The five reveal their go-to dinner party dishes, where they like to eat at home and abroad, and where they’d dine if they could turn back time. Plus, the legendary store that many of them would spend their life-savings in.
Ask a food fan who the legends are in their city and they’ll pepper you with names: the barista who gets their coffee order right each morning, the bistro that cooks a mean steak, the place that’s done the same delicious bowl of noodles for a decade. Every year, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival makes it official, with its annual list of Legends who have shaped Victorian food and drink and the next generation, its Trailblazers. We asked five individuals named in this year’s list to share their own legendary venues, dishes and people here and further afield.
Alice Zaslavsky, cookbook author & presenter
Communicator and Educator Trailblazer
My favourite place to eat close to home is Moonfishh in Albert Park. It’s our go-to for a quick midweek meal (the order is tempura with udon noodle soup and agedashi tofu) and we usually leave with lunchbox-friendly handrolls in tow. We can’t get enough!
The best piece of cooking advice I ever received was to have a sense of humour. Even if something goes awry in the kitchen, it’s salvageable if you can laugh, keep breathing and stay creative.
My go-to dinner party dish is a salad or two, obviously, given my latest book is Salad for Days. Something broody and burnished on a creamy base, plus a light and bright leafy with pops of pickle.
If I could dine at any Victorian restaurant at any point in time, I’d pick Lake House in Daylesford any time in the last four decades. I’d love to have seen it in its fledgling years as the birch trees planted by Alla and Allan Wolf-Tasker took root in the soil. We’ll be headed there later this year with my Trailblazer bursary to “spend unwisely”, as recommended by bursary founder Peter Neville, husband of the late, great Pam Bakes, a foundational part of the MFWF team.
My favourite little shop to browse in is Books for Cooks (see below), of course. I’m not allowed to be in there unsupervised, as I’ll walk out with half the shop. Like owners Tim and Amanda, I have a penchant for secondhand books and early editions, which you’ll find here in droves, some even signed by the author.
My favourite food city is Tbilisi, Georgia. It’s not about the specific places, because every spot in this city − and country − is full of hospitality and flavour, with a veg-heavy cuisine and a 6000-year-old heritage of natural wines. There’s a little stand that grills khachapuri “na shampuri” (cheese bread on skewers) at the top of the hill by the funicular, which lives rent-free in my head. Head to the markets to explore mounds of spices, dried fruit and nuts. And make sure you come home with some khmeli suneli spice mix to have a play with − my books have lots of ideas to get you started.
‘I’m not allowed to be in there unsupervised, as I’ll walk out with half the shop.’
Cook, author and presenter Alice Zaslavsky
Nagesh Seethiah, owner-chef, Manze
Chef Trailblazer
My favourite place to eat and drink close to home is Arnold’s wine bar in Kensington. It’s run by Scott Eddington and Lauren Chibert, with an incredibly diverse wine list. I love Arnold’s because it encapsulates so many things I adore: very flavourful and clever food made with beautiful ingredients, thoughtful cocktails and wine, and lovely music all the time.
The best piece of cooking advice I ever received was if you’re at a loss for what to cook for dinner or you have some uninvited guests, slice up an onion and some garlic and start frying it in some oil. It smells amazing and buys you some time, and it’s the perfect base for just about anything!
My go-to dinner party dish is biryani the way we make it in Mauritius − one pot, minimal spice, lots of fresh herbs and crispy onions. It just needs a couple of salads on the side and you’re sorted.
If I could dine at any Victorian restaurant at any point in time, I’d pick the early 2010s at 92 Smith Street in Collingwood. This isn’t one restaurant strictly; it’s more about a series that came through this space and made it a training ground for so many influential professionals working in Victoria now. There was Boire wine bar, run by Catherine Chauchat (no connection to our new bar of the same name, I swear!); Lee Ho Fook by Victor Liong; and another great wine bar, Semi-Permanent by Liz Carey and Paul Gainey, to name a few.
My favourite little shop to browse in is Books for Cooks (see below). I’m looking forward to going there over the next few months to start buying books for staff end-of-year presents. I like to take my time to browse and chat with [owners] Amanda or Tim every time I’m at Queen Victoria Market.
My favourite food city is London. I love Kiln in Soho. It does really clever Thai cooking and delivers big, clear flavours using amazing British produce. It’s small and everyone is sat really close while the kitchen cooks almost exclusively in charcoal clay pots in front of guests. Darjeeling Express was actually closed when I was last in London so I didn’t eat there, but I had a really warm exchange with [owner-chef] Asma Khan over Instagram beforehand. We got to meet in Melbourne a few years later and she is as warm and inspiring a person as you would imagine. Mangal II is a Turkish restaurant run by two brothers who inherited the restaurant from their father. I ate there before they took over, and it had so much life and sense of community. Watching the current iteration from afar, I can see so much that’s similar to Manze. It’s built on heritage but not stuck in tradition, supported by the local community and committed to serving it, and it takes a truly independent restaurant approach.
Gab Moore, co-founder, Sailors Grave Brewing
Local Hero Legend
My favourite place to eat close to home is Lindenow Long Paddock in Gippsland. It’s a family favourite, and we feel so lucky to have such a special restaurant within reach — just an hour and a half drive, which is nothing around here. I usually get a Virgin Mary and whatever is the main dish of the day, with something from the cake counter to take away. Their cakes never disappoint.
The best piece of cooking advice I ever received was from my restaurant days in Darlinghurst, Sydney: season well and don’t be afraid of fat.
My go-to dinner party dish is actually anything made by my husband, Chris, who’s the main cook. He makes epic South Indian feasts, always changing it up, but there’s usually dhal; a veg-packed version of kitchari, the rice and lentil porridge; sweet-and-sour warm tomato salad; and what we call “nice rice”: Chris’s pimped-up rice that usually has some lentils and a heap of herbs. To round it out, there are lashings of hot Gippsland Jersey ghee, raita and wholemeal roti.
If I could dine at any Victorian restaurant at any point in time, so many come to mind! I’d pay any amount to have another meal at Cafe Baloo, a very cheap curry place, on Russell Street in the ’90s. My friends and I used to go all the time. They also had an antipasto platter that included quail eggs from memory, and an original Egon Schiele sketch on the wall that I coveted. I’ve tried to replicate their curry many times but cannot. I also wish I hadn’t missed Future Food System at Federation Square, and now (like everyone else) I covet a spot at Chae — I love Korean food.
My favourite little shop to browse in is Cibi in Collingwood. It’s perfect for stocking up on hard-to-find Japanese ingredients and browsing beautiful kitchen gear.
My favourite food city is Sydney. I lived there for 10 years, and when I go back I make sure to stop at Ayam Goreng 99 in Kingsford for Indonesian chicken and excellent sambal, Rising Sun Workshop for breakfast ramen, and Continental Deli for a polished take on canned snacks plus cocktails.
Chris Young, guest services executive, Trader House
Hospitality Professional Legend
My favourite place to go for coffee close to home is Coffee Machine Technologies on Lygon Street in Carlton. Most people simply walk past thinking it only sells fancy coffee machines but there’s nothing better than one of their long macchiatos and a crema di caffe − a little like a coffee soft-serve, brought in an espresso cup − around 3pm on a sunny Saturday.
The best piece of cooking advice I ever received was to get yourself a decent knife. I use custom-made Victorinox knives, and they make chopping and cooking a pleasure.
My go-to dinner party dish is Ottolenghi’s roast chicken and three-rice salad, from Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. While it sounds unassuming, it’s the ultimate crowd pleaser and so simple to prepare, giving you more time to spend with everyone instead of slaving away in the kitchen.
If I could dine at any Victorian restaurant at any point in time, I’d pick Stephanie’s in Hawthorn in the 1980s. Stephanie Alexander was ground-breaking at the time (and still is), championing seasonal, produce-driven dining, which was a revolutionary concept at the time. She set a new standard for restaurants in Melbourne.
My favourite little shop to browse in is Meatsmith [Trader House’s boutique butcher], of course. But if I had to choose another it would be Maria’s on Nicholson Street in Carlton North. It’s a mini version of Brunswick’s Mediterranean Wholesalers! I could spend hours browsing the shelves filled with pasta, biscuits, olive oils, cheese and cured meat. And you can’t go past one of their panini, filled with whatever you fancy.
My favourite food city is Naples. Apart from being the birthplace of pizza, it’s a vibrant city full of trattorias serving simple, fresh, local dishes. My favourite places are Umberto − order the pizza Nonna Ermelinda topped with meatballs, ragu and buffalo mozzarella (trust me). Trattoria da Patrizia is great for gnocchetti with pipis, and Gambrinus is where to go for sfogliatella pastries and espresso.
Tim White and Amanda Schulze, owners, Books for Cooks
Communicator and Educator Legends
Our favourite place to go for coffee close to home is Market Lane on Victoria Street at the Queen Victoria Market.
The best piece of cooking advice we ever received was “keep it simple”.
Our go-to dinner party dish is “Bricken”, which is short for “Bread & Chicken”. It’s our riff on Karen Martini’s roast chicken with butter, dill and garlic on a sourdough mattress from her 2014 book Home.
If we could dine at any Victorian restaurant at any point in time, we’d pick Stephanie’s in Hawthorn in the late 1980s. We never got a chance to go when students. At the time it was the pinnacle of dining in Melbourne and probably Australia. It resonated with our ideas about Italian and French food influenced by authors such as Elizabeth David, Richard Olney and Jane Grigson.
Our favourite little shop to browse in is Minh Phat in Abbotsford. It’s like Harry Potter’s Room of Requirement: even if you don’t know you need it, somehow, they have it.
Our favourite food city is Kyoto. At Monk, we ate simple but amazing seasonal vegetables, simply seasoned and roasted in the wood oven. Izakaya Aketotemoro does incredible sake-steamed clams, and octopus and potato with shiso leaf. At Izakaya Futaba, the highlight was fermented plum and pickled cucumber with seaweed and spiced salt.
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Emma Breheny – Emma is Good Food’s Melbourne eating out and restaurant editor and editor of The Age Good Food Guide.
