Australian Gourmet Traveller - (06)June 2019 (1)

34 GOURMET TRAVELLER

Whatdidyoueatwhenyouweregrowing

up?I grewupina Greek-Australianfamily,

soI almostexclusivelyateGreekfood.

Myfavouritefoodwaslambonthespit,

andwewouldhaveit forbigeventslike

NameDays,ChristmasorEasterSunday.I

wasalsoobsessedwithpastitsio,theGreek

baked-pasta dish with meat and béchamel.

Wasyourschoollunchboxtheenvyof

otherstudents?I usedtotradewithmy

Anglo-Saxonfriendswhohadpeanut-

butter sandwiches. I had feta-and-tomato

becausemypartner,Peta,madea

particularlydeliciouslambmealone

Christmas. I now like to mix it up.

YoucoveredIndigenousaffairsformore

thana decade.Whichstoryreallystayed

withyoufromthattime?I coveredthe

NorthernTerritoryinterventionand

therewasnomoreintenseperiodin

Indigenousaffairs.Mytimeinremote

communitiestaughtmea lotabout

Australiaandthecity-centricprivilege

that has sadly defined policy-making.

There’sa greaterrecognitionofIndigenous

ingredientstoday.Doyouthinkthisis

important?I thinkmanyAustraliansare

desperatetoconnectwithIndigenous

Australia.BrucePascoe’sDarkEmuhad

a deepimpactonmeandI feltsosadthat

this storyhasbeenunder-told.It’sonallof

ustobepartofthenecessarytruth-telling

if we want to move forward.

Whenthere’sa leadershipspill,doyou

reachforthepopcorn?Ordoesit mean

a morestressfulepisodeofTheParty

RoomorRNDrive?I amneverstressed

whena bigstorylikethatis happening.

It’snaturalterritoryforme.I workthe

phonestogivemylistenersthestoryand

thestorybehindthestory.Leadership

changesarehuge,butthebestthings

tocoverareelectionswhenAustralians

get to decide – not just party rooms.

Politicscanmakepeoplecynical.What

makesyouoptimisticaboutthepolitical

process?I washopefulduringthesame-

sexmarriageplebiscitewhensomany

youngpeopleputthemselvesonthe

electoralrollbecausetheywantedtohave

theirsay.I amhopefulwheneveryoung

people take an interest in democracy.

Whatdoyouenjoyeatingattheendof

a longworkingday?Petais thefamilycook

andshe’sverygood.Weeata diverserange

ofmeals;thekidslovespaghettiBolognese,

andwelovelaksaanddhal.Mybiggest

comfortfoodsareroastchickenandbaked

cauliflowerinoliveoil.Theolive oil is

from my family’s village.●

Patricia

Karvelas

Thebroadcasteronpolitical

cravings,hervegetarianyears

and native ingredients.

EATING WITH

sandwichesmygrandma

madeandI hatedthem.The

smart kidsfiguredoutthat

fetawasamazingbeforeI did,

it seems,andwould happily

trade with me.

Didyoualwaysknowthat

youwantedtobea journalist?

InYear7, I becamethejunior

editorofmyhigh-school

newspaperandI washooked

fromthenon.Byseniorhigh

school,I wasbroadcastingat

mycommunityradiostation.

I just loved telling stories.

Whataresomememorablemealsyou’ve

hadabroad?WhenI startedmycareer,

I wouldalwaystakeoffmid-yearduring

theparliamentarybreaktoEurope.I

spenta lotoftimeinGreece,andthebest

mealsI hadwereintavernaswithmy

favourite grilled calamari and tarama dip.

Youwerea vegetarianfor 10 years.What

wereyourstaples?Lentils.Noonehas

evereatenas manylentilsas me.Myother

staplesweretofuandcopiousamounts

of beans. I went back to eating meat

Karvelasis a co-hostofThePartyRoompodcast,

and presentsRN Drive on ABC Radio National. INTERVIEW LEE TRAN LAM. PHOTOGRAPHY ABC RN: FIONA PEPPER.

How I eat