New TV show uncovers foodie secrets of Melbourne

by Jill Park | 21 Jul 2015

From strolling through culinary hotspots such as Lygon Street and Chinatown to sampling local produce in the Yarra Valley, celebrity TV chef Rachel Khoo is taking viewers on a foodie journey through Melbourne in her new SBS show, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook - Melbourne.

The much-loved British chef is famous for starting her own two-seated restaurant from her Paris apartment. The resulting SBS show, My Little Paris Kitchen, featured the recipes developed from the pop-up restaurant. She has since filmed three instalments of her Kitchen Notebook TV series, the most recent of which focuses on Melbourne’s burgeoning culinary scene.

In this eight-part series, Rachel discovers the diverse cuisine of Melbourne and meets some of the local producers and chefs that make the place such an exciting culinary location. Here, we chat with Rachel about the show, her favourite places to visit in Melbourne and her famous apartment kitchen.

How did the idea to host your latest series, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: Melbourne come about?

“SBS approached me, saying we’d love you to do a show in Australia. I had previously visited Melbourne quite a few times - I did a pop-up restaurant in Sydney and one in Melbourne at the Victorian Design Festival. We were bouncing ideas back and forth and I said ‘Look, I did a pop-up in Melbourne five years ago and I had such an amazing time, I really think Melbourne would be a great place to do a series. It’s really eclectic, really diverse’, and SBS said ‘Yes’.”

The show puts a spotlight on the Melbourne food scene and the people in the industry. What was it like researching the city for the show?

“I actually came over to do a research trip in November before filming [in March]. I spent five days scoping out what Melbourne was about, because obviously in five years, a lot of things had changed. Literally from breakfast until midnight, we rolled from one place to another. You’d go to one place, eat something and someone would say, ‘Oh my goodness have you been to so and so?’ and you’d get another 10 other places that you’d have to visit.

“What I found was it was really difficult to decide what we were going to highlight. We’ve got eight episodes in the show but you could have crammed in so much more. I mean it’s very much like London in the sense that you’ve always got new stuff happening. And it’s really hard to keep up.” 

“We feature quite a few people, too and each episode, we visit two or three different places in the city. I also cook a couple recipes so you also see how I discovered Melbourne and then the recipes that I create. It’s really discovery and cooking at the same time.”

 “Honestly, everyone in Melbourne seems to be passionate about what they are doing. It was really difficult to decide who we would finally go with. We just tried to keep it a real eclectic mix of young and old, men and women and people from different backgrounds. [We featured ] everything from families to fine dining to gourmet fast food, just to show the wide variety of Melbourne.” 

What were some of your favourite restaurants or cafes in Melbourne?

“There’s Belle’s Hot Chicken (150-156 Gertrude St, Fitzroy 3065). Chef Morgan McGlone used to work in a fine dining restaurant. This is something I’ve seen happen a lot around the world - young chefs who have worked in a fine-dining restaurant but actually want to do something fun and laidback when they open their own restaurant. [Morgans] was like, ‘I love fried chicken. I went to Nashville and had the most amazing fried chicken, so I want to make fried chicken in Melbourne’. 

So that’s what he did, but he applied the same kind of craftsmanship and dedication to making fried chicken as he would making a Michelin-starred meal.”

“I met a lady and she makes croissants at Lune Croissanterie (29 Scott St, Elwood VIC 3184). It was interesting because she trained at my favourite bakery in Paris. Her croissants are the best I have eaten outside of Paris...They are delicious and I’m a croissant snob. I only have a croissant when it’s like really good.”

“I loved Matt Wilkinson’s Pope Joan (77-79 Nicholson St, Brunswick East VIC 3057). It’s really nice as it’s very much a neighbourhood restaurant. You can go for breakfast, lunch, or you can go for dinner. You can bring the kids along. It’s super laid back and very seasonal. My favourite is laid back dining. That’s the kind of style that I like. You don’t need to get too complicated with me!”

You always have great apartments in your shows and Melbourne is no exception. Where was the apartment used in the series located?

“It was in Fitzroy. People don’t realise that when you film a cookery show, you actually need a second kitchen because you need space to put in all the kit. You need more room than just a kitchen because it’s not just you cooking, there’s a whole camera crew. 

“We were very lucky. We found a place where it was somebody’s kitchen-living room. They had an office, which had a little coffee section which we converted into the production kitchen. And it had a little terrace, which was so nice. Melbourne gets a bit of sunshine so we did a bit of barbecuing.” 

The show premieres on SBS on 23 July, what’s next for you?

“The show is coming out in July; I have a new book which came out this year - Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook, I’ve been promoting that around the world and it’s coming out in the US; and I launched a YouTube channel this year. I’d love to come back. Australia has so much to offer. Melbourne is just the tip of the iceberg."

Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook: Melbourne premieres on Thursday 23 July on SBS at 8pm. Her fifth cookbook, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook is now available in retailers.