Australian Gourmet Traveller - (01)January 2021 (1)

Asco-ownerofPottsvillerestaurantPipit

(alongsideheadchefandhusbandBen

Devlin),YenTrinhknowsfirsthandthe

trialsandtriumphsofbeingthepartner

ofa chefandrestaurantowner,in love,

lifeandbusiness.Thisis howshedreamt

upChefWidowClub,anillustration

projectwhereTrinhchatstoanddraws

chefsandtheirpartner’sfirstmeals,and

discusseshowtheymetandfurthermore,

navigatetheirrelationship.

TheideawassparkedwhenTrinh

wasstrugglingwithherownrelationship.

“I wasactuallywantingtofindrolemodels

andpositivestrategies,”saysTrinh.“How

were[others]makingit work?”Covid-

wasthepushTrinhneededtostartthe

illustrationproject,andshe’snow

interviewedanddepicted40-pluscouples

fromacrossAustralia.Trinhusedthe

projectasa creativeoutletbutalsogota

kickoutofshininga lightonthepartners

whoareoftenbehindthescenes,anda

majorsupportnetworkforchefs.It’salso

unveiledsomepatternsandother

LOVE ON A PLATE practicalstrategies,likeroutinesand

dedicatingtimetogether.“Itreinforced

someofthethoughtsandfeelingsI had

struggledwith,andunderstoodthey

werecommontootherstoo,”saysTrinh.

ThecouplesTrinhhasillustrated

aren’talwaysbothfromthehospitality

industry,butbothoftenhavea strong

connectiontoit. ChefsincludeDarren

Robertson(ThreeBlueDucks)andpartner

MagdalenaRoze,DavidLovett(Ethel

FoodStore)andpartnerSarahMillet,and

SamYoung(Merivale)andpartnerYongen

Chen(Poly).Trinhis alwaysonthehunt

formorehungryandhappycouplesto

immortalisein drawing,andgiftsthe

imagetothecouplestokeep.Alongwith

a senseofcamaraderie,theprojecthas

alsosolidifiedTrinh’sloveforillustration

anditsstorytellingability.

“Oneofmyfavouriteandsurprise

learningsis realisingthatmostcouples

actuallydon’thaveanyvisualrecord

ofthesedishes,”saysTrinh.“It’soddly

refreshingandspecialin thisInstagram

agetonothavephotos,tohavejustgreat

memories,andhowdrawingscangive

themlifein a differentway.”

chefwidowclub.wordpress.com

Summertimelendsitself

toenjoyingbeautifuldelicacies,

andmusselsfromtheLeeuwin

CoastaresomeofWestern

Australia’sonlylocallygrown

mussels.Keepaneyeoutfor

thesesustainablygrown

shellfishonrestaurantmenus

acrossthecountry.

leeuwincoast.com

p

DidyouknowAustralianswillconsumearound 200 millionmangoes

throughouttheseason?Themessybutdeliciousstonefruittakes

between 90 to 120 daystomatureonthetree,witharound 800 Aussie

growersresponsibleforproducingthegoldenjuicyfruiteachyear.

SUMMER

OF FUN

Sydney Festival is set to kickstart

Australia’s arts and cultural sector,

when the festival makes its return in

January across 21 days. The new

centrepiece of the 2021 festival is

a huge new Covid-safe stage at

Barangaroo Reserve called The

Headland. It will host performances

including a retrospective from

Indigenous dance company

Bangarra; a George Michael-

inspired tribute by Paul Mac;

and boundary-pushing physical

theatre from Australian circus

group Gravity & Other Myths.

sydneyfestival.org.au.

18 GOURMET TRAVELLER

PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES (MANGO) & JESSICA WYLD (LEEUWIN COAST). ILLUSTRATION YEN TRINH.

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