Nino Zoccali - Head Chef at Pendolino
Pendolino's Nino Zoccali talks Time Out over his taste buds.
By Shannan Langan
Food epiphany? I worked in a restaurant called Figero in Perth. That was the first time I was in a kitchen with an amazing Italian chef. But I've always had a love for really great food.
Kitchen hero? My father and Antonio Carluccio. Carluccio's all about really great food and he's all about the garden. It's the garden to the kitchen to the restaurant with him. And my father's like that. It's about being entrenched in produce.
First job in food? At the produce markets in Perth, working for a fine food wholesaler. I was blown away by the quality of the vegetables.
Favourite ingredient? Olive oil is a deep passion of mine.
Most overrated ingredient? I reckon watercress, but that's personal. I just don't like it.
Favourite Sydney cheap eat? Yum cha. It's the best value around. The other thing I really like is going out to the western suburbs - there's some really good Lebanese restaurants.
Guilty pleasure? Kebabs.
Food you can't/won't eat? Shark fin soup. There's a bit of an ethical problem for me. I grew up in a culture where it's fine to kill things and eat them if you use every part of the animal. It's a frugal approach to life.
Finest food moment? I cooked for the Mayor of Florence once. And his feedback to the kitchen was that he couldn't find food as good as this in all of Tuscany.
Most memorable meal? There've been two. There was a bistro in Paris and all they served was sauerkraut, nothing else. It was amazing. The other one was eating in a little trattoria on the backstreets of Modena. There are no menus, everyday it changes. You've got barristers sitting next to bricklayers all in this one little trattoria, all eating. It's about community and quality. They also had a flat charge for wine so they'd stick the wine on the table and you could drink as much as you wanted.
Best food tip for Sydney diners? If you've got the time and inclination, explore the more ethnocentric outer suburbs.
Advice to the home cook? Let what you find in a fruit and vegetable store dictate what you eat. Go to the markets first, then work back: it creates exciting dishes. Recipes are important but the joy of food is often found in the product and where it comes from.
Five ingredients that can conquer the world: Olive oil, parmigiano reggiano, garlic, pasta, and organic food.
Last supper? I'd have a plate of freshly made pasta with some very freshly caught seafood.
Weirdest thing you've ever eaten? Sheep's testicles, ducks' beaks and deep-fried grasshoppers.
Plates... should always be clean.
Waiters... have a lovely way of bringing out a dark side in me.
Sommeliers... are fantastic and becoming even more important in the restaurant industry. I love talking to them. They teach me things.
Kitchenhands... The salt of the earth. But you need to keep your eye on them. Shannon Langan
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