Australian Gourmet Traveller – September 2019

Notevendying

couldput meoff

perfectlydoneveal

inwhitewine.

designa kitchenwherefourorfivepeople

couldbeindifferentzones,butnoone

crosseshis.It’salsoveryjoyful,fullofart;

it reallyis theheartofthehome.We

spendmostofourlivesinthere.

WhatdidyouaskAndrewtobringtothe

hospitalafterthebirthofyourdaughter

Clementine?Myfavouritedish:ossobuco

insageandwhitewine.I sentAndrewoff

togetit fromLocandaVenetainLA.Then

I sawthemachinesgoingfunny.I said,

“I’mbleedingagain,aren’tI?”andthe

doctorsaid,“Yep,we’regoingtohave

totakeyouin.”I calledAndrew,andhe

droppedthevealandcamerunningback.

Whathappenednext?WhenI say“osso

buco”Andrewtearsup,becauseit was

almostmylastmeal.If heseesit ona

menuhegetsupset,butI stillorderit.

It was 48 hoursbeforeI cameoutofthe

operation.It wasbad,butnotevendying

couldputmeoffvealinwhitewine.

RideLikeAGirlisout 26 September.Rachel

GrithsappearsinDeadLuckyandUntold

Australia’sTheSecretLifeofDeath,both

nowstreamingonSBSonDemand.

Rachel

Griiths

Theactoronpriceytequila,hospital

foodanddirectingherrstlm.

EATINGWITH

GOURMET TRAVELLER 33

How I eat

INTERVIEW LEE TRAM LAM. PHOTOGRAPHY NEWSPIX.

What’s something memorable you ate

growing up in Melbourne? My mother

left the outer shell of the broad bean on.

I grew up eating them hard and hairy.

Only very recently have I discovered

that if you double-shell them, they’re

the most magnificent food in the world.

You recently landed a role in an upcoming

American show. What did you drink to

celebrate? My favourite tequila, Clase

Azul Reposado, which Russell Crowe got

me hooked on. I had everyone do tequila

my style: on a very large rock, double shot

with a big squeeze of lime and no mixer.

What’s a budget meal that’s gotten you

through lean times? I was vegetarian at my

poorest. There were years of beans, rice

and lentils – years where I could never

imagine buying a $200 bottle of tequila.

Tell us about the Melbourne Cup barbecue

where you first had the idea to direct

Ride Like A Girl, your film about jockey

Michelle Payne. It

wasn’t a very serious

racing crowd. It wasn’t

until the 300-metre

mark that the race caller

could tell by the pace

of how Michelle was

riding that she was making a really serious

move. By the time she crossed the line, his

voice was at fever pitch: “Michelle Payne,

the first woman to win the Melbourne

Cup!” We all fell in love with her.

What were some challenges for you as

a first-time director? We couldn’t be on

a track three weeks before a major race.

Then it would rain and the track manager

would say you can’t film, it’s too soft.

In Ride Like A Girl, Payne (played by

Teresa Palmer) has to lose three kilos

in three days to compete in a race. Was

it hard to film that? I think what that

exemplifies is what young jockeys are

prepared to do – the kinds of things

we’ll do early in our career. We will push

ourselves further than is comfortable.

Sam Neill (who plays

Payne’s father Paddy)

says Australia has the best

on-set catering. Do you

agree? My jockeys, I think

they all put on weight

on the film. It’s always

a challenge not to put on weight, because

we do look after our crews.

Tell us about the home kitchen you

designed. I’m obsessed with my kitchen.

I made a to-scale model and took it to my

architect. My husband, Andrew, cooks in

a very particular way – no one can come

near what he calls his “hot zone”. I had to