Latest Adelaide food and wine news: Meet Brazilian chef, Fabio Castello, the man behind Coopers Brewery’s new kitchen

Meet the Brazilian chef behind Coopers Brewery’s new beer-inspired menu, top foodies team up for a cause, plus a teen TikTok sensation has a new cafe brewing.

Coopers Brewery’s new head chef Fabio Castello couldn’t be more suited to the role.

Beer has always been a traditional ingredient in his family’s cuisine back home in Brazil and Castello said he loves using the beverage to bring out flavours in his dishes.

“My Dad’s love of beer rubbed off on me. I have such fond memories of watching my Dad cook with beer back in Brazil,” he said.

“Beer can really bring out the flavour of the food and I find it quite easy to cook with. I’ve constantly used beer in my cooking throughout my career and worked closely with many local breweries.”

Castello will take over the kitchen at Coopers’ new $70m visitor centre in Regency Park, crafting a menu inspired by South American and Mediterranean cuisine, while incorporating Coopers premium beers.

Coopers Brewery opens new visitor centre, distillery and microbrewery. Head Chef Fabio Castello. Picture: Supplied

Coopers Brewery opens new visitor centre, distillery and microbrewery. Picture: Supplied

“All our menu items are designed to go with beer but that doesn’t mean you must drink a beer to enjoy the food. We have something for every member of the family to enjoy,” he said.

Among the menu highlights include the crumbed veal cutlet with braised leek and parmesan custard, and Coopers Original Pale Ale-battered flathead with classic chips and pink River Murray salt. Share plates and a range of burgers, pizzas and plant-based options complement our new brews, available only at the home of Coopers.

Castello brings more than 16 years’ experience to Coopers, including stints at Brazil’s two Michelin-starred D.O.M. Restaurante in São Paulo, eventually moving to Australia in 2015.

He worked at some of Melbourne’s most renowned restaurants including Vue de monde before relocating to Adelaide, where his wife’s family is based.

“Professionally, I am excited to work in South Australia for its diverse world-renowned culinary scene, and vast high quality primary produce,” said Castello, who originally studied mathematics in Brazil.

Tim Cooper at the new visitor centre at Coopers Brewery. Picture: Supplied

“To be working with a great family company in creating something truly unique here in South

Australia is an amazing opportunity.”

The new centre will be open to the public from August 28.

For more information and to book a tour or lunch, go to coopers.com.au

TOP CHEFS COOKING UP SOMETHING SPECIAL

Nicole and Shannon Fleming with daughter Eloise, aged 15 months, who was born at 29 weeks weighing just 480 grams. She was a twin, and her sister Isla sadly passed away after heart surgery. Picture: Brad Fleet

Six top chefs from across South Australia and Sydney are coming together at the end of August for a record-breaking feat.

Chef Shannon Fleming of Adelaide Hills’ Lot 100 is enlisting the culinary help of Darren Robertson (Three Blue Ducks, Sydney); Fabian Lehmann (Maxwell); Laura Sharrad (Fugazzi); Sam Christopher (2KW) and Sydney pastry chef Lauren Eldridge for his Collab for a Cause event, which this year aims to raise $100,000 for Adelaide’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

It’s a cause close to Fleming’s heart. On August 22, 2018, his wife, Nicole, gave birth to their twin daughters, Isla and Eloise, 10 weeks premature. They had the rare twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, meaning they were growing in two separate sacs but shared the same placenta in the womb.

While their beautiful Eloise survived, Isla suffered from a perforated bowel after heart surgery and died at just four weeks old.

Nicole Fleming, Eamon, 11, Shannon Fleming, right, Ciara, 10, Eloise, 4 and Amelia, 13, celebrate their little girl starting school at the Lobethal Lutheran school. Pictured: Ben Clark.

Fleming started Collab for a Cause in 2019, raising $60,000. This year, he’s aiming to sell 250 tickets to raise a record $100,000.

August brings mixed feelings for the pair, but with the heartache comes positive memories, with thanks to the doctors and staff at the WCH.

“Ever since we had our experience at the hospital I’ve wanted to use my hospitality platform in Adelaide to raise funds and awareness,” Fleming says.

“We’re not the only family who had a prolonged experience in hospital; many families rely on it. You don’t realise how much you need that facility until you’re put in a position where you’ve got no choice.”

Collab for a Cause will include a course prepared by each chef, plus drinks, auctions and live entertainment. It’s August 31, tickets $250, at Lot 100 in Hay Valley.

Visit:lot100.com.au

– Jessica Galletly

HILLS CAFE TIKTOK TEEN CONFIRMS MASSIVE MOVE

A young Adelaide Hills cafe owner who became a TikTok sensation has packed up and is moving to the city.

Tom Oswald, 19, closed his Hahndorf pop-up venue, Homeboy, in late June and will relaunch his cafe on North Terrace, with support from Renew Adelaide.

The new venture, a hole-in-the-wall style cafe in the Yugo student accommodation building, is expected to open in about eight weeks.

Oswald and Renew Adelaide took to social media to announce the new CBD Homeboy, which will serve up his signature coffee, sandwiches and cinnamon scrolls.

“Since starting his cafe at the beautiful @thieles_shop in Handorf, Tom has managed to grow, and connect with his audience by sharing the ups and downs, day-to-day operations, and the joys of running a small business,” the Insta post said.

“This new venture will be his biggest project yet, as he transforms a cold shell in the CBD into his very own unique space.”

Homeboy, aka Tom Oswald, will launch a new cafe in the CBD with the help of Renew Adelaide. Picture: Instagram.

Homeboy, aka Tom Oswald, will launch a new cafe in the CBD with the, help of Renew Adelaide. Picture: Instagram.

Renew Adelaide is a non-profit that activates vacant spaces with unique ventures, via a rent-free program.

Last year, Oswald opened his dream business, a pop-up in Thiele’s Shop, on Mt Barker Road, but failed to attract a single paying customer.

Two months later, the cafe was bustling coffee lovers, with his viral TikTok videos drawing in plenty of fans.

Several of his TikToks have surpassed a million views and his account has amassed more than five million likes and almost 250,000 followers, further adding to the cafe’s popularity.

Tom Oswald serving customers and making coffee in his pop-up business Homeboy Cafe in Hahndorf, SA. Picture: Emma Brasier

It started with a 19-second video of the barista appearing downtrodden, captioned “opened a cafe and nobody came” and when the first reservation came through he was “over the moon”.

“It was a milestone moment for me. I even posted it on TikTok and got 2.2 million views,” he said.

“I was getting 10,000 followers a week. It was a bit overwhelming.

“As I started to post on social media, stuff started to pick up, and people came through. A lot of support from the community.”