YY: My love of cooking stems from my Greek Cypriot culture. Growing up in that culture, food becomes the centre of everything. My dad holds a big part of my inspiration in becoming a chef. He is an amazing cook! I love him for that! Also my Yiayia (grandmother) is a brilliant cook, her hands are gold! Some of my best memories as a kid was sitting on her marble bench top chopping parsley and coriander, and of course stirring anything with that century old wooden spoon. So you can say that ever since I was very young, I wanted to be a chef.
So grade 11 came and you needed to have a little idea about what you wanted to study, I obviously knew straight away, so grade 11 I did all of my work experience hours at May Street Larder in South Fremantle with Chef Scott Bridger, and then my pre-apprenticeship in grade 12 working a Voyage Kitchen in Sorrento with Chef Russel and Darren. After I finished grade 12 I moved onto my actual apprenticeship and I started at Ascua Restaurant with Chef Nick Treszie, and then just before I became a second year I started at Garum with Chef Mario Di Natale and now currently with Chef Stefano.
YY: At home we eat very middle eastern, Cypriot, with some Turkish influence. So I love cooking Cypriot food, couldn’t choose a favourite!
YY: Definitely after a Thursday shift, some of us head down to a club called Butterfly 73 for their Latino night for a drink and dance. Otherwise love heading down to the beach before my shift so anywhere along the coast for coffee is always good.
elijah d'vauz, petition kitchen ED’V: What inspired me to become a chef and get involved with cooking was my love for culture & diversity. My ethnicity being so mixed that I had no choice but to fall in love with food – the cooking methods, the flavours of cooking and the importance of family meals was always important to me.
ED’V: My favourite dish to cook would be something that I could share with my friends or family as this is how I grew up with a Westernised Asian up-bringing. Always eating together with my family or in a group, it has proven the importance and relevance of culture. Food that I enjoyed particularly were noodles, curries and a rice served with a meat or a fragrant broth.
ED’V: I go to Telegram, Arrival Hall or Chu Bakery for my morning coffee, if I start at 3pm. If I open for breakfast or I start at 9am, Petition is where I get my coffee. When I finish my shift and I need to eat dinner, I cook what is in the fridge or what is in the pantry or simply left-overs. If I am not working, I am eating at different restaurants – trying new foods and pairing wines.
sofika boulton, wildflower SB: I started washing dishes while I was still studying, decided I love kitchens more than what I was studying and went for an apprenticeship – been addicted ever since. My food story is quite an interesting one and I was lucky enough to get to try a lot of different foods – my godmother is Bulgarian and my godfather is Maori so a good hangi was a staple for us. Like a lot of Australian children, I never got the chance to learn about native ingredients until now – I really hope what we are doing at Wildflower will help change this!
SB: Hardest question ever! My favourites here are always over the jarrah grill, there’s something special about working over fire, it’s my favourite part about the whole kitchen.
The stocks/sauces are special too – you spend 3-4 days roasting bones, lifting pots, skimming stocks and CONSTANTLY adjusting temperature wondering if it’s worth it – but then you finally taste the sauce when it’s finished and it all goes away. Liquid gold!
SB: Great question. For coffee, my go to is Voodoo on Wellington St. There are so many good coffee places around Perth so you can’t really go wrong.
For dinner, I’m a sucker for ramen - my favourite is Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King. Also can’t give enough love to the chicken larb at Long Chim, if you haven’t tried it yet and you like spice, get there now!
Drinks, I love whiskey. Varnish on King is my hands down favourite place to go get a whiskey and hang out. Petition Beer Corner is great for ever changing and delicious beers – plus biggie juice is a regular.
Also Joe’s Juice Joint – if you know, you know.
Find these aspiring chefs at the Young Chefs Lunch presented by Citi at Garum, Saturday 28 November. Tickets on sale now.
