My mum and my nan were wonderful cooks, and they inspired me. My first job out of high school was as a kitchenhand in Neutral Bay. The chef wasn’t tough or macho. He was a good teacher and I learned a lot from him. It was important to him that the kitchen was clean. It was a popular spot, doing 300 covers a night, but it only lasted six months because the accountant embezzled all the money.
Professor Dominic Rowe loves hosting guests at his property in the Hunter Valley with a focus on fresh, locally sourced produce. Image: Samantha Christensen
At the same time, my sister was waitressing at a theatre restaurant that pretty much only served roast beef. I did one shift there when someone was sick and the kitchen was filthy. I tried scrubbing the Yorkshire pudding tins but the chef said it was part of the flavour.
Six months in hospitality was enough for me. Now I only cook to please people. I enjoy putting good food on the table for my family: it’s about providing. It's a very satisfying, physical, tactile process that requires careful planning and execution. Some people serve a dish and say, “I hope it’s okay,” but I never say that. I know it’s good.
I helped cook for 80 people at my daughter’s engagement party, and it was also a privilege to help with the prep for her wedding in 2017. In September, I cooked a 10‑course lunch for 20 people who paid $1000 a head at last year’s MND Gala, the fundraiser that supports the MND Research Centre. I made everything from scratch, from the brioche rolls and the citrus‑cured ocean trout to the beef Bourguignon and stone-fruit frangipane tarts. It took a day of prep and a day of cooking at our place in the Hunter Valley.
I’ve been doing these lunches (or dinners) since 2004, so I’ve cooked for dozens of people this way. I used to cook for people in their homes, but that adds an extra layer of difficulty. Now I have them come to our property in the Hunter Valley. We grow a lot of our own food there: we have grass-fed Hereford cattle that live a good life, chickens for the eggs, a vegetable garden, fruit trees and a beehive for honey.
It’s important to me that the produce I use is fresh and locally sourced. I could go to the fish markets for my seafood, but I've been going to the same local fish shop for 25 years. If you don’t support your local providores, you can’t complain when they're replaced by mobile phone shops and nail salons.
I love cooking with charcoal, over fire, and I love cooking seafood. If you serve up a bad meal with Australian seafood, you should take yourself out and beat yourself with a stick, because Aussie seafood is second to none. One thing I don’t cook anymore is octopus. I used to love it, but having encountered cephalopods while scuba diving, I can’t do it. They’re too intelligent.
I can’t think of any kitchen failures, apart from the time I forgot to put the salt in the brioche dough and had to get up at 2am to redo it. Soufflés aren’t a problem – I make a great raspberry soufflé. The key there is the perfect meringue. In general, I’m not much of a baker, though. I make bread and tarts, and I can knock up a cake if I have to. My mum and my nan both did wonderful scones, but mine are always a bit hard for some reason.
For a quick weeknight meal, my family loves ‘brinner’ – breakfast for dinner. It’s just-set fried eggs and instead of toast, we use hash browns. Add a dash of my homemade sriracha chilli sauce and it’s the brinner of champions.
