The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry30 Loka 2015

Ben Sears – Moon Park

When Ben Sears was working at Cutler & Co, the “biggest highlight” was when Quentin Tarantino came in for dinner. He's picked up quite a collection of memorable experiences throughout his career – from the time he worked at L’enclume, with its remote location (and tourist-magnet appeal as home of the sticky toffee pudding) to his burnout from having to make The Age's Dish of the Year way too many times, and his final spell as head chef at Claude's, when it closed after 37 years.

“That was one of the weirdest services I’ve ever done – by far,” he says.

In this podcast, he also talks about the low-budget and punk way that he opened up Moon Park with his partner and co-head-chef Eun Hee An and Ned Brooks, their business partner and floor manager. It definitely involved a visit to K-Mart.

Ben jokes that their first patrons were really just "Ned’s friends" and downplays Moon Park's food as “Korean nonna food, gussied up for the masses” – but their venture ended up being shortlisted for Best New Restaurant by Good Food Guide and Time Out Sydney and the chefs were also nominated for Best New Talent in the Gourmet Traveller Awards.

We also chat about Korean food and culture (including the amazing traditions of Pepero Day and Black Day – and how Korean food is about a zillion years ahead of the game) and we also bring up Kim Jong-Un’s haircut once or twice.

And finally, Ben shares his favourite places to eat and drink in town – including the place he name-checks as "the best restaurant in Sydney".

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(118)

Kerby Craig – Ume

In memory of Kerby Craig, here's the podcast I recorded with him in 2014. I listened back to this episode after I heard about Kerby being gone and it made me re-remember all these great things from th...

20 Kesä 202253min

Billy Wong – Golden Century, XOPP

The best dish in the world, according to chef David Chang, could be found at Golden Century – the Sydney institution that Billy Wong's family ran in Chinatown for more than three decades. There was mo...

8 Helmi 202247min

Paul Carmichael – Momofuku Seiobo

"I literally got here and the first two weeks, everybody quit." Despite this challenging start to becoming Momofuku Seiobo's executive chef, Paul Carmichael has since scored many awards (both Gourmet ...

30 Maalis 20211h 17min

Joanna Hunkin – Gourmet Traveller

Reporting from murder scenes and interviewing Lorde live at the Grammys – that's what Joanna Hunkin did before she became editor at Gourmet Traveller. Enduring these high-pressure situations meant she...

23 Loka 20201h 1min

Topher Boehm – Wildflower

They're not obvious candidates for making beer: wattle, strawberry gum and leftover sourdough from Ester. Topher Boehm turns to flower cuttings and other NSW-only ingredients to create wild ales for W...

18 Loka 20201h 23min

Natalie Paull – Beatrix and "Beatrix Bakes"

Natalie Paull once pointed a brûlée torch flame in the wrong direction – and accidentally set a whole docket rail of dessert orders on fire. She's endured brownie explosions and baking disasters, too....

17 Kesä 202043min

Shinobu Namae – L'Effervescence, Bricolage Bread & Co.

Shinobu Namae runs one of Tokyo's best restaurants: L'Effervescence. It has two Michelin stars and is known for its sustainable focus (nearly everything served to diners comes from Japan, even the che...

11 Touko 202041min

Charlotte Ree – "Just Desserts"

Charlotte Ree once ate 30 different kinds of croissants during a trip to France – then got a croissant tattoo afterwards. She's so dedicated to pastries that she'll stay up until 5:30am to finish a ba...

25 Maalis 202046min