Australian Gourmet Traveller - (10)October 2019 (1)

ATTICA

Ripponlea,Victoria, Australia

BenShewry

BenShewrygrewupin ruralNewZealand,surrounded

bynature,influencedbythetraditionsoftheMāoripeople

andinspiredbyhisfamily’sbucolicself-sufficiency.At

hisacclaimādrestaurant,Attica,in Melbourne,Shewryhas

beentheauthorofa newchapterforindigenousAustralian

produceanda championofmodernAustraliancuisine.In

2011,heestablishedanon-sitekitchengardentofurther

explorehisfascinationwithnativeingredientsandalso

now grows produce at the nearby Rippon Lea Estate.➤

“It’sreallyimportant

forcooks tounderstand

howdifficultitistogrow

things,” says Ben Shewry.