What does Australia’s cooking queen make herself for dinner? It’s so simple (and you’ll want it too)
On the 20th anniversary of her Kitchen Garden Foundation, beloved chef and cookbook author Stephanie Alexander shares her kitchen wisdom and favourite spots to eat out.
She’s one of Australia’s most loved chefs and cookbook authors and at the age of 83, Stephanie Alexander says the biggest buzz is seeing primary-aged children get excited about growing and eating vegetables.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of her namesake Kitchen Garden Foundation, which runs in more than 1000 schools Australia-wide.
Alexander, who ran Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder for more than two decades until it closed in 2019, has a simple message for children: getting grubby in the garden is good for your health.
She even pops into her own garden for a sprig of this and that while cooking.
“It’s literally all about reaping the benefits of what you grow,” says Alexander. Her program has taken years of dedication, outreach and lobbying.
“At my age, the greatest satisfaction when it comes to food is making a difference with our youngest generations; school-aged kids who might never have seen a turnip or tasted one are growing them at school. It’s smiles on their faces that keeps me going,” she says.
“There’s much to learn about life and health when it comes to vegie gardens.
“If every child in Australia had access to this sort of food education, we would have a different generation growing up now.”
When it comes to dining out, Alexander admits it’s the simple pleasures that matter most these days. Spending time with her daughters on road trips around regional Victoria is a favourite pastime. She’s already eyeing a table at Tedesca Osteria in Red Hill for her next trip.
Eating in
Signature dish at home
It’s a baked tray of potatoes – a scrubbed and not peeled Dutch cream shoved into a hot oven for nearly an hour. I love to split them in half and put a big chunk of butter in there. I’ll eat these with a couple of trimmed lamb cutlets and rosemary from the garden, or a fillet of fish with sage and a big green salad. I also like making a slow-cooked braised dish of some sort during the week – and it will do me a couple of nights. I especially love it on the second night when you don’t have to think about cooking but can rely on providing something delicious for yourself.
Guilty pleasure
My third glass of wine after lunch with a lovely meal, but I don’t feel particularly guilty any more these days.
Best kitchen wisdom
Buy local and in season and get to know your fishmonger and butcher. They’re basic things and if you stick to all of those, you will eat well.
Eating out
Favourite Melbourne restaurants and dishes
Gimlet – I love everything about it. A beautiful and professionally run restaurant where quality is of the essence and the welcome is very good as you walk in. I love their chicken dish – everything on the menu is fabulous. The other night I also went to Omnia in South Yarra – their duck liver parfait was outstanding and the best I have had in years. It came like a bagel-shaped circle and glazed in a beetroot-coloured jelly. It was served with a pear chutney and tiny glazed bread rolls. As I don’t drive much these days, I like to take a tram when going out and I often head to Rosella on Gertrude Street and see Rocco Esposito, who also has great wines. They have a great dish of sauteed fish wings that’s really delicious and broad beans with cicoria is divine.
Local cafe
I don’t go to cafes for breakfast generally, but lately I do go for a walk to buy my coffee beans at Veneziano Coffee Roasters in Richmond. They give you a free coffee, which is a cute touch. Sometimes I stay and have a nice breakfast – I’ll order chili scrambled eggs with fried sage leaves on the top and a side of sourdough bread. It’s a good and busy cafe and I like a cafe that acknowledges you with a big smile the moment you walk in.
Milestone birthday meals
I celebrated my 60th and 70th birthdays a while ago at Rippon Lea and asked chef Andrew McConnell to cook for the 70th celebration there. It was an amazing night with an entree of risotto cooked and served immediately, followed by squab pigeon for the main. I had a big brass band and everybody danced all night.
On the road in regional Victoria
My dear friend Annie Smithers worked as my apprentice years ago I have to admit, and runs her own restaurant du Fermier in Trentham. It’s up there as one of my favourite places in Victoria as well as Chauncy in Heathcote. Both restaurants are similar in the sense that they are run with their own personal style, and sit a modest number of people – it’s worth it when you do get a seat. At du Fermier I ordered Annie’s roasted duck with pommes boulangere. She did a special lunch for my book launch Home and cooked stuffed pig trotters – a very ambitious dish.
Chauncy reminds me of the best of the French regional restaurants I have experienced over the years – that firm sense of welcome is fabulous. I recently ate a delicious dish called tomato tonnato. A very clever title – instead of being vitello it was made with tomato and they came in all stunning colours and shapes. Also ate the lamb served with gratin silver beet.
If you want to experience the best of Australia, spend a night at Lakehouse Daylesford. It’s a super special experience and where I stay when I venture this way.
Stephanie Alexander appears at the Sorrento Writers Festival on Friday 26th April
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Jane Rocca is a regular contributor to Sunday Life Magazine, Executive Style, The Age EG, columnist and features writer at Domain Review, Domain Living’s Personal Space page. She is a published author of four books.