DanielJohnstonis constantlycurious
in hispracticeasa chef,andI am
drawntohisirreverent,eccentric
character.Overthepastsevenyears
orso,hehasdelighteduswithhis
innovativeItalianpop-upsaround
town,yetDanalsoofferssomuch
morewithhisexplorationsthatgobeyondthekitchen.
I loveDan’sItaliancookingstyle– hisfood,withits
“Italiannonna”touch,remindsmeofthedaysI worked
atTheRestaurantManfredi.I hadtheprivilegeof
learningfromtheformidableFranca,StefanoandFranco
Manfredi,withtheirfocusonseasonalingredientsand
a handmade,fresh-is-best,cook-to-ordermantra.
Danhasanextensiveknowledgeandunderstanding
ofItaliancuisineandculture,andhisfoodis evenmore
delicious because of his generosity of spirit and warmth.
A
conscientiouschef,“myfavouritechefintheworld”,
andanall-roundexcellenthumanis howcolleagues
describeDanielJohnston– chefandco-ownerof
Sydney’seffervescentItalianeatery,DonPeppino’s.
Soexactlyhowdoesa 37-year-oldAustralianchefmanageto
earntherespectusuallyreservedforanItaliannonna?Unending
curiosity,anhonestloveforItalyanda tendencytotreatstaff
likefamilyis a prettygoodstart.
Johnstonworkedhiswayupthroughthehospitalityranks
inthetraditionalwaywithapprenticeshipsandtraining,
beforelandingat thenow-shutteredViniinSydney’sSurry
Hills,whichsuperchargedhispassionforItaliancooking.
“Itwasa deepdiveintoItalyandintoitssubregional cuisines,”
saysJohnston.“I’vespentyearsresearching
andvisitingItaly.I willreada regionalItalian
cookbookinbedona SundaynightbecauseI
loveit.”Viniwasalsothelaunchpadforsome
ofhislesstraditionalventures,includinghis
workwiththeFullCircle,anoff-kilterfood
collective,whichsawJohnstonandhisfriends
conjureuptemporaryrestaurantsinSurry
Hillswarehousesanddisusedrestaurants
inPottsPointandLeichhardt,allbefore
openinghismoresemi-permanentfixture,
DonPeppino’s.“Throughalltheseprojects
I’vedone,mymainmotivationis cookinggreat
food,butalsobringingfunandexcitementto
goingoutandeating,”hesays.“Intheearlydaysoneofthe
influenceswasillegalpartiesandraves...breakingoffand
doingthingsdifferentlyandfeelingexcitedtobea partof
it.”MotivationforJohnstonalsocomesthroughanincessant
andsincerecuriosity.“Amottoofminelatelyis ‘ThemoreI
learn, the less I realise I know’,” he says. “So you don’t stop.”It’sthisapproach,togetherwithl’amoreforItaliancuisine,
whichhaspropelledJohnstonbacktoItalytimeandtimeagain.
A particularlypertinentvisitforJohnstonwaswhenhespent
fourmonthswalking,workingandlivingwithfamilieson
differentproperties,particularlyinPuglia.“I workedona
coupleoffarms,learnthowtomilksheepandrollpasta,and
atefruitoffthetree,warmfromthesun,”hesays.“I almost
didn’tcomeback.”Andwhilethere’sa realromancewithItaly,
Johnstonis alsoa realist,recognisingthedichotomybetween
itsbeautyanditsflaws.“It’ssometimeshardtogetItaliansto
thinkoutsidethebox,”hesays.“Buttheyhavethesebeautiful
long-lastingtraditions– thatI’msureexistinmany,many
cultures– whicharejustwithinthefamily.”
BackinSydney,Johnstonusestraditionasinspiration
andtakesjoyinbeingabletoofferanythingfrombreadrolls
filledwithcaramelisedgarlicbutterthroughtoa cucinapovera-
styledishofal denteorecchiettewithbutterychickpeas.“I’m
reallyhappywhenI cansaytosomeone,‘Here’sa traditional
pastawithchickpeasthatyouprobablydon’twanttoorder
becauseit soundsboring,buttryit andrememberthatsimple
thingscanbereallybeautiful,”hesays.
Johnstondeftlytranslatesthesetraditionsontheplatewith
a senseofirreverenceandfun– thekindoffunthatcomes
fromsettingupa restaurantina formernightclubwithtwo
bestmates,floormanagerTomMerryweatherandchefHarry
Levy.“Againstmostpeople’sadvice,I wentintobusinesswith
twoofmybestfriends,”hesays.“We’vefounda waytobeopen
andstraightupwitheachother.”
Thecamaraderieextendsbeyondhisbusinesspartners,
aseachhasemployedtheirfriendstoworkthefloor.Walk
intoDonPeppino’sandyouinstantlyfeellikepartofthe
gang.Ascendthewinding,glowingstaircase,andyou’rejust
droppingintoseea bunchofmates– mateswhoareaboutto
showyoua damngoodtime.“Whenit works,it’sa wonderful
thing and it feelslikewehaveoneofthebestrestaurantsin
theentireworld,”saysJohnston.
Sowhat’snextforthisaffableand
ephemeraltrattoria?Theteamat Don
Peppino’sis keentostickaroundforas
longaspossible.“We’restillgettingthehang
ofit,we’vestillgotmoretodo,andif we’ve
stillgottheenergyandmotivation,wemay
aswellkeepgoing,”hesays.“I’mfiercely
independent.I alwayswanttoputmyself
ina positionwhereI orthecrewcanmake
ourowndecisionsabouteverythingbecause
I don’twanttocompromise.”
Fierceindependenceandself-reflection
haveprovedtobeusefultoolsforJohnston.
“Abigpartofmyinspirationis theseold-schoolvaluesand
traditions.I’mconstantlyquestioning,‘Isit goodenough,or
is it toosimple?’There’sa finelinebetweenperfectlysimple
andincrediblyboring,andif you’renotontherightsideofit,
it doesn’twork.”It’sclearthatJohnston and Don Peppino’s
have landed on the right side.●Walk intoDon
Peppino’sand you
instantlyfeellike
partof thegang.
Ascendtheglowing
staircase,andyou’re
justdroppinginto
see your mates.GOURMET TRAVELLER 39