From staring out of the QBE building overlooking the city as an Executive Chef, to traveling the world looking for his real father - Jamie has quite the story to tell. Whether it's being pranked by his chef colleagues in the early days to helping grow his clients like Sydney Direct Fresh Produce and Tetsuya to the brands they are today, Jamie's experiences have defined a lot of what TNM has become today. Though a fun team, they are hardworking and dedicated to showcasing your business or...

How much of personal success relies on luck, or being at the right place at the right time? Jason and I chat about his career from the beginning of picking up a camera as a teenager, to following one of the best restaurants in the world - Noma - from country to country, on their next pop up adventure. Jason shares his early life and influences that inspired him to pick up a camera in the first place, how he got started and the blind ambition to a hobby that changed his life. I throw my...

The recipe to success behind whale sperm emulsion or why you should put sand in your restaurant to transport guests to a tropical island? Hear all about it as Andre Natera and I catch up over the past two months in the world of hospitality. Whether it's the Bocuse D or', some great hospitality books (like Will Guidara's Unreasonable Hospitality) or what made us laugh about the recently released comical take on chefs, 'The Menu'. Was it using a Paco jet to kill someone? or the on purpose split...

You’ll learn and immense amount about the history of Poland through the World Wars and how that effected the produce they came to use for spirits, or food in everyday life. We chat about neurogastronomy and the psychology behind food, how a tartare reignited a chefs passion in the Michelin world, why some people are too scared to enter the speakeasy bar, how a sushi chef got himself stuck during service, and Andrzej’s own in the shit moments! The Roots Hospitality podcast is proudly...

I hopped over to Warsaw in Poland while traveling around Europe and I was not disappointed. What a beautiful city. Best of all, an incredible bar hidden away in the outskirts that creates a fun and inviting vibe filled with stunningly illustrated menus (done by Martyna herself!) of delicious cocktails. Martyna Blaut is the bartending queen of El Koktel. With her unique perspective on bartending in Poland, Martyna’s passion has driven her around the country. Much like myself, she moved on...

Kenneth and I sat down to chat about Noma finally receiving it’s third hat after 17 years, being able to recognise the chefs who have worked at The French Laundry or Per Se because of their idiosyncrasies during service (like not making a sound during prep, or not putting metal on metal benches to avoid scratches), Matty Matheson popping by for a feed (who is genuinely a legend), the humor in overcomplicating a steak frites when you’re a passionate apprentice, we laugh about the realness of...

Welcome to the Chefs PSA x Roots Hospitality takeover where Andre Natera and I banter through whats going on in the restaurant industry around the world and in the media. We talk chefs that have blown up in the media, the new Creamy Ninja (a.k.a Pacojet on a budget), the tyranny of long term chefs and should we drop the brigade system?  All this and more on the PSA x Roots crossover! The Roots Hospitality Podcast is proudly sponsored by Sydney Direct Fresh Produce. The fruit and vegetable...

We jump over to Oslo in Norway for this special episode. Recently when I travelled through Europe and the U.K. I took my podcasting kit along and caught up with people that were doing awesome work. Rebecca Hawkes, the chef and gardener, is no exception. Having travelled as a chef from Norway, to Istanbul, (sometimes working in exchange for accommodation), it’s clear Rebecca’s passion for working with food and it’s relationship with people is important. Food to Rebecca is more then filling you...

Having walked through professional kitchens since he was 16, Matt has worked with the best and come up in the culinary world alongside some incredible chefs too. We chat about his time under Thomas Keller and the military like style in which Keller conducted his brigade.  We chat about meeting Rene Redzepi at the Fat Duck, looking up to Charlie Palmer as one of his inspirations (Matt still wore black socks after Charlie drilled it into him), jumping on at NOMA in 2005 only a year after it...

When I started my apprenticeship many years ago, and dabbling with wild and native foods as a chef, Aaron was one of the first people I started following that was utilizing them in an out of the box way that made it engaging enough for me to try it myself. It was inspiring, and pushed me to find new ways to make these ingredients accessible to diners myself. Now it’s at the core of all my dishes. So cheers for the motivation and inspiration Aaron, you’re a bloody legend. We talk about the...

 We chat about Jason's brief stint cooking at the Olympics, the good timing between being a fresh chef to a new team and integrating into a kitchen, writing prep lists on the back of dockets and being upgraded to a premium recipe folder; plus the importance of developing a strong relationship between local suppliers and growers. Also, what happens if you pull your tweezers out at the Ledbury? And why are Per Se going through so much baking paper per week?  The Roots Hospitality podcast is...

Second time around for the Bartender Roundtable with Sarah Proietti (Maybe Sammy), Dre Walters (Old Mates Place), Chau Tran (Burrow Bar), Harrison Kenney (Bar Planet).   Do you get free shots at Bar planet if it's your birthday? Are the wet pussy shots finally making a come back? Are Australian cows kosher? Did the Dalai Lhama smuggle tigers over the border?  Why do chicks dig American Will? Does Kenney fit through the metal detectors at the Airport? And the elevator for Old Mates finally...

Ever been stitched up while doing a pop up at a house on a mountain in China with no electricity? How did Mo get out of it? Sometimes I don't think he even knows. It was almost as if he had repressed it until I mentioned the Yunnan Provence.  But when Mo reflects on what he calls "the wildest pop up he has ever done", he could only laugh in how he found himself in that situation to begin with.  Mo started his culinary career as an apprentice at Attica, which helped shape his appreciation for...

Luke and I chat about the importance of time and place, his experience at Faviken, why he believes he has the sports almanac from Back to the Future and how busting chops to forage blackberries eventually stitched him up at a festival in Melbourne. The Roots Hospitality podcast is proudly supported by Sydney Direct Fresh Produce. The fruit and vegetable providore led by Luke Kohler, who has been supplying to Sydney restaurants and venues for more then 20 years and still smashing it out...

My next guest was the first person I got to chat too while visiting Melbourne and I was especially excited to not only catch up with Kim but also check out the venue only having heard about it from afar. With a lavish interior and fully decked out kitchen (and chefs, when I say decked out, I mean, on the corner of some prep benches, they have a slot for paper towels, so you don’t need to run to the other side of the kitchen just to dry your hands. Like, it’s clear a chef designed this...

My guest today has created a speakeasy bar hidden away on Clarence street that provides this getaway place with a cosy ambience, fun vibes and a longing for more once you leave. Packed with stories, Chau shares her experiences in hospitality through the many pop ups she’s done, competitions she’s won and collaborations she’s pulled together.   During the lockdown Chau and her team at Burrow Bar and Cash Only Diner were one of the few venues handing out free meals for hospitality staff that...

In this episode Diego and I catch up about his journey from last two years since he has come on the podcast last. He shares the story of mushroom foraging with Hugo Weaving, pulling together his latest book 'Eat Weeds' (which we go into depth about) and Diego even shares his own in the weeds moment.   It's a great little pocket of an episode. Worth tuning in for.  Roots podcast is proudly supported by Sydney Direct Fresh Produce. The fruit and veg supplier led by Luke Kohler, who has...

It’s not only one thing to be passionate about your job in hospitality, but to take it a step further and to be attentive, entertaining and to care about the guests that walk into your venue, is another. It might sound strange to highlight these characteristics, considering that to care, is the essence of hospitality right? But to Kennedy, embodying all of these traits are a must, before you even consider stepping into the role of a bartender or server.   Having worked in venues from Hong...

Setting a landmark bar that strives to change the conceptions of waste was never going to be easy. It relies on ingenuity, passion, patience and making a lot of mistakes. No different to whenever you strive to do something good. But when you have two experienced and forward thinking people at the helm of it all, you can only expect the best. From using the whole mango, including dehydrating the seeds to add bitterness to cocktails, to using the pulp after juicing, for vinegars and kombuchas....

Martin Hudak has only been in Australia from 2018, but since then, he has certainly created  a big impact on the hospitality bar scene. With venues (co-owned) like Maybe Sammy, Dean & Nancy and Sammy Junior under his belt, it’s clear Martin and the teams are on an unstoppable path to pave the future of what a bar experience can be. Maybe Sammy even hit the 22nd spot, on the Worlds 50 Best Bar list last year and took out the Best Bar in Australasia award. But when you’re resume boasts...

Ben once worked at an Air Bnb cooking for 12 people alongside Annalise Gregory and Marco Pierre White. When I asked him why on earth would they pay all these chefs to cook for so little people, he responded ‘I dunno, to see what you could do with too much money I guess?’. And when we reflected on our experience in hospitality, it seems as though that statement could be thrown around a lot.  We talk about Ben’s wildest experience as a chef which was celebrating down in Melbourne for the...

To be honest, I don't think I've been to a venue as busy as Opera Bar. The scale is insane. We're talking more then 900 cover services, which for an a le carte venue, is a monster body of work. Fortunately I had the opportunity to jump in during a service to do some behind the scenes shots of the head chef Fernando and his team of powerhouse chefs. You can see these photos over at rootshospitality.com.au  Fernando and I sat down back in December to chat about his long standing career as a...

Anna and I sat down on the same morning the Good Food Guide of 2022 came out. Which was a perfect way to start the conversation. It's an exciting time of year for a lot of chefs, so it was a good way to debrief about the year and some of the exciting projects coming up. Anna talks about how she got her foot in the hospitality door and all of the hilarious stories that have come with it. If you tune in at the right time, you’ll hear her share how Hugh Allen (Vue De Monde) once borrowed and...

Noah has some hilarious stories from his time as a chef. Working in a few tough Sydney kitchens grinding away and slogging it out, has helped shaped his world view with a more optimistic mindset. Jumping on the Roots podcast to reflect on his journey, gave him an opportunity to let out all of the entertaining experiences he'd gained along the way.  Noah once worked with a chef who was so intense that if Noah was to use his hands to pick garnish from his draws during service, they would get...