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Conversation with a chef

Conversation with a chef

By: Jo Rittey
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About this listen

 Ever wondered what goes on in the kitchens of Melbourne’s restaurants? Conversation with a chef gives the back story of our city’s favourite eating spots. This is not a slick podcast, in fact it's pretty rustic. I'm Jo Rittey. I'm a French teacher and food writer and not that great on the technology. What you'll hear is the conversation how it happened, with no bells and whistles. I'll work on that!All rights reserved Social Sciences
Episodes
  • #340 Sam Field | Molly Rose Brewing

    #340 Sam Field | Molly Rose Brewing
    Mar 14 2026
    Sam Field is head chef at Molly Rose Brewing in Collingwood, but his way into kitchens started much earlier as a 13-year-old kitchen porter in England, working after school and learning by watching. Since then he has cooked in pubs, fine dining venues, cafés and now one of Melbourne’s more interesting brewery kitchens, where the menu leans European by way of local produce and very drinkable beer. Sam is thoughtful about kitchens, about the culture inside them as much as the food that comes out. He still carries the discipline of fine dining, even if these days it shows up in something as deceptively simple as a very well considered schnitzel.
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    35 mins
  • #339 George Calombaris | Auto Greek

    #339 George Calombaris | Auto Greek
    Mar 11 2026
    George Calombaris is back in Melbourne with Auto Greek, a pop-up at Bar Yarra in the Ovolo Hotel in South Yarra. A week in, the room is full of familiar faces and new ones too. For George, the project feels a little like bringing the band back together. In this conversation he reflects on nearly three decades in hospitality and what he still believes Melbourne can be as a food city. He also talks about the food itself. Neo-classic Greek cooking that is simple, generous and deeply personal. Think watermelon with feta, lamb chops over wood fire and vegetables grown from heirloom seeds. George is thoughtful, philosophical and still completely animated by the power of a good plate of food to make people happy.
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    17 mins
  • #338 Axel Archenti | Bottega

    #338 Axel Archenti | Bottega
    Feb 21 2026
    Axel Archenti arrived at Bottega in 2017 on a working holiday visa and never left. He broke down three goats at his trial, worked his way through the kitchen, and became head chef in 2023. It’s his first head chef role, and he has embraced it. Axel cooks Italian food with an Australian accent, celebrating local produce and native ingredients. The menu is seasonal, but ever evolving, practical, and grounded in the reality of a busy dining room that fills fast before curtain-up at the nearby theatres. Axel talks thoughtfully about simplicity, about knowing when not to experiment, and about building a kitchen culture where people actually like coming to work. This was a generous conversation, and I loved every minute of it.
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    32 mins
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