cross Station’s roof and talked about what he and chef Richard most like to cook: food with smoke, chilli, acidity and plenty of flavour. Ryan’s career began almost by accident, with work experience at Bistro Moncur when he was 16. It has since taken him through Norway, Russia, Bangkok and Hong Kong. He still lights up most when he talks about food. A scallop with green mango and sambal. A crisp piece of baguette with tomato, stracciatella and a good anchovy. Nothing on the plate simply to look clever. As Ryan put it, he wants to cook things he’d actually want to eat. I like it up here and I can’t wait to go back.
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    34 分
  • #381 Pieter Buijsse | Rah Dining

    #381 Pieter Buijsse | Rah Dining
    2026/09/28
    When I spoke to Pieter Buissje in 2022, he was appearing on under-30 chef lists and attracting plenty of attention. He’s still only 32, but now he’s a co-owner of a new Chapel Street restaurant, with the keys in his hand and an opening date to work towards. Rah Dining takes its cue from the Silk Road and the way ingredients and ideas travelled between cultures. Pieter’s eight-course menu will move from China through India and Central Asia towards Turkey. He’s clear that he isn’t setting out to reproduce traditional dishes from each place; he wants to learn from their flavours and techniques and cook through his own fine dining experience. You’ll also be able to stop in for a snack or two and a glass of wine. For now, he’s testing dishes in a hired kitchen nearby and working out, among many other things, who’s going to supply the drinks trays.
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    26 分
  • #380 Josh Rudd | Flores at The Angel of Malvern

    #380 Josh Rudd | Flores at The Angel of Malvern
    2026/09/08
    It’s been seven years since I last sat down with Josh Rudd, and it was genuinely lovely to catch up with him again. Since then, he’s opened venues, moved into large-scale events and catering, built teams and systems, and now finds himself at Flores at the Angel in Malvern, part of the Refinery Group. What struck me this time was how much his role has broadened. He still talks about food with the same enthusiasm, but now there’s just as much interest in how a kitchen runs, how a team develops and how you create a venue that feels good to be in, both for the people working there and the people coming through the door. Josh is thoughtful about all of it, but still very much a chef who likes a challenge and likes being in the thick of things. Seven years on, that part clearly hasn’t changed.
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    30 分
  • #379 Jasmin Lefers | Artist & Food Designer

    #379 Jasmin Lefers | Artist & Food Designer
    2026/09/03
    I first met Jasmin Lefers almost ten years ago, when she was heading up the kitchen at Wine 1160 and I went along to write about it. Since then, our paths have kept crossing through mutual friends, Melbourne’s food world and Jasmin’s wonderfully inventive events. Jasmin doesn’t call herself a chef. She’s a cook, a food designer and a creator of immersive experiences that ask us to do much more than simply eat. Her ideas can begin with mushrooms, seaweed or even an antique brooch, then grow into something involving handmade ceramics, edible plates, sound, texture and months of meticulous experimentation. The remarkable thing is that, beneath all that imagination, the food is genuinely delicious. Talking to Jasmin is a little like stepping inside one of her events: surprising, thoughtful and enormous fun.
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    25 分