15 Minutes with Ben O'Donoghue

The year was 2002, when Ben O’Donoghue appeared on BBC’s cooking show “The Best”, where the Australian chef competes with two other food personalities, chef Paul Merrett and Silvana Franco, for weekly themed challenges. The then 32-year old chef’s Asian influence earned him later TV productions with chef Curtis Stone and his own restaurant in Australia. Last month, during his guest chef stint at Whisk at The Mira, we caught up with Ben as he candidly shared how the Bernaise sauce has changed his career and his take on Australian cuisine.

How did you get into cooking?

I was born in England, and I have always had my granny as my inspiration. She is a thrifty cook and she never wasted anything. After high school I got into cooking part time in the kitchen near the beach, where we work 80 hours a week and I still managed to pull off surfing at night. It was good fun but I managed to work with some good mentors and with travel opportunities I found myself at the River Café for 4.5 years. During that time, I met Jamie Oliver, with whom I become best friends with. We worked on his cookbook, polished his recipes with photographer David Loftus and before I knew it I got an offer to be on TV, first with “The Best” on BBC and then, “Surfing the Menu” with Curtis Stone.

How do you juggle between your roles as a TV chef and a restaurant chef?

On television you need things to be more accessible. Things need to be easy and affordable for the audience, and you need to convey the instructions in an engaging way. But when you’re in the kitchen, you will need passionate and engaging cooks to carry out the recipe.

What do you think about eating local, in your restaurants in Australia?

We don’t really import all that much. We use exclusive Australian olive oil. Seafood and meats are local to a degree but absolutely locally sourced in Australia. We use a little bit of New Zealand salmon which is of good quality. Everything is seasonal and predominantly Australian. We grow our own chilies and herbs, something that we can use casually. We also have three finger lime bushes when we can harvest natively grown finger limes for our cuisine.

Do you see yourself doing avant-garde style cooking?

No, I think of myself doing something a little bit more simple, but true, big and bold flavours. I am not saying new is not good but I prefer preparing food that is more hearty that feeds the soul too.

Tell us about your most and least ingredients to use?

I definitely love fresh seafood, cooking and eating. Scallops and spanner crabs are beautiful and they are in abundance in Australia. My favorite meat is pork, the neck and belly are equally good. I also love liver, and pig’s blood for making blood pudding. Least favorite, well I am not a fan of turkeys, and I used to dislike sea urchin too, but enjoying one freshly shucked converted me. I like it a little more now.

How do you feel about Australia being on the spotlight of global food scene?

It has been a slow burn for a while. Australia has been doing wonderful food for a long time. Since the 80s, with Neil Perry and Matt Moran starting their careers there, and environment that allows us to grow good produce and abundant harvests of great seafood. We have wonderful restaurants to match with the wonderful ingredients we have in Australia.