“There was a firm knock on the door, and
within seconds my house was stormed
by members of the Perth bomb squad.”Amy Hamilton
Chef & owner, Liberté, Albany, WA
When I was 18, I lived in a share house in Scarborough,
WA, that was the scene of many a bourbon-soaked party.
One was a particular blast. It began at the end of the night,
with me drifting off to sleep, watching pretty pink fireworks
explode above my head. I later found out the fireworks were actually flares
stolen by one of our guests from an off-duty SAS officer’s car. The kids who
stole them were under investigation for a string of letterbox bombs. You can
imagine my hungover surprise at 7am the next day when there was a firm
knock on the door and within seconds my house was stormed by members
of the Perth bomb squad. One spud-gun confiscation later, we were cleared
of any involvement, but it definitely remains one of the more unique party
experiences I’ve had.Jo Barrett
Co-executive chef, Oakridge, Coldstream, Vic
A groupofuswereata well-knownrestaurantin
Melbourne’sCBDcelebratinga friend’sbirthday.The
samenight,rivalAFLteamswereplayingattheMCG– the
gamewasthetalkoftheevening,andthetensiongrewas
thescoregotcloser.Eventuallyoneteamlostandit wasopenslatheronour
losingfriend.Let’scallhim“Sonam”.Wefinishedup,paidthebillandmoved
thecelebrationonward,butwecouldn’tfindSonam.A fewcommentswere
madeabouthiswhereaboutsthroughoutthenight,anda fewphonecalls
made,butnobodyheardfromhim.Thenextmorning,weallwokeuptoa
messagefromSonam:he’dfallenasleepintherestaurant’sprivate-dining
room,waslockedinandeventuallywokenbythecleanersinthemorning.MichaelNicolian
Co-owner,ContinentalDeli,Sydney,NSW
I spenta bitoftimegrowingupin Anguillain theCaribbean.
Onenight,I wasata resortdinnerpartyandoneoftheadults
askedmetogoandpickupa fewdrinksfromthebar.I got
myselfa Coccolobaspecial,which,tomyknowledge,was
a non-alcoholiccocktail.Thebartenderhadnoissueservinga six-year-old
becauseheknewI wasgettingthedrinksformyparentsandtheirfriends.It
turnsoutthattheCoccolobaspecialwas,in fact,quiteboozy,andthebarman
hadjustassumedit wasforsomeoneelse.I drankit. I gotlit,wasin badshape,
andhadtobedrivenhome.TurnsoutI wasdestinedtohavea careerin alcohol.EmmaFarrelly
Winedirector,StateBuildings,Perth,WA
I wasinNewZealandona winetripvisitinga couple
ofproducers.Whileattemptingtogettoa winefestival,
werealisedwehadleftthecarintown,afterresponsibly
decidingnottodrivehomethenightbefore.Wehadno
transportandsincetheKiwisaresofriendly,wehitchhikedtothefestival.
Aftera dayofwine-festivalfun,webribedtheguydoinghelicoptertours
oftheregiontogiveusa chopperridehome.It waspossiblythemost
rock-stardayofmylife.Palisa Anderson
Farmer, Boon Luck Farm, Tyagarah, NSW
One of the most memorable parties
we’ve had at Boon Luck Farm was
actually during a shoot for Gourmet
Traveller. The day dawned a cracker,
all sunshine and blue skies – which gave way to a
south-westerly gale. We managed the food shots, but as
the guests arrived for our group shot and we carried the
200kg farm table outside, fat drops of rain pelted down,
followed by a massive temperature drop. In the shots,
we’re standing sheepishly around in the rain with no
food on the table, but grinning stupidly. It was a crazy
scene that only Fellini could’ve patched together had he
been filming in Outback Australia: West African-inspired
Thai-Molam music blaring from the speakers, dogs and
barefoot kids playing chase, all the accordion doors flung
open to the elements. The house overflowed with all my
friends and family; plates of delicious Thai-inspired farm
food balanced on every surface, and wine was flowing.
It turned out to be perfect: rowdy, full of laughter, with
the last guest leaving well after sunset.LeanneAltmann
Beveragedirector,TraderHouse
Restaurants,Melbourne,Vic
A friendspentmonthsplanningher
30th-birthdayextravaganzaather
family’sruralproperty.Butonthe
morningoftheevent,it wasa perfectstorm.First,the
chefwasill andunabletomakeit. Then,someofthekey
ingredientswereleftoffthebusferryingfoodandguests
the90-minutejourneyoutoftown.Andaswegotcloser
tothedestination,thecloudsbecameominous.Beinga
groupofrestaurantandex-restaurantfolk,tableswere
relocatedintoanoutbuilding,apronswrappedoverparty
clothes,dishesimprovisedwithgardenproduce.It was
anall-hands-on-decksituation,andit couldn’thavebeen
a moresuccessfulday.AlannaSapwell
Headchef,ArcDining,Brisbane,Qld
Livingwithfivechefsa fewyearsago
in Brisbanehaditsperks.Forone
birthday,theysectionedoffthefridge
withcolourfullywrappedcutsofthe
Rolls-Royceofpork,beefandothertreats.Therewas
a massivewrappedboxontheverandahaswell.AsI
approachedit, mybrotherPauljumpedout!It wasa
surprisemanywouldn’tunderstand,butit meanttheworld
tome.Wesetupforthedaywithfirepitsandpotatosacks,
anddressedin leatherforpre-drinks.Thesackraceturned
intoa teamsportandwesetupanobstaclecoursearound
theyardusingthegatesandtheHillsHoist.Theplan
wastoheadofftoseeCodyChesnuttof“LookGoodin
Leather”fame,butintheend,wewerehavingtoomuch
funandnevermadeit toCody’sgig.GOURMET TRAVELLER 97INTERVIEWS MATTHEW HIRSCH. ILLUSTRATION CREATIVE MARKET. PHOTOGRAPHY PANDORA PHOTOGRAPHY (ALANNA SAPWELL), KRISTOFFER PAULSEN (LEANNE ALTMANN), KARA ROSENLUND (PALISA ANDERSON) & NIKKI TO (DUNCAN WELGEMOED).