Australian Gourmet Traveller - (11)November 2020 (1)

AstoldtoJessicaRiggfor

TheLocalTongue. Formore

chef’sguidesfromaroundthe

world, seethelocaltongue.com

WHEREI TAKEVISITORS

Whenchefsareintown,I tendtotake

themtoSean’sPanaromainBondifor

a longlunch.There’ssomethingvery

Australianaboutgoingtothebeach

andsittingnearthewaterandhaving

Australianingredientssimplypresented.

ThequalityoftheingredientsatSean’s

reallyspeakforthemselves.I alsobring

a coupleofbottlesofAustralianwine

becauseSean’sdoBYO,whichis

amazing.It’ssomewhereI canhappily

goandinstantlyfeelathome.

ASIANCOMFORTEATING

If I’maftercomfortfood,I goandsee

theguysatBoonCafe.It’sfiveminutes

awayfromFiredoorandis a one-stop

Thaishopwhereyoucanpickup

vegetablesandgroceries.I’llgetsome

crabriceandgreenjuicetobalance

thingsout.There’salsoChacoRamen

whichdoesamazingramen,andChaco

BarhasthebestyakitoriinSydney.

NOSE-TO-TAILVIETNAMESE

BanhXeoBaratTheCanneryin

Roseberyis runbya coupleofStJohn

alumni:TaniaHoandBenjaminSinfield.

There’snothingBenlikesmorethan

gettinga wholepig,breakingit down

andcelebratingeachpartofit onthe

menu.Thingslikepig’sheadnuggets

withroastedbonemarrow,and

incrediblebroths– it’sexactlywhat

I wanttoeatmostofthetime.They’re

sucha lovely,humbleyoungcouple

whoarealwayspleasedtoseeyou.

THEBESTPUBINTOWN

BeingBritish,I likespendingtimein

pubs.Oneofmyfavouritesis theLord

NelsoninTheRocks,andis theoldest

pubbreweryinSydney.It’sgotan

amazingbeeroffering.Overthelast

yearwe’vecollaboratedwiththemto

makebeersfortherestaurantandeach

oneis different.Thelastonewasmade

withGeraldtonWaxanddesertlime,and

thenextonewillbeDavidson’splum

and wattleseed red ale with rye malt.

LOCALCOFFEESPOT

Greatcoffeeis somethingpeople

inSydneytakeforgranteduntilyou

travelandgototheairportoroutof

town.It’sgreattohaveSingleO in

theneighbourhood.I lovetheculture

theteamhascreatedaroundcoffee

• they’resuperpassionate.It’snot
  justa whitecoffeeorblackcoffee,
  butcold-drip,long-pouroron-tap.It’s
  mind-blowingtothinkcoffeehasso
  manydifferentstylesandprofiles.

STEPINTOMYOFFICE

Firedooris a differentkindofgrill

restaurantthatblowsawayyour

preconceptionsofwhata grillrestaurant

is andwhatit canbe.Thatwasalways

myhopeforit. Wehavenogasor

electricityandwecookeverythingover

a woodfiretoorder.Wedon’tevenuse

charcoal.Welighta fireeverysingleday

andtimeourpreparationsinharmony

withtheheat.It’sthecraziestformof

cooking,andis thehardestformtoget

a consistentresultwith,butwhatwe

consistentlyfindis thateverything

we produce over fire is delicious.●

Clockwisefromright:

Sean’sPanaromain

Bondi;thediningroom

andwoodfiregrillat

Firedoor;LuMiDining’s

chawanmushi.Opposite:

Sydney Harbour.

GOURMET TRAVELLER 119

GUTTER CREDIT

A chef’s guide