Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2025 i Gourmet Traveller

Joanna Hunkin Editor Art & Food Creative Director Jacqui Triggs Senior Designer Sam Yates Senior Food Editor Maxwell Adey Words Acting Deputy Editor Nicola Conville Digital Editor Cordelia Williamson Senior Sub Editor Suzanna Chriss News Editor Senior Jordan Kretchmer Digital Content Producer Charlotte Wishart Editorial Coordinator Alexandra Harris Contributors Simon Bajada, Elliot Baker, Alexandra Carlton, Emiko Davies, Michael Harden, Anna Hart, Matty Hirsch, Kylie Kwong, Kathryn Madden, Samantha Payne, Katie Spain, Lee Tulloch, Max Veenhuyzen, Paloma Worley @gourmettraveller askgourmet@aremedia.com.au GOURMETTRAVELLER.COM.AU Published by Are Media Pty Limited. ABN 18 053 273 546. 54-58 Park St, Sydney, NSW, 2000, (02) 9282 8000. The trade mark Gourmet Traveller is the property of Are Media Pty Limited and is used under licence. ©2025 All rights reserved. Printed by IVE, Unit 1/83 Derby St, Silverwater,…

OLYMPUS, THE NEW GREEK restaurant in Redfern’s Wunderlich Lane precinct from the team behind The Apollo, describes itself as “a bustling village-style taverna”. In my experience, few village-style tavernas seat 200 or get their centrepiece 50-year-old bougainvillea tree lifted in by crane, but no matter. Set your expectations to “stylish Athenian Riviera hotel” and you’ll be closer to the mark but more importantly, set them to “a very good time” because that’s what you’re going to get. Things kick off with libation, the ancient Greek ceremony of pouring water to the gods. Here, your still or sparkling comes in a hulking great Dinosaur Designs jug, swirled with the blues and whites of a Mediterranean wave. Then, you’d do well to whip up a round of dips; like a voluptuous cod…

BEING HOUSED INSIDE a 137-year-old church might be one of August’s main drawcards, but it’s certainly not the only one. Honest, flavoursome cooking underpins the West End restaurant’s raison d’être – an apt term given August’s mostly French-leaning menu. Take their omelette, inspired by the Savoy Grill’s famous creation for novelist Arnold Bennett in 1929. August’s version features layers of soft scrambled egg, sweet Hervey Bay mud crab, crab béchamel, and hollandaise, crowned with Gruyère cheese. Grilled to bubbling, caramelised perfection, it’s a rich, cheesy, crab-packed delight. Chef Brad Cooper’s penchant for the classics doesn’t end there. He takes a crown of chicken, stuffs foie gras beneath the skin, roasts it, and serves it with pois à la Française (peas braised in butter with bacon, onion and lettuce). He also…

ASK SOMMELIER FELIX COLMAN HOW TO DUST OFF grappa’s daggy reputation, and he’s got an answer: give it top billing in a cocktail – which is exactly what he’s doing at Attenzione!, the neon-lit, new-school trattoria he co-owns in inner-city Sydney. “Most people remember grappa as this ridiculously uncompromising spirit someone’s grandad poured for a laugh after Christmas dinner,” he says. “Yet when it’s made well, the texture and aromatics are really something special.” Those distinct qualities find a firm foothold in the Yappa Yappa Grappa, his flirty and fittingly retro hybridisation of the Breakfast Martini and the Cosmo, shaken with lime and egg white in the style of a traditional Sour. While Colman is the first to admit that taming the distillate’s brute strength isn’t easy, the combo of…

THE ELUSIVE WHITE TRUFFLE IS A FICKLE fungi; it needs just the right conditions to grow and ripen – and Tuscany’s San Miniato, which sits right in between Florence and Pisa – ticks all the boxes: cool nights and often foggy, wet mornings of autumn, the right soil (usually one rich with marine fossils deposited three million years ago when the hills of San Miniato were submerged by a gulf of warm waters), and, especially, the right trees. White truffles grow in symbiosis with trees such as birch, oak and poplar. The tree roots and the spores grow to become one and the same – the little hair-like mycelium of the roots are the white veins you can see in a ripe truffle. Once it has ripened, the white truffle…

THE CAPITAL OF ITALY’S BIGGEST ISLAND AND ICON OF the Mediterranean, Palermo is a destination you’ll want to return to. From Arab-Norman conquests to serving as the epicentre for the Sicilian mafia, Palermo is a city with background and swagger that holds a sacred quality in its outward beauty. Exploring restored palazzi, cinematic in their grandiosity; sampling local wines while watching the setting sun slide behind domed cathedrals; and indulging in culinary experiences that reimagine Sicilian cooking – Palermo is perhaps an underrated travel destination that really cares about where its visitors eat, sleep, drink and explore. STAY Villa Igiea, a Rocco Forte Hotel Plenty of places in Palermo’s historic accommodation scene have maintained the glamour of yesteryear, but nowhere makes you want to live out your wildest Felliniesque fantasy…

Created in partnership with Venetian glassmaker Salviati, these handmade Murano glasses are rainbow-bright with contrast rim, an elegant moulded glass foot, and unique, distinctive marks and bubbles – a hallmark of the island’s production methods. The perfect addition to any colourful table setting. La DoubleJ rainbow glasses, $1000 for set of four, davidjones.com WORDS NICOLA CONVILLE. PHOTOGRAPHY ALANA LANDSBERRY. STYLING MAXWELL ADEY.…

SUBSCRIBE NOW magshop.com.au/gmt Details p72 Every year, as we sit down to plan our annual Italian issue, I start to worry. What if this is the year we finally run out of ideas? What if this is the year we realise we’ve covered every delicious inch of this fertile ground and there’s simply nothing left to say? Fortunately, my fears continue to prove unfounded. And once again, as I proof the final pages, I find myself dreaming – and googling – my next visit. After reading about the Tuscan Riviera (don’t worry, you’re not the only one who didn’t know that was a thing...) a visit to the coastal village of Porto Ercole is now top of my wish list. I’m also due a return to Florence, 18 years after…

Spiral Foods Organic Arrabbiatta pasta sauce Tomato purée is bolstered by chillies for a thick sauce that holds up well when tossed through almost any pasta shape. Its steady consistency ensures it sticks nicely, particularly when mixed with a little bit of pasta water and butter. You can also sub this in as a quality pizza base sauce. $5.95 for 375gm, doorsteporganics.com.au Chef Luca Ciano’s Pumpkin + Amaretti Sweet pumpkin and nutty amaretti drive this versatile sauce from Sydney-based Milan-born chef Luca Ciano. Mix it with ricotta and pipe onto rolled pasta sheets for a ravioli filling; or stir through risotto before topping with crisp fried sage leaves and brown butter. $14.99 for 500gm, lucaciano.com Harris Farm pesto  Jarred pestos often lose the delicate fragrance of basil, but this refrigerated…

APERITIVO HOUR Australian aperitifs continue to fly high and this non-alcoholic benchmark from Polka balances the classic Italian flavours of blood orange and bitters with native lemon myrtle and rhubarb. $40, polkadrops.com.au VIVA LA SICILIA While the Limoncello Spritz has been trending as TikTok’s drink du jour, it’s Zonzo’s Cicchio pistachio take that has our attention. Calling on Sicilian flavours, this bright bottling meshes notes of honey and melon with creamy pistachio. Best served on a balcony somewhere warm. $28, zonzo.com.au SPOTLIGHT ON Raffaele Lombardi, owner of Sydney’s Bar Conte talks Negronis and the Italian spirits to have on your radar in 2025. A lesser-known Italian spirit that people should know about is Elisir di China liqueur. You can drink it as an aperitivo or digestivo, but I prefer it…

NAVIGATING AN ITALIAN WINE LIST CAN FEEL AS IF YOU’RE EMBARKING ON a Tuscan road trip without a map. With hundreds of grape varieties and centuries of winemaking tradition, where do you begin? The key is to focus on what you love – whether it’s a fresh mineral-driven white or a bold red with a velvety mouthfeel. Let this guide be your compass, helping you find Italian wines that match your preferred flavours and textures without losing the magic of their character. So, where to start? Firstly, don’t be intimidated by unfamiliar names – focus on regions. Look out for DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) and DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) on the label; they are Italian wine classifications that signal quality and tradition. Wines with these labels…

SICILY’S ISLAND PARADISE, Favignana, is a pristine dreamscape of the Aegadian islands. A short ferry ride from Trapani on Sicily’s west coast, life here is the unfiltered manifestation of an Instagram travel folder. With hidden coves, iridescent blues from every vantage point, and sun-bleached shorelines, the tone is set for a hazy European summer al mare. When Alexandra Heard and Heleena Trahanas, the creative forces behind lifestyle project Alex and Trahanas, were seeking the perfect location to shoot their latest Mediterranean-inspired collection, Frutti Della Vita, Favignana captured the dream. “This [trip] was an exercise in sourcing and looking for new [ceramics], but also to capture the essence of our new collection,” says Trahanas. “We were looking for a backdrop that oozed Italian charm and had the spirit of a beautiful…

ITALIAN FOOD IS SO OFTEN BEHOLDEN TO TRADITION, BUT HERE IN Australia, Italian chefs get a chance to step outside its strict culinary conventions. “Mondeghini is a traditional Lombardian meatball from the region in Italy where I grew up,” says chef Alessandro Pavoni. Off the back of opening Cibaria – a multifaceted beachside trattoria on Sydney’s Manly beachfront esplanade – Pavoni’s take on the snack sees a lighter and more coastal iteration. “Here, we’ve created them with sensational Australian crab to honour our new seaside location at Manly beach.” Pavoni opts to serve them at aperitivo hour, pehaps with a Martini and some plump green olives. “They’re great for entertaining because you can prepare them in advance and fry them up when your friends arrive and they can eat them…

SYDNEY Ursula’s chef-owner Phil Wood is flexing his comfort cooking muscles at a new café-restaurant in Woollahra. Cafe Cressida resides in the leafy suburb’s beloved pink corner building and is named after Wood’s daughter with wife and co-owner Lis Davies. The pair enlisted New York stationery store Mr Boddington’s Studio to design the playful illustrations of Champagne and croissants that adorn the menus and courtyard walls. Inside there are lampshades crafted from vintage tablecloths, scalloped details and coloured Maison Balzac glassware. By day expect toasties filled with Gruyère, parmesan, sauerkraut and Dijon mustard; and warming bowls of congee with shredded roast chicken, peanuts, chilli and fried bread. Thursdays through to Saturdays see dinner seatings, with snacky plates of Sydney rock oysters; figs with lardo and hot honey; and Iggy’s sourdough…

The first time I met David Prior was when he brought Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini into Billy Kwong. Carlo and I bonded over our obsession with pickles and chicken livers. David has since generously connected me with many global food heroes. He is integral to Australia’s culinary ecosystem and through his renowned travel company, Prior, continues to showcase Australia’s unique and delicious food culture abroad. A CHANCE ENCOUNTER WITH A CHEF who had just returned from northern Italy changed the course of David Prior’s life. Originally from Brisbane, he relocated to Sydney and was working at a cooking school when fate intervened. He applied for and won a scholarship to study at the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, Italy, founded by Carlo Petrini, the visionary behind the Slow…

The dishes, inspired by chef Clare Falzon’s Maltese roots, have heritage at heart. YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR THE scratch of chalk on blackboard at Staguni, ˙ the former Marananga Primary School which sat forlorn for three decades until a local developer saw potential in its beautiful old bones. The site is now home to a collective of creative businesses, including a pottery studio, New Wave Wines cellar door, and a flower farm. Reminders of its scholastic past remain; among them, the original blackboard scrawled with local Barossa wines by the glass (you’ll also see a scribble by a principal, dated 1952). The small, beautifully executed menu is printed on the kind of paper used when pen licences were a thing. The dishes, inspired by chef Clare Falzon’s Maltese roots, have…

You come from a wine-making family, was it a given that you would follow in the family footsteps? Surprisingly no. In my early 20s I found myself landing happily in hospitality. I had a natural interest in the wine side of hospitality service and was working as a sommelier for about six years in Melbourne. It was then I had the super strong light-bulb moment to join the family business. It was the most natural next step and I can’t imagine it another other way now. Your favourite Italian wine and food pairing? Bright, citrus-driven, salty Italian whites paired with fresh seafood. Being an inland girl I’m constantly craving seafood, so when I’m near the coast I can’t get enough of it. One dish I’ll always gravitate towards is zuppa…

AS AUSTRALIANS, YOU MIGHT THINK YOU know your beaches. But a trip to the Italian coast will prove you wrong, because true to form, Italy has found a way to bureaucratise the beach. The iconic Italian lido describes anything from Puglia’s cheap-and-cheerful battalions of beach loungers occupying the only desirable stretches of sand, to bling prosecco-ice-bucket beach clubs in Capri that charge €200 per Panama-hatted head. With 12,000 lidos doing a booming trade on Italy’s 8000 kilometres of coastline, the lido is an unavoidable fact of beach life, and it takes some navigating for those of us accustomed to our beaches, well, raw. So read on for our foolproof guide to lido life. LI-DO Get your euro’s worth However miffed you might be about forking out for something that is…

DF V GF Roasted capsicum, cucumber and herb salad SERVES 4 // PREP 15 MINS // COOK 45 MINS (PLUS COOLING, MARINATING) 4 red capsicum 2 yellow capsicum 1 garlic glove, crushed 1 cup (loosely packed) oregano leaves 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 3 Lebanese cucumbers, peeled into thin ribbons 2 tbsp pitted black olives, coarsely torn 1 cup (loosely packed) small basil 1 Preheat oven to 200°C fan-forced. Place capsicums on a large oven tray lined with baking paper and roast, turning occasionally, until blackened all over (40-45 minutes). Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to steam (10 minutes). Cool slightly, then peel (discard inner membrane, seeds and stalks). 2 Tear capsicums into large pieces and place in…

MY FATHER GREW UP ON THE SHORES OF THE Adriatic Sea. He would recount a story of how his mother, my nonna Stefania, would wrap freshly fried sardines or mackerel in paper and carry them from their home down to the beach, where, together with his father and sister, they would sit on the rocks and lunch on the fish, still warm from the kitchen and so fresh it still tasted of the sea. The recipes in this cookbook are the result of a three-month research trip, spending time along the coast and a short distance inland, visiting seven of the Italian regions that face the Adriatic coast. Many of the dishes are traditional, often lesser known, that I saw on menus or tasted. Some are adapted from older cookbooks…

RETRO REVIVAL Calacatta marble and brushed brass flourishes bring Italian charm to this entertainer’s kitchen. 1 Turner Hastings Novi 75x46 fine fireclay butler sink in Matte White, $2475, Harvey Norman. 2 Fienza Modern Vintage Eleanor kitchen mixer tap with swivel spout with white porcelain handle in Urban Brass, $540, Restoration Online. 3 Calacatta Viola marble, POA, Avant Stone. 4 Cabinetry in Coolum Sand, POA, Laminex. 5 Dot Marble handle in Carrara, $199, Lo & Co. 6 La Romaine Editions glass goblet, $120, Clo Studios. 7 Lex Williams Silky Oak stool, $3600, Tigmi Trading. 8 Metal bowl planter in Gold, $200, Rogue Home. 9 Kampurarrpa juicer by Yalti Napangati, $949, Breville. 10 Tezra cabinetry pull 220mm in Brushed Copper, $58, ABI Interiors. 11 Rostrato sconce with tubed brass base, POA, Tamsin…