Nadia – August-September 2019

Honest to goodness

Livingofftheland,keepingthingssimple,andcateringtowhatthecustomer

• or her five kids – want, are all part of chef Penny Allan’s fresh, organic approach to food

S

implicityiskeyforPenny

Allan.Working50-60hoursa

weekasheadchefatDunedin’s

No7Balmacrestaurant,the

41-year-oldtakesit slowat

home– potteringinthe

garden,cookingno-fussmealsforthe

family,andstrollingdowntoherlocal

coffeeshopinPortChalmers,theseaside

Otagosuburbwhereshelives with her

husbandandfivekids.

Heartandsoul

It’snotsurprisingtheAustralianchef

yearnsforpeaceathome.Notlongafter

Pennytookontheheadchefroleatthe

MaoriHilleatery,a devastatingfireleft

her tight-knit team without a restaurant

WORDS

Fiona Ralph

.PHOTOGRAPHY

Nick Beadle

.

HomesweethomeSydneychefsPennyAllanandhusbandBillymovedtoNewZealandsomeyearsago,eventuallysettlinginDunedinafterdiggingthecity’scommunity,

student life and family-friendly vibe on a visit. In their colourful Port Chalmers home, Penny likes to feed the kids good, simple food – and takes the same approach at work, too.

for 10 months.Intruesouthernspirit,

they“gatheredthemselves”,openeda

pop-upandcontinuedtoservetheir

brandofneighbourhoodclassicswhile

therestaurantwasbeingrefurbished.“It

wasawesomeandinspiring,”saysPenny

ofthewaytheyallbandedtogether.

There’sa “realgoodsenseofbelonging

andtogetherness”.

It’sa family– literally.Pennyand

husbandBillyhavea shareinthe

business,andinfactPennytookoverher

rolefromBilly(herfirsttimeashead

chefaftera numberofsous-chefstintsin

NewZealandandAustraliaanda few

movesaroundtheNo7Balmackitchen).

Billynowworksparttimeatowner

Katrina Toovey’s other restaurant, the

Esplanade,whilethecouple’seldestson,

Freddie,isa No7kitchenhand.

Mostofthefull-timestaffstayedon

throughthepop-upandreopening.The

communityralliedaroundthebeloved

restaurantaswell,withmanyofthe

regularsdiningthereasusual.Nowthe

teamarebackattheirhomebase,with

a refreshedrestaurantandmenu

featuringmorehintsof Penny’s Greek-

Lebaneseheritage.

Easydoesit

Penny’seasyapproachappliestocooking

too.“Ilikequitebasicfood,foodthatI

knowa lotofpeoplecanrelateto,”she

says.“Ijustliketokeepit simpleand

think about who I’m cooking for.”