The West Australian: March 2011

Photo: Daniel Mahon

Quite Nigella

She’s arguably the domestic goddess of our time and can turn the seemingly innocuous task of hulling a punnet of strawberries into, well, something a little more alluring. She’s Nigella Lawson – journalist, critic, author, cook, mother and ardent foodie.

“When I was 16 or so, I went to Paris – more because of the travel rather than food really - and I was fascinated in how the French cooked,” Ms Lawson says of her first independent foray into food.

“I remember I was taken out to eat at Galeries Lafayette and I tasted their fromage bleu, which was so simple and delicious. And I saw this world that was just fantastic. Then when I went to live in Italy, I started getting interested in reading about food because even though my mother cooked a lot, there were never any cookery books. So I began to read cookery books and the whole subject became interesting to me.”

Born into a refined family – her father is a baron and was chancellor of the exchequer to Margaret Thatcher while her mother was heiress to a business empire – Nigella had a somewhat conflicted relationship with food while growing up.

“Well, I will say something that will give a lot of encouragement to parents with children who don’t eat,” she says.

“I had not only no interest in food as a small child, but I really hated mealtimes and I didn’t eat at all. So when people say to me, ‘my children won’t eat’ I say ‘Well, look at me, it can change!’.

“I come from a family who are intensely involved in food, and when I was very young I wasn’t interested, but that was probably because I was brought up very strictly. It was ‘you will eat this and if you don’t finish it you will sit there until it’s cold and it will be brought back the next day’. It was that sort of way. There was no food-hiding – my mother had complete laser-vision. But I did get interested in food, and I had no idea it would become my life.”

In Australia for a quick stint at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival last weekend, Ms Lawson is excited to be back in the country.

“I’ve previously been to Sydney as well as to Queensland, where I went on a boat through the Whitsundays with the kids. But I haven’t been to Melbourne before”, she says.

And would she like to come to Western Australia? We have truffles..

“I would love to. Why I’m not traveling much on this visit is because I’ve left the kids at home, so I’ve kept it short. But they loved Australia, and I’d love to do more traveling. The thing is, it’s such a huge country so you’ve got to have time. I love the huge sky of Australia, and the light. So you call it WA over there, then, and not Western Australia? You’re going to have to map me out an itinerary and tell me when’s the best time to go. I don’t like intense heat. I would have to wear a hat and a sunscreen factor of one hundred. Oh god, I can’t wait. Go on, fire away, I’m too busy planning my holiday now.”

Nigella has sold millions of cookbooks and her many television series are broadcast in countries all over the world. Now, she feels, it’s time to re-stock.

“I’m not working as hard in terms of filming and writing books at the moment so I can go away,” she says.

“If I did a book and a series every year, I’d have to be re-introduced to my children and I wouldn’t have a proper life. And the whole point of what I do is because it’s part of my life. My books come out of how I live my life, so if I make it all about the work, then that would make me feel it was the wrong way round. So it’s nice for me to be at home, cooking. And at the moment I’ve got other things to do. And no doubt I’ll go back inspired by some of the food I’ve eaten here in Australia, and that’s how recipes come about, by cooking meals that I don’t know. And just revelling in the luck that I can be pottering about the kitchen and pretend it’s work.”

Ms Lawson was the headlining act of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival last week. She shared some kitchen bench space with Western Australia’s own seductive cook, Anna Gare.

SPICE magazine, Summer 2010

Photo: Jennifer Susanto-Lee

Little Fish, Big Pool

Neil Perry, that doyenne of chefdom, TV cooking show favourite and Iron Chef contender, is poorly. He blames his kids.

“They’re always sick,” he says with a wry smile.

“In the mornings I no longer give them a kiss. I put out my hand and they get to kiss that instead. I just can’t afford to be ill these days.”

Too right. With a string of eateries spreading along the Eastern seaboard, television appearances and a long list of books, Neil Perry needs all the strength he can muster.

And, of course, he’s coming to Perth. Ever since the June announcement that he would be opening a Rockpool Bar & Grill at the Burswood complex in early 2011, there has been a buzz that is only gaining in intensity as this year draws to a close.

“When you first land in Perth, you really notice that the light is very different over here,” says Neil.

“It’s really quite beautiful, and when you go down to the South-West it’s just an extraordinary place. And I haven’t been up North before so I look forward to traveling up there.”

Neil has visited Western Australia before, but never so much as he has over the past few months, when he’s been sourcing local staff and suppliers for the new eatery. Despite some of Neil’s mainstay menu items, such as his much-feted wagyu burger, being sourced from the Eastern states, much of what the Perth kitchen will be sending out will be local.

“Out of the entire menu we’ll bring over our 36 month grass-fed beef from Tasmania, and David Blackmore’s wagyu beef (in Victoria) because we buy whole bodies and they really are quite unique to the Rockpool Bar & Grill brand,” says Neil.

“But we will be sourcing our yearling out of the South-West here in Western Australia from Della Gola Farm, and we are really excited about that. We tasted some of it and we thought it was great. We’ll be dry-ageing that for about forty to fifty days and we’ll be doing ribs and T-bones and sirloin from them. And that will complete the three – we only ever carry three types of beef.”

When hunting down a good yearling producer, Neil’s top priorities were that the animals had to be grass-fed and that the taste of the meat when dry-aged met Neil’s exacting standards. Family-run, Della Gola Farm came highly recommended by Neil’s good buddy Vince Garreffa from Mondo Butchers, and when put to the test the meat did not disappoint, with Neil describing it as being sweet and tender with the long clean flavour of grass.

As for the restaurant’s lamb and pork, that continues to be a work-in-progress.

“We’re speaking to (Margaret River farmer) David Hohnen at the moment and looking at his lamb and his pork, and the difficulty there is just getting the volume because he’s such a small producer. So we’ve sort of talked him around and I think he’s going to do it with us, so we’ll buy his pigs and his lamb. And we’re really excited about both those products, they’re fantastic. All grass-fed and all free-range. The pork is just incredible.”

As with all of Perry’s produce, freshness and sustainability is paramount. And despite being better known as a steakhouse, the Rockpool chain has received a string of accolades for their seafood in recent months. The plan is that the fish on the Perth menu will be sourced locally, dry filleted daily and flat-packed, then stored in custom-made service fridges.

“We’re a big supporter of sustainability and line-catching,” says Neil.

“So we’ll have a chat to some small fishermen and Government bodies over here and see what fish are currently sustainable. There’s a few local fishermen, such as Jim Mendolia, who have shown interest in hand-lining some fish direct for us because we have our own fish filleting. And also with the complete understanding that we’re really quite keen to take whatever they catch, rather than ask them to target certain species. We need to utilise every kilo of fish that comes up over the side, not only that typical attractive white-fleshed, mild-tasting fish that we’re all kind of addicted to. And we love octopus and squid, so if that’s in abundance over here we’ll certainly be using it.”

Western Australian wine producers will naturally get a look-in, with many local wineries such as Leeuwin, Cullen, Moss Wood and Xanadu already featuring on the wine lists in the Sydney and Melbourne restaurants.

“We’ll focus really strongly on local Western Australian wines because we recognise that you guys are great producers of wine”, says Neil.

The restaurant itself is going to be big – a 200-plus seater that will incorporate a bar with private dining facilities that will live where the former food court in the Burswood complex used to be. Construction is currently underway.

“Regarding the design, we reflected on the beautiful light and the naturalness of Perth,” he said.

“So there’s a really raw kind of feel to the restaurant. Some of the curtains are made of raw hessian and there are beautiful timber floors and a wonderful nickel canopy that runs along the whole kitchen and bar side of the restaurant. And then when you look into the open kitchen it will be quite extraordinary. It’s the best kitchen that I’ve got actually because it’s all on one level. And at one end is the chef’s desk, and on top of that is our communication tool that we use for all of the Bar & Grills. So whether I’m here or in Melbourne or in Sydney I’ll be able to see the pass in Perth and all the food coming up and being run out. I actually get to see all the restaurants and how they run.”

But not everything will be locally produced.

“All our restaurants have the same chairs, because we’ve got the greatest chairs to sit on,” Neil says with a laugh.

“So why would we change that?

“I think what will be most significant about the Perth restaurant is the focus on Western Australian wines and produce. I also think people will recognise that we’ve done a bar and grill that very much belongs to Perth and isn’t a cookie-cutter of Melbourne or Sydney”.

Rockpool Bar & Grill will open at the Burswood Entertainment complex in January 2011.

The West Australian, Nov 2010

Upscale Restaurant Grows its Own

Fresh, seasonal produce is the latest catch-cry for many chefs these days, but only a handful would be able to proclaim they grow their own fruit and veg. The team at upscale restaurant and bar 1907 do just that, and have raised the sustainability stakes just that little bit higher by going the organic, heirloom route and buying a farm to do it all on.

“The property is up in Toodyay and it’s quite big,” says 1907’s executive chef Nick French.

“It’s around 550 acres, and the vegetable farm itself has six large beds which are about five metres by ten metres, which we’ll use on a rotational basis.”

The farm property, called ‘The Range’, is an historic homestead and ballroom built in 1897 that is currently being restored. Over the years, it has produced prize-winning cattle, sheep, wool and thoroughbred horses.

The farm was originally the brainchild of the owner of 1907, who bought the property after being inspired by the ‘paddock to plate’ philosophy used in so many restaurants around the world. The rest of the eatery’s staff quickly locked onto the idea and now it involves everybody, both in front and back of house. As Nick points out, however, it still has a ways to go.

“It’s still early days for us, with a lot of trial and error - trying to see what works with environmental conditions and soil and that kind of thing. Because obviously some things will do better than others. But we have quite a reasonable amount of success with pretty much everything we’ve tried.”

To date, there are over 200 different types of fruit and vegetables grown on the farm, with a particular focus on heirloom varieties. A dedicated father and son team, Brian and Todd Gilsenan, work on the farm to produce as many ingredients as possible.

“We’ve got all sorts – spinach, kale, tomatoes, chillies, all our herbs, broad beans, broccolini, potatoes and little courgettes, much of what features on our new menu” says Nick.

Olive groves, vineyards and orchards are currently being planted, and from all the produce grown 1907 will only use a small percentage. Future plans include selling more of the farm produce to farmers markets, food bank charities and other like-minded restaurants.

“In the future, we are basically looking to expand. We will be putting in some nice organic fruit trees, such as apples and citrus. And we’re also going to move towards chickens as well once we’ve got established so we’ll have eggs. It’s very exciting, and so much better than opening boxes of produce.”

In 2011, the restaurant intends to host a number of long-table field lunches and dinners in order to highlight the farm’s fresh, seasonal produce and are currently working on sourcing local suppliers so that all other produce comes from within a 50km range.

1907 Restaurant and Bar is at 26 Queen Street, Perth.

For on-line article, go to Fresh

SPICE magazine, Spring 2010

images: Jenny Susanto-Lee

 

Giving A Fig

Genesis in the Hills is a vegetarian hideaway hotspot doing brisk trade in Roleystone. It sits on the same road that leads into Araluen, and lots of pretty adjectives spring to mind while following its path: tranquil, natural, healthy, abundant. All the same words, really, that apply to the eatery. Genesis literally translates to mean ‘coming into being’ or, as Rivka Cohen - one half of Genesis - puts it, “the infinity of possibility”.

“We chose the name Genesis because it is from the Hebrew language, and ‘Genesis’ in Hebrew means ‘the beginning of creative potential’,” she says.

“It’s the beginning of things, where potential is brought to life. It is a very, very big word in Hebrew.”

Ably commandeered by Rivka, Genesis’s cook, and her musically gifted big sister Ita Goldberger-Amran, the restaurant has been running since September 2007 and proved to be a massive hit with locals. But the rest of Perth is quickly catching on.

“We have people coming from everywhere now, from Fremantle to Joondalup,” says Ita.

Formerly an artist’s dwelling, the gorgeous nine acre site caught the sisters’ eye in December 2003 and they decided to escape the city to embark on a tree-change journey. It took two years to plan and store the property. They renovated the house, which Ita had been living in, into a restaurant, and then built another house, being were ever-mindful to retain the peace and tranquility of the area.

“We decided to move to Roleystone because it is extremely pretty,” says Rivka.

“There’s lots of nature, lots of orchards and also a strong sense of community, which I really missed in City Beach, where I was living before. And I wanted to have contact with people. There is lots of variety – artists, creative people, just a beautiful mixture of people. Roleystone is the right place for us”.

The sisters moved from Israel to Perth ten years ago after the sisters were at a personal crossroads, and they emigrated to Australia in search of peace and a better quality of life. Rivka decided that it was more than just her address that needed a tweak.

“I was once an economist, and then I was a Maths teacher for a while,” she says.

“But I always had a great passion for cooking and baking, and then when we came to Australia I thought it was time for a change. So I opened a little vegetarian restaurant in Subiaco, which was called Bay Tree Café. I ran it for two and a half years, and it was actually quite successful. Then I sold it because I wanted to change my life again, to make it more peaceful. I bought my piece of land in Roleystone, where I could grow my own stuff. We’re basically really alive with nature now.”

Growing up in a semi-rural village in Israel, where their father ran a vineyard, the two women were privy to enormous cultural influences from their family. They had a Turkish grandfather, a Spanish grandmother, and their mother was born in Bulgaria. Their father was a baker from central Europe, with a Hungarian and Czechoslovakian background. The family table was a place for lively discussion, with languages jumping between Bulgarian, Jewish-Spanish-Latino, Hungarian, Russian and Yiddish.

“And outside in the street it was Hebrew,” recalls Ita.

“The neighbours were all Holocaust survivors who ended up in Israel after the war, so everybody spoke another language, and the children were all in and out of each other’s houses influencing each other.”

With such an eclectic history, it was only natural that the sisters would go on to be profoundly affected by their upbringing. But it is the food they were raised on as children that they seem to remember most fondly.

“Oh gosh, the food we ate as a child!” laughs Ita.

“My favourite dishes from my mother were her different aubergine dishes that she got from Bulgaria. People call it baba ganoush. And her cakes, of course. Her cakes were notorious. Everybody came to eat them. School was only two hundred metres from where we lived, so everybody would ask, ‘Oh, can we come to your house to see what cakes your mother has baked?’ So during the breaks we would all go to my mother’s kitchen, eat her cake and then go back to school. It was so wonderful.”

“My food influences definitely come from my family, and I do Mediterranean and lots of Arab cooking,” says Rivka.

“Lots of my influences come from the use of tahini and hommus, which are Arab ingredients, and broad beans and spices and herbs. And with Mediterranean cooking, it’s all about using a lot of fresh seasonal ingredients. You can’t compromise it, really.

“My Mum is a beautiful cook, she actually just celebrated her 80th birthday. She immigrated with our families here. Mum is from the Balkan area in Bulgaria, and there are lots of things I’ve learned from her. She is very much into what is called the philosophy of how you work, what you do, and how you cook. She showed me how to work locally, work with local produce, and work seasonally. Trying to make food as fresh and as healthy as you can”.

Food is abundant in this neck of the woods, with the property being home to a good-sized herb garden and an orchard of around sixty fruit trees. There is an impressive chicken pen containing forty laying hens, who are all very grateful for the restaurant’s leftovers. And what the property does not provide, the local community does.

“With the produce that we have access to, the possibilities and the flavours of vegetarian food are just as endless as non-vegetarian food,” says Rivka.

“For example, I’ve got a huge amount of figs in the area. So in the times of the figs I do millions of things with them. I stuff them with cheese. I make cakes. I make pies. I make jams. There is a local Italian lady who takes them, cuts them in the middle and dries them, and they are the most delicious figs ever. And then we have a beautiful orchard of chestnuts. So I make chestnut cakes and chestnut cream. It’s really important to explain the contribution of these things to the flavours of dishes. We work very much by what we actually find in the season, the seasons completely inspire me. Many people don’t know what to do with produce such as figs, quince and pomegranates. So they just bring it in. So we have a lot of cooperation with the local people. For me, Genesis is not just a business. It’s a way of life.”

The neighborhood is of paramount importance to the pair, who believe Genesis is less of a restaurant than a haven for the community. Rivka sources much of the restaurant’s produce from the surrounding area, such as oils, bread, milk, cheese and coffee. Local art exhibitions are held at the property once a month, as are jazz nights featuring local musicians.

“We buy locally, we share, we give the place to local people to sell their produce,” says Rivka.
“We sell honey, we sell flowers, and all kinds of food without taking any commission. In a way it’s symmetry. The community aspect of Genesis is very important to me.”

However, what you notice most about the remarkable duo is their passion, which seems to drive everything that they do. The beautiful aspect of their property, which they also live on with their families, the warm reception they have received from the residents of Roleystone and their deeply-held set of beliefs are what keep these two women motivated.

“I believe it’s a very natural way of growing up, with neighbors and community that are very, very close to each other,” says Ita.

“And that’s how we feel in Roleystone. We are very involved with the community, not only in food, but our place has become a meeting place for people to come and talk. It’s a way of living. That it’s not only about you and your family, but that there is a bigger picture. That’s how we grew up, so that’s who we are.”

“It’s all about living consciously,” emphasises Rivka.

“You try to make your life worth living, not only in the sense that you live but with what contribution you’ve made. I feel I’ve contributed by producing good food, which I’m happy with.” Genesis in the Hills is at 124 Croyden Road Roleystone. For bookings and more information, telephone 9397 7799 or go to

-->www.genesisinthehills.com.au.