Chefs at Home

It’s an oft-used cliché. On every reality television cooking show there’s a moment—perhaps even several—where contestants will tear up as they recount childhood memories in the kitchen with a loved one, and how those early days shaped their “food journey”.

It’s hard to resist an eye roll when the accompanying violin soundtrack reaches its quavering crescendo, but there’s no denying that the home environment can have a powerful influence on our relationship with food.

We go into the kitchens (and one garden) of three Canberra chefs to discover the influence of family and home on the food they love to cook.

Louis Coutloupes

Bar Rochford

Q: What's your earliest food memory?

A: I remember sitting with my grandad and watching the Swans play when I was young. My favourite snack back then was a bowl of cut apple and cheddar cheese. To this day, it's what I reach for when I raid the fridge at 3am.

I also remember making fresh pasta with my dad. We didn't really know what we were doing but there was nothing more thrilling for five-year-old me than making a huge, parent-approved floury mess in the kitchen.

Q: What was food like in your house growing up?

A: My family is food-obsessed. I definitely inherited that from both my parents. They are quite academic though, with a strong sense of social justice—mealtimes at our place seemed to be the anchor for discussions about politics or social issues or foreign affairs—so I don't think they ever thought I'd end up cooking for a career.

I studied international relations at uni, have a Masters in International Security and spent nine years in the public service before I started cooking, so I guess the sudden change might have come as a bit of a surprise to them.

Q: What did you love to eat with your family?

A: I always looked forward to weekend lunches at home. I grew up close to Haberfield in Sydney, so someone would always go to the Italian deli and load up on fresh cheeses, salumi and bread. Either that or a big pasta lunch.

Q: When you prepare meals for friends at home, what is your go-to meal?

A: I don't get a lot of time off so when I have people around I prefer to spend it with them than in the kitchen.

Whole grilled fish is as simple as it gets, and I love cooking over coal. The smoke and char flavour is just the best. I like to mix the resting juices from the fish with a bit of oil and lemon juice, and some wild fennel blossoms.

At the moment it’s hard to go past tomatoes when they look and taste so great too. Olive oil, fetta, picked herbs. That’s it.

Q: How would you describe your food philosophy?

A: Someone once asked me to describe my cooking style, and that one stumped me for quite a while. I was like "kind of French-Japanese-Mediterranean with a South American influence?" which is sort of true but it makes me sound like a crazy person.

I know it sounds trite and overdone, but I'm a huge believer in seasonality, simplicity and locally-grown produce. So many places say that and then you see tomatoes on the menu in winter, so you know they've travelled from miles away.

Or they say simple, but serve vegetables that have taken hours or days to prep with all sorts of special chefs’ gadgets and tricks. Don’t get me wrong—that kind of cuisine definitely has its place, and people are doing amazing things—but it's definitely not the low key or casual approach that many claim.

I try not to interfere too much with the food I make—it's all about enhancing it—like pairing it with an awesome or unusual companion ingredient to bring out the taste and texture. I put a lot of emphasis on building relationships with growers and producers. I like to be guided by their advice because they know best—if my supplier brings me something unexpected because it looked great that particular day, I'll chuck it on the menu that night.

I’m also a bit of a sucker for an unusual ingredient—algaes, fungi, foraged plants, ferments, inks, glands, rare honeys, you name it. One of the best things I’ve eaten in the last 12 months was fermented fish guts in Japan. Ten years ago I would have baulked and now I spend hours trying to incorporate those things into the everyday.

Q: Do you have any tips and tricks for making entertaining at home less stressful?

A: More booze never hurt! But seriously, I think people tend to get anxious and overreach when they entertain and end up spending the whole time in the kitchen rather than hanging out with friends. Make it simple, and make something you know well, so you can chat your way through it and sit down with everyone at the table.

Louis' Gratin Dumplings

Serves 6

These potatoes—or variations of them—are a pretty traditional accompaniment to a lot of stuff in rural France. This dish will go with pretty much any grilled fish, meat or vegetarian meal, and I have never, ever seen leftovers.

Ingredients

• 6 medium waxy potatoes (like Desiree)

• 300ml pure cream

• sea salt flakes

• rosemary

Method

Preheat oven to 200˚C.

Slice or mandolin potatoes to about 1 mm thick and lay them in overlapping layers in a lightly oiled baking tray. Pour cream over the potatoes and season with salt.

Sprinkle a few generous sprigs’ worth of rosemary leaves over the top and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the cream has caramelised.

Trent Harvey

Pop-up Chef

Q: What role did food play in your childhood?

A: I grew up on an apple orchard. We always had a lot of homegrown fruit and veggies and had cows that we milked. Milking the cows and drinking the fresh milk straight from the bucket in the fridge has got to be one of the earliest food memories that I have.

Q: Who has been the biggest influence on your approach to cooking?

A: My brother and I stayed with our grandparents a lot growing up—Grandma and Grandpop lived in another house on the same property as us. I didn't realise it until later in life, but I think the time I spent with Grandma in the kitchen influenced my attitude towards food a lot.

My grandparents lived a very selfsufficient lifestyle. I remember picking homegrown fruit and vegetables and making things like jams, chutneys and pickles. It’s a lifestyle that I’ve really grown to value and desire now. My Nan was also a very proficient cook and I have fond memories of my cousins and I "helping out" in the kitchen regularly.

Q: Any favourite home-cooked meals as you were growing up?

A: I can remember my Nan’s Sunday roasts being top notch. Roast beef with Yorkshire puddings covered in gravy and golden syrup (English heritage). I still love a good roast!

Q: When you prepare meals for friends at home, what is your go-to meal?

A: I guess it depends on the weather, but I tend to cook a lot of dishes based around some kind of slow-cooked meat. Being able to start it in the morning and let it do its thing in the oven all day makes for an easy plate-up and very little time in the kitchen when friends arrive. It's also easy for slow-cooked dishes to pack a lot of flavour and impress with little effort.

Q: Tell us about your food philosophy.

A: Keep it simple. I always try to cook/eat healthy whilst enjoying all foods in a balanced and considered way. I try to buy local and the best quality ingredients I can.

For cooking at home, I tend to buy whatever is fresh and in season (which usually also means cheap) and just decide what I'm going to cook on the day depending on how I feel. I'm not one to follow recipes. I try to keep a stocked pantry of staples which makes it much easier—sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't!

Q: Any tips and tricks for making entertaining at home less stressful?

A: Choose a menu where you can prepare most of it ahead of time. You don't want to be in the kitchen too long when people arrive. It's a lot easier to do all the legwork when your family and/or friends aren’t looking over your shoulder.

Choose a few good-quality ingredients and try to treat them the best way you possibly can. Choose dishes and flavours that complement each other or stick with one style of cuisine.

It's probably also best to cook something you have cooked before as you'll know quantities, cooking times and whether or not it even tastes good! Just keep things simple and enjoy your cooking and the food you're eating!

Trent's Cauliflower + Coconut Soup

Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients

• ½ head of cauliflower

• ½ brown onion

• 400ml can coconut milk

• 200ml vegetable stock

• 30g butter

• 2 Pialligo Estate Pork, Fennel and Chilli Sausages

• 1-2 spring onions

• Coconut yoghurt, toasted coconut flakes, toasted fennel seeds—to garnish

Method

Slice the onion and cauliflower into small pieces.

Place onion and cauliflower in large saucepan over high heat with coconut milk and vegetable stock and bring to the boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for around 20 minutes or until the onion and cauliflower are very soft.

Slice spring onions into small pieces, separating the green and white parts.

Remove skins from sausages, chop into small chunks and brown with the white parts of the spring onions over medium-high heat in a splash of olive or coconut oil. Try to break up sausages into smaller chunks with a wooden spoon while cooking.

When cauliflower is soft, blend well with the butter using a stick blender. Season with flaked sea salt to taste.

Serve blended soup in a large bowl with a couple of big spoons of the sausage and cooked spring onions.

Garnish with a large dollop of coconut yoghurt, green parts of spring onions and toasted coconut and fennel seeds sprinkled liberally on top!

Travis Cutler

Woodbrook

Q: What's your earliest food memory?

A: My grandparents had an old, unused wooden butter churn on the farm. We have had the family farm for generations but I never saw it in action, but I was amazed how such a simple instrument could take a liquid from the fridge door and turn it to a solid on the shelf. It might have well been a story of transubstantiation—all the more magical than simply turning water into wine.

Q: Is cooking in your blood?

A: I come from a family of cooks. My Nan would cook all day. I remember it wasn’t so much the aroma from the stove, but the evidence in the cupboard. Jams, cakes, biscuits, chutneys—all things that preserved the seasons and were shared amongst the family. I could see the joy it provided people. Farmers and neighbours would stop for morning or afternoon tea just to share in Nan’s cooking. I was attracted to that.

Q: What was food like in your house growing up?

A: Our food was simple, frugal and budgeted. We enjoyed dinners together but it often felt like a study in the uses of beef mince. My career choice came as a surprise to my family only because I was in the middle of my PhD in history. Yet on reflection they could see that it was the right choice and were very supportive. Perhaps it had something to do with when I was living in Melbourne, dragging them across town to small and obscure restaurants in search of great meals.

Q: Any favourite home-cooked meals?

A: Leftover roast lamb fritters with green tomato pickle.

Q: When you prepare meals for friends at home, how do you like to eat?

A: I like food that encourages conversation. Not in a television kind of way, but in a way that enables friends to share stories. It is something that informs my cooking for Woodbrook. A few plates of simple food between friends, not something that takes until midnight to get to the table unless you’ve had a few too many sneaky gins.

Q: Any tips for at home chefs?

A: Do your preparation and be realistic. I’m not sure if watching someone cook all night is how I’d enjoy spending my evening. If you keep things simple and work out what you can have ready in the fridge then you should be able to take the stress out of cooking.

Q: Simplicity or showmanship?

A: I’d take a thoughtfully cooked vegetable over some kitchen trickery any day. I challenge anyone to derive more pleasure from charring a freshly picked zucchini from the garden than transforming it into pearls through spherification. The first takes skill, timing, and a feel for the heat in the pan; the latter is a repetition, the enacting of a codified formula.

Travis' Pecorino + Mint Ravioli, Chicory, Zucchini, Salsa Verde

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

Pasta:

• 10 eggs

• 500gm ‘00’ flour

• 110gm water

Salsa Verde:

• parsley

• mint

• capers

• anchovies

• garlic

• dijon mustard

• red wine vinegar

• olive oil

• salt

• pepper

Pecorino + Mint Filling:

• 200gm buffalo ricotta

• 50gm pecorino

• chopped mint

• lemon zest

• salt

• pepper

To Serve:

• chicory

• heirloom zucchini

Method

Make the pasta dough and let it rest in the fridge overnight.

Mix together the filling and place in a piping bag.

Chop the ingredients for the salsa verde together. Add vinegar, oil, mustard. Season.

Roll out the pasta and make the ravioli. Store them in semolina in the fridge while you get everything together.

Bring a pot of seasoned water to the boil.

Cook the chicory and zucchini in a pan.

Add the ravioli to the water.

Plate up the zucchini and chicory as suits your style. Add the ravioli.

Dress with some salsa verde. Finish with some small bitter herbs.

Words: Amanda Whitley | Photography: Tim Bean