There's nothing the Head Chef/Owner of A Tavola won't put in his mouth.
Food epiphany? When I was young and my parents would call me in from the backyard for dinner by shouting "A Tavola!" which means "To the table!"Kitchen hero? My mum.First job in food? As an apprentice in a little Italian restaurant called Rigoni's in Adelaide. There were no chefs, instead there were 12 Italian mothers in the kitchen. My mother worked there as well.Most overrated ingredient? Truffle oil because it's an artificial interpretation of something that can be magic. Why use truffle oil when you can use the real thing?Favourite Sydney supplier? Martin's Seafood.Favourite Sydney cheap eat? I can't choose one favourite cheap eat, so I'll say Glebe Point Diner in Glebe and Rosso Pomodoro in Rozelle.Guilty pleasure? Rosso Antico with lemon and vanilla sugar on the rocks.Food you can't/won't eat? Nothing - I eat everything.Indispensable kitchen tool? I can't live without my rolling pin.Finest food moment? Flying my mother in from Adelaide and having her in the kitchen with me at the birth of A Tavola.Most memorable meal you've ever had? Lunch at D'Adolfo in Positano, where we ate the most beautiful spaghetti concozze.Advice to the home cook? Be patient and gentle with produce.Five ingredients that can conquer the world? Flour, eggs, olive oil, sea salt and love.Home cooking? My wife's yemista (stuffed tomatoes and capsicum).Weirdest thing you've ever eaten? Sea urchin pasta.Plates... should be impeccably clean.Waiters... should keep plates this way.Sommeliers... should respect punters.Kitchenhands... should be our customers.Customers... should have open minds.A Tavola Darlinghurst