What did you enjoy eating whenyouweregrowingupinBrisbane?
My dad’s chichingas. They’re likea beefskewerwitha nutty
dry rub over them. My dad rana foodstallat WoodfordFolk
Festival. He made Ghanaian foodlikeblack-eyedbeanstew,
peanut soup, jollof rice and chichingas.I wasboredoutof
my brain at a folk festival so theygotmethroughtheday.The dad in your book, Being Black’nChicken,&Chips,isadentist
like your father. Did your dad alsotellyoutoeatcheeseaftersoft
drinks, to protect your teeth? I stillgetthatadvice!I’dbegetting
ready to go to a party and dad wouldsay,“Nowif youhaveany
fizzy drinks, make sure you havesomecheese.”I’mlike,“Dad,this
isn’t a wine and Camembert night.Thisis a high-schoolparty.”Did this advice inspire you to carryKraftSingles,likethebook’s
protagonist? No, it’s never inspiredmetopackcheese.I hadthe
most amazing cheese at Neal’sYardinLondon:the
St Cera. You won’t be able to getit inAustraliaand
that’s heartbreaking. So I don’tknowif I’mgonna
have to block in a trip to London.Butdadwould
be proud. Maybe I’ll get him tofundit:I’llsay,“It’s
for cheese, Dad! I’m trying to savemyteeth!”Have you had any disastrous comedygigs?InHong
Kong, I was MCing two showsat thesametime:
running from one act, welcomingtheactinthe
next room, back and forth. It waslikeoneofthose
cartoons where a character goesona datewithtwo
people at the same time. I did abigcallbacktoa
joke that I said earlier and it wasdeadsilent.Suddenly,it occurred
to me, I didn’t tell that joke inthisroombefore,didI? Andit
was my big closer! So I had to explainthejoke.Nothingkillsa joke
like trying to explain what youweremeanttosay 20 minutesago.On Short Cuts to Glory, you wereonscreenwithchefssuchas
Neil Perry. Do you have any cookingtipsfromtheshow?Saltis
a microphone for flavour. If you’vegotanorchestraandyouput
microphones in front of each instrument,youcandeterminehow
loud you want each instrument.Butif youputonemicrophonein
front of them, you’re raising thecombinedsound.Sometimesyou
just want to salt the tomatoes, becausethatamplifiestheflavour.I hear you’re a fan of Japan’s one-personramenbooths?Totally!
Because I like eating noodles ina strangeway:I liftthemabove
my head and let them dangle intomymouth,likea birdbeingfed
by its mother. I can’t be doingthatina restaurantinAustralia.ButinJapan,whenthewallsareup,andthere’sonlya curtain
infrontofyou,thenit’sBirdNoodlemanalltheway!Whenyouco-hostedTripleJ’sBreakfastin2016,youplayed
“Breadpool”withDeadpool’sRyanReynolds,whereyouused
baguettesinsteadofpoolcuestosinkballs.Whatwasthatlike?
ThatwaspossiblythedumbestideathatAlexDyson,myco-host,
everhad.Butit wasanexperience:notmanypeoplecansaythey
played“Breadpool”withRyanReynolds.Onyourshow,TheOtherGuy,onecharactersaysshewantsto
createasushitrainwithsandwiches.Doyouthinkthat’sagood
idea?I don’tunderstandwhypeopledon’ttakethesushi-train
methodandapplyit toeverything.I’ma sampler.Theproblem
witha sandwichtrainis thatthenameSubwayis alreadytaken.WhenyouwereonTripleJ,wasthereanexperience
thatreallystayedwithyou?CelebratingMother’s
DaywithAlexDyson.Webothlostourmums
whenwewereveryyoung:Alexwasfour,I was
12.Andsharingthoseexperienceswithsomany
peoplewasreallytouching.Doyoufindcomfortinusinghumourtotalkabout
grief?Inthebook,mycharactersays,“Godmade
humanswiththelaughandcrybuttonsrightnext
toeachother.”Sometimespeoplecangofrom
laughingtocryingina heartbeat.It’simportantto
acknowledgebothsidesofpeople’semotiverange.ForyourSydneybooklaunch,youhandedoutchickenand
chips.Howdiditgo?I thoughtsupportingDaveChappelleat
theOperaHousewasa bigdeal.OrbeinginthenewDorathe
Explorermovie.OrhavingmyownTVshow.ButI waswrong:
havingyourownfoodtruck,thatis thetop.Whatmakesagoodchip?Surfacearea,crunchandseasoning.I’m
allaboutshoestringfries;I’mnotreallyintobeer-batteredones.Isittruethatyou’vewrittenalistofthetop 18 waystoprepare
andeatapotato?I havedoneso,yes.Hotchipswithextrasalt:
that’snumbertwo.Numberoneis a bagofsalt-and-vinegar
crinkle-cutchips,preferablyeateninbedona Sundaymorning. MattOkineappearsinTheOtherGuyonStanandShortCuts
toGloryonABCiview.Hisbook,BeingBlack’nChicken,&Chips
(Hachette,$29.99,pbk),isoutnow.“Theproblem
witha
sandwich
trainisthat
thename
Subwayis
alreadytaken.”How I eat
INTERVIEW LEE TRAN LAM.
Matt Okine
The comedian on Ghanaian street food,
heartbreaking cheese and solo-ramen booths.
EATING WITH
GOURMET TRAVELLER 33