Canberra is an amazing place. one moment you’re in suburbia and the next minute a mob of kangaroos hop by. So too at Pialligo, where the serene country setting of Pod Food belies its proximity to Parliament House and the city.
We sat down and had a chat with their new star recruit, Head Chef Matt Breis, to discover his philosophies, inspirations and his dream three-course meal.
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You’ve worked at Commonwealth Club and Pulp Kitchen. What is it that makes Pod Food such a standout in the Canberra food scene?
Pod Food offers contrast from the loud, busy city with a dining experience nestled in the tranquil greenery of Piallago. We embrace our location and utilise the local orchards and our own garden.
Eating in Pialligo and knowing that the ingredients are grown around you gives the food a very natural feel.
Pod Food takes very natural ingredients and applies incredible cooking techniques. What’s the underlying philosophy of your cooking?
I believe first in picking the best quality ingredients available, this is the most important step. If the produce tastes good, most of the work is done for you already. Especially in stone fruits and berries, I try to serve them fresh where possible, I think that there is flavour lost in cooking those, sometimes it is best to just let the ingredients speak for themselves.
To compliment this philosophy I like to create dishes with only a few select flavours that compliment each other, three is usually a good number, once you go past those flavours can get lost in each other and it becomes hard to taste those blackberries we picked from the bush outside the restaurant this morning, for example.
Which chef do you admire most, and why?
Brent Savage of Bentley restaurant, Sydney. I received his cookbook early in my apprenticeship and was awed by it. I have been visiting his restaurant over he last 5 years and watched him grow from a small one hatted restaurant & bar to the new restaurant in the city with its well deserved two hats. Brent Savage has a great take on food, his techniques are flawless, his ingredients and flavours well chosen and yet the food is so simple and inviting, I will always be looking at what he is doing and use it as a role model.
What is the biggest change in dining you’ve witnessed during your career?
The days of molecular gastronomy and fusion cuisine are coming to an end, now is the era of casual and share food. Diners don’t have the disposable income that they previously did, so chefs have had to become flexible.
I think there are many good movements in food right now. Chefs are cooking more organically and sustainably and the food costs less and tastes better!
Aside from the basics, what’s the one tool every kitchen should have?
Any form of ice-cream maker, whether it be a batch churner or a paco-jet. I love ice cream, sorbet and gelato. Desserts are a big part of a good dining experience, it is the last memory left in the mind of the customer, so it has to be good. Making your own fresh ice cream will always add a lot of character and flavour to a dessert, and sets you apart from restaurants that buy theirs in.
What is your ultimate three-course meal?
I would start with a satay chicken, kimchi & roti from the Mandalay Bus, because nothing makes me smile more than that (how’s that for an endorsement), move on to a wood grilled T-bone steak from Rockpool, Sydney and finish on one of Brent Savage’s creative desserts with fig leaf ice cream.
On the other side, what’s you favourite Sunday night meal on the couch?
Meal on the couch? Sounds like a wasted opportunity to be eating out! Sunday nights you will find me at restaurants all over Canberra chasing new flavours and ideas.
