The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry4 Sep 2014

Chui Lee Luk - Claude's, Chow Bar and Eating House, Celestial City

Chui Lee Luk grew up in Malaysia, visiting the markets early in the day – fascinated and repelled by how "gruesome" they could be. When she moved to Australia, she was introduced to French food, thanks to "one of the weirdest competitions I've entered ever".

After a career dealing with stamp duty and commercial transactions, Chui found herself switching paths to work in restaurants – there she was, a former commercial lawyer learning how to cook from teenagers who had more culinary experience than she did. But the monumental change – and battle scars – were worth it, as Chui went on to become chef and owner of Claude's, a Sydney institution that she never let become fusty – not only did she experiment with what appeared on people's dinner plates, but Chui's innovative approach saw tonnes of dirt being transported by crane into the restaurant for an art installation, with the chemistry of the soil magically lighting up LED lamps throughout Claude's. This highly memorable experience did lead to some things unexpectedly going wrong, though – as Chui explains in the podcast.

She also talks about the under-representation of female chefs in the industry, missing French ingredients once she opened Chow Bar and Eating House, her most recent restaurant venture – a Chinese-style izakaya that has recently announced its closure, unfortunately.

We also discuss the Celestial City exhibition at Museum of Sydney and the Celestial Tables event that we're both part of – I'll be interviewing Chui for the Q&A and she'll also be presenting her pickles for a tasting session. It takes place on Sunday September 28 at 2.30-3.30pm. You can get tickets here, if you're interested.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(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 Jun 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 Feb 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 Mar 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 Okt 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 Okt 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 Jun 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 Mai 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 Mar 202046min