Australian_Gourmet_Traveller_2017

ON THE PASS

Why did you become a chef?

Because I was shit at maths – true

story. When I was in middle school,

my friend suggested we go to chef

school (because there would be

no maths and we could travel the

world) and I was like, yeah, done,

sold. And so here I am.

You’ve just opened Matteo in

Double Bay. Tell us about it.

It’s a big Italian restaurant that is

still comfortable and cosy. The

space used to house the restaurant

Limoncello, where I worked about

seven years ago, but we stripped

the whole place and changed

basically everything except the

tiles. Matteo is also the name of

my five-month-old son – it’s been

a busy few months.

Standout dishes on the menu?

Our linguine with scampi, and the

buffalo mozzarella with lemon

leaves, a dish from the Amalfi

Coast. I also love the family-style

lasagne; it’s an Italian interpretation

of a Sunday roast and is made to

feed about four people. I think that

when you’re sitting at the table with

your family, talking and eating, it’s

harmonious and beautiful.

What’s the key to a perfect pizza?

First of all, you need a great

pizzaiolo. You also need a good

oven (we imported ours from

Naples) and the right dough, yeast

and proving. We prove our dough

twice to make it really light. Today

pizze have so many different

toppings, but I think a great

Margherita made with buffalo

mozzarella is still queen.

Now that Matteo is up and

running, what’s next on the cards?

We’ve put a deposit on a site in the

city that’s going to be home to our

next restaurant, Matteo Downtown.

It’s still a bit further down the track,

though – we’re planning to open

some time in the middle of 2018.

Matteo, 29 Bay St, Double Bay,

NSW, (02) 9327 8015,

matteosydney.com

BY SAMANTHA TEAGUE

Orazio D’Elia

MATTEO, SYDNEY

For our final Gourmet Institute

event of the year (15 November),

Bistro Guillaume chef Guillaume

Brahimi stages a Gallic soirée to

remember. Join us in Sydney for

lamb Pithiviers, duck rillettes and

crisp little cones of tuna, shiso,

apple and avocado. Tickets are $60.

hn.com.au/gourmet-institute

RIVER CAFE MILESTONE

Veal shin in Barbaresco. Squid with peas and anchovies. The

River Cafe on London’s River Thames has kept diners content

with its modern Italian cooking (and chocolate nemesis cake)

for an incredible 30 years. To celebrate its anniversary, River

Cafe 30 by Ruth Rogers and chefs Joseph Trivelli, Sian Wyn

Owen and the late Rose Gray ($55, hbk, Penguin Random

House) hits the shelves this month, featuring 30 new recipes,

along with photos from personal archives. The book’s edges

are emblazoned neon pink to match the famous wood oven.

Officina Profumo-

Farmaceutica di Santa

Maria Novella – the

name alone will leave

you in need of a drink.

Lucky this Florentine

producer makes such

fine Italian liqueurs

• this spicy, scarlet-
  hued Alkermes is a case
  in point. Try it with lime
  and ginger beer for an
  Italian riff on a Moscow
  Mule, or in place of
  vermouth in your next
  Manhattan. $100 for
  500ml. franque.com.au

Matteo chef

Orazio D’Elia.

Left: his linguine

with scampi.

GOURMET TRAVELLER 29

PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID ANDRE (MAISONS & HOTELS SIBUET), FREDERIC DUCOUT (CAMBODIA), COLIN DUTTON (VENETO), FRANCESCA ANICHINI (UMBRIA) & ROB SHAW (LIQUEUR)