I holdthegreatestaffectionanddeepest
respectformyspecialfriendandcolleague
SeanMoran.I considerhimtobelikemy
littlebrother– I’venevertoldhimthisbut
somethingtellsmehewouldlikeit! Our
deepfriendshipis baseduponourlove
forthefinestqualityproduce,cookingfrom
theheartandmanyrichconversations
exchangingnotesaboutourbusinesses,
staffandfoodproducers.Formanyof
BillyKwong’sChristmasparties,I wouldtakethestafftoSean’s
PanaromaforSundaydinner.Seanwouldalwayscookhiskiller
roastchicken,potatoesandgravyandhiscomfortinghomemade
trifleneverdisappointed!FormystaffandI, whohadeaten
Chinese-stylestaffiesmostnightsoftheyear,thisWestern-style,
rustic, soulful offering was an absolute highlight.S
eanMoranhaslongknownthereis something
wonderfultobesavouredintakingthingsslow.
Afterall,heis themanbehindoneofSydney’s
mostbelovedfarm-to-tablerestaurants,Sean’s
Panaroma,whereheshowcasesproducegrownat his
BlueMountainsfarm.
“Havingthefarmis a greatoneforrelishingtheslow
becauseit’ssucha juxtapositiontorestaurantdemands.
Naturemakesyouslowdown.Asresistantas youareat
times,you’vejustgottolearntorelax and go with it.”
Athiseponymousrestaurant
inNorthBondi,Sydneysiders
comefromalloverthecity
tograzeonhisfreshgarden
harvestandperfectlygolden
roastchook,as theysettlein
forlongandlanguorous
weekendlunches.Atleastthey
did.EvenbyMoran’sstandards,thingshavebeen
uncomfortablyslowlately.
Likeallrestaurateurs,Moranwasforcedtoshut
shopinMarchduetocoronavirusrestrictions,leaving
himandhispartnerMichaelRobertsontoretreatto
theirfarm.“Yougointopanicmodeandthink‘okay,
whatarewegoingtodo?Howarewegoingtosurvive?’
You’vejustgottoreassureyourselfthatthereareother
peopleinthesameboatorevenworseoff.
“We’resoluckytohavesucha greatplaceto
retreatto,I feelsorryfora lotofotherpeople.I’ve
beencookingthreemealsa day,everydayandpainting
vegetablesonthewallsas therapy.Andthinkingjust
what is the future of the restaurant industry?”That’sa bigquestionandoneMorandoesn’t
haveananswerforjustyet.Likemany,hisshort-term
solutionhasbeentoturntotakeawaysandat-home
mealkits,sendingproducefromthefarmdownto
histeamtoturnintotastymorsels.“Thatdoesn’t
giveyoumuchjoy,tobehonest.Sure,it’slovely
whensomeonesays‘ohthatwassogreat’andyou
seethatthey’veenjoyedit butyouwanttoconnect
withpeopleinhospitalityandyouwanttoseethem
eatingandenjoyingthemselves.”
ForMoran,thatmeanscreatinganenvironment
wherepeopleslowdownandtaketimeawayfromtheir
phonesandtheir“fastlives”toenjoya mealtogether.
ThatwashisintentionwhenhefirstopenedSean’s
in1993,andremainshisgoaltoday,alongwithsharing
hissignaturecomfortcooking.
Asa teenager,Moranfirstlearnedtocookin
a FrenchrestaurantinSydney,servingup“frogs
legsandsnails”.Fora ShireboyfromSydney’s
south,it wasaneye-openingexperience.“Being
aroundnourishmentandbeingarounda bitof
culturalstuff,allthatwasnewtome.I wascraving
it andI wascuriousaboutthenaturalworldand
othercultures,”herecalls.
A youngMoranwassoonwinginghiswayoverseas,
learningmoreaboutbothcookingandcultureas he
livedinItalyandLondon,beforereturninghomefull
offreshthinkinganda newapproachtocooking.
Italyhadintroducedhimtotheimportanceof
cookingwithfresh,seasonalproducesowhenheand
RobertsonpurchasedtheirMtTomahproperty,they
were quick to planta kitchengardenandorchard.
Whenit cametimetoopen
Sean’s,Moranknewhewanted
tochampionthefreshest,local
produce.“I supposeit wasliving
inItalya bitthatbroughtthat,
butalsothat’swhatfulfilledme
themost.I’doutgrownthose
fancyrestaurantdishesand
I justwantedtocookstuffthatwasreallycomforting
andfamiliarandfedthesoula bitmore.”
Twenty-sevenyearslater,it’sa recipethatstillworks.
“There’sbeentimeswhereI think,‘maybeit’stimeto
makea change’.ButI don’twanttomakea change
inthissituation.It’snothowI wanttogoout.My
restaurantonlyseats 40 people,it’sa tinyplace,so
it’sjusta caseoffiguringoutwhatweneedtodoto
survive.Tobehonest,we’venevergoneintoanyof
ourrestaurantprojectswithanybusinessplan.We’re
notbusinessmen.Wedostuffbecauseweloveit.
We’vealwaysgotthrough.Youjusthavetohavefaith
thatwhatyou’redoingis rightandit’spure andit
has a resonance and a relevance.”●“I’doutgrownthosefancy
restaurantdishesandI just
wantedtocookstuffthat
was really comforting.”GOURMET TRAVELLER 31WORDS JOANNA HUNKIN (MAIN) & KYLIE KWONG (INTRO). PHOTOGRAPHY BEN DEARNLEY (MORAN) & PENNY LANE (KWONG).