Australian Gourmet Traveller - (04)April 2020 (1)

GOURMET TRAVELLER 23

PHOTOGRAPHY JULIAN KINGMA

(THE HOT CHICKEN PROJECT

) & MATT TURNER (DUNCAN WELGEMOED & KIDS).

News

CHICKEN RUN

WhenAaronTurnerwasgrowing

upin Portland,Victoria,he’d“beg”

hismumtogotoKentuckyFried

Chicken.In fact,whenKFCopenedin

histown,it wasa bigdeal.“I feltthe

worldwasfinallycomingtomysmall

town,”hewritesin hisnewbook,The

HotChickenProject(HardieGrant,

$48).Helateroutgrewhisteenage

tastesandnowadayspaystribute

tootherfamilyinstitutionsin the

US,suchasPrince’sHotChicken

Shackin Nashville,whichhasbeen

opensincein the1930s.

Turnerserveshistakeonthe

classicAmericandishatTheHot

ChickenProjecteateriesherunsin

GeelongandAnglesea(andshares

somerecipesin hisbook),but

Nashville’sbeststillinspireshim.

“Atanylevelofrestaurant,café,

diner,chickenshack,consistency

is key,”hesays.AndPrince’sHot

Chickenalwaysnailsit, whether

it’slunch,dinnerorthe2amshift.

“Thechickenis alwayscooked

perfectly,thecrunchofthebreading

friedjustright,”hesays.Throughthe

transformativepowerofsizzlingoil,

spicesandsalt,thefamouslycrisp

chickenturnsa deepshadeofred,

beforeit’splacedatopa sliceof

whitebreadandservedwithpickles.

It’s a “magical dish”, says the chef.

Yourmorningcoffeejustgotgreenerviathepodstheyaredeliveredin.

OrganiccoffeepurveyorRepúblicaCoffee’spodsarefullybiodegradable

and compatible with Nespresso machines. republicaorganic.com.au

Chef’s kitchen

FansofChatThai’sPalisaAndersonwillhaveto

waita littlebitlongertojoinherforourGourmet

Instituteevent,whichhasbeenpostponed

untillaterintheyear.Thosewhohavealready

purchasedticketscanholdontothemforthe

newdate,whichwillbeannouncedinthe

comingweeks,ortheycanbereturnedfora

fullrefund.StayuptodatewithallourGourmet

Institutenewsonlineatgourmettraveller.com.

au/gourmetinstituteand for tickets, see

eventbrite.com.au