That’snottosaythatit hasn’tbeenchallengingforsmall
restaurants,especiallythoselocatedinMelbourne,where
lockdownwaslongerandharderthananywhereelseinthe
country.ForMoZhouandAliciaFeng– whorunGaea
(12-seatfine-diner)andCalere(coffeeshop, 15 orsoseats)
respectively– Melbourne’slockdownrequiredsomecreative
problem-solving.Theirsituationis somewhatuniqueinthat
theyruntwotinyvenuesfromwithinthesamespace:byday,
Calereoperatesat thefrontofthebuildingandbynight,
Gaeatradesintheback.ThecoupleelectedtocloseGaea
duringlockdownandredeployitsthreechefstoproduce
a small,inventivemenuofpastries,sandosandChinese
mantoforCalere,whileZhouusedthefallowperiodto
directhisenergiestowardsresearchanddevelopment.
BothZhouandFengagreethatcomparedtolarger
venues,smallvenuesoffermanyadvantages:a greaterdegree
ofcreativecontrol,lesspressurearoundthecostoflabour,
anda differentkindofrelationshipwiththeirguests.
“Wecanslowdowna bit,focusonserviceandhave
a conversationwithcustomers,”saysFeng.
“Onthatsmallscale,you’reveryclosetotheguests.
Youfeeltheconnection,”explainsZhou.“That’swhywe
havea lotofpeoplewhocomeeverymonth.”Nosmallfeat
fora restaurantthatexclusivelyoffersa six-oreight-course
tastingmenu.
A loveforthatcloseconnectionis perhapsa prerequisite
forrunninga tinyrestaurant,withmanysuchvenuesopting
foropenkitchenswithonlya whisperofspacebetweenchef
andguest.ForSarahScott,ownerandchefat Fortitude
Valley’s10-seaterJoy,thatrelationshipis a drivingforce.
“It’sonebigconversationallnight,”shesaysofthe
dynamic.“Itfeelslikea dinnerpartywhereyou’rethe
boyfriendorgirlfriendthathasn’tmetthefriendsyet.
There’squestionsandlaughinganddrinkingandyou
justgettoknoweachothera littlebit.”
WiththehelpofbartenderMaddieSim,Scottdelivers
her12-coursetastingmenuintwosittings,threenights
a week– aswellashandlingallthereservationsandstaying
ontopoftheadministrationthatcomeswithrunning
a restaurant.It’sa bigjob,butwithonlya handfulofseats
upforgrabs,Scottis abletocalibrateherofferingexactly:
“OneofthethingsthatkeepsJoysustainableis I know
exactlyhowmanyguestsI’mcookingforeverysinglenight
andeverysingleweek,”shesays.“Knowinghowmany
customerswe’reservingmeansweknowhowtoorder,
whichmeansthere’slesswastage– which is sustainable,
economically and environmentally.”
“Knowinghow manycustomerswe’re
servingmeansweknowhow toorder,
which means there’s less wastage.”PHOTOGRAPHY KRISTOFFER PAULSEN (GREASY ZOE’S).