SA lockdown recipes: Top Adelaide chefs share their favourite dishes to cook at home
Go inside the kitchens of some of Adelaide’s top chefs, including Max and Laura Sharrad, and find out what they’re cooking during lockdown. See their secret recipes.
Food & Wine
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They’re among the biggest names in the Adelaide food scene, and the brains behind some of the most popular restaurants around town.
But what dishes do Adelaide chefs such as Max Sharrad, Callum Hann, David Swain and Trent Lymn like to prepare for their loved ones at home?
Since we’re all in lockdown, they’ve dusted off their personal cookbooks and shared the secret recipes they save for their own kitchen - from a delicious lasagne, to the perfect burger and even a Melt Henley pizza.
Try out their recipes and tell us how your dishes turned out below.
Max Sharrad
Owner, head chef at Fugazzi Bar & Dining Room and Nido
Sharrad says: “The ragu base is definitely my nonna’s recipe. It’s perfect for (winter) weather like this, when it’s cold, wet, miserable. You can just curl up next to a fire witha slice of lasagne, a glass of wine and eat your troubles away.”
David Swain
Executive Chef and Owner, FINO at Seppeltsfield and FINO VINO.
Swain says: “Winter lock down has got to be all about comfort food, my go-to is the ever versatile chicken. My favourite right now is simple barbecued chicken with celeriac and mushrooms. The earthy flavours of celeriac and mushroom with the charry flavour of the chicken hit the spot for winter. Paired perfectly with a bottle of Seppeltsfield Barossa Grenache – joven in style with aromatic brightness, sourced from the iconic Great Terraced Vineyard on the estate.”
Lauren Southwell
Head chef at Africola
Southwell says: “This dish has evolved over many years of staff meals. It’s super simple and versatile. You can make a delicious meal with a small amount of staple ingredients and whatever is in the fridge. I cook a variation of this dish regularly at home and it’s a hit either on its own or as a side dish.”
Patrick Spriggs
Head Chef, Eyre Hotel Whyalla
Spriggs says: “I love cooking this at home because you can get everyone involved. They can add whatever they like to their burger and assemble it themselves. Pineapple, eggs, haloumi, jalapeños, mushroom, beetroot. Anything goes!
“The thing I like most about doing my Smash Burger compared to a classic
burger is you are able to cook a Smash Burger to well done and it’s still incredibly juicy. This
is due to the rendered fat.”
Trent Lymn
Head chef at 2KW Bar and Restaurant
Lymn says: “I love making this dish because I have childhood memories of my father having to make us lunch on a Saturday and we would be given sardines on toast, From an early age I was more likely eat sardines with pickled onions, olives and salami then look for sweet treats. It helped shape my palate for the future.”
Callum Hann
Owner and head chef at Eleven, Lou’s Place, and Pick A Local ambassador
Hann says: “It’s South Australian citrus season at the moment and I always try to incorporate locally sourced in-season ingredients in my cooking. The citrus pavlova is a great twist on a classic. One of the positives from lockdown is the opportunity to spend quality time with family and to try out some new recipes. I have stocked up on some great locally sourced fresh produce and will be trying out a few new ideas as well as recreating some of my family favourites while I have a bit of extra time.”
Kyle Booker
Head chef at Melt Henley
Kyle says: “Pizza is an absolute crowd pleaser which always brings my friends and family together. What is so great about the Margherita Pizza is that there are so many options you can add, so no matter what you can always cater to everyone’s preferences. My recommendation is always chilli and extra cheese!”
Emma McCaskill
Tasting Australia guest programmer, Adelaide Institute of Hospitality
McCaskill says: “When asked to bring a salad to the folks house for a family get together, this one never fails! The golden roasted cauliflower salad is perfectly balanced between freshness and crunch and proves to hold up for lunch the next day. This is lovely as it is, served as part of a spread, or spooned alongside some roast chicken or fish.”
Simon Bryant
Tasting Australia’s festival director
Bryant says: “With both parents working all hours under the sun they still managed to get home cooked food on a properly set table for eight every single night. To this day I remain eternally grateful; actually in awe of a generation that grew up during the war and just got stuff done tough shear tenacity and unfaltering belief that the simple things were the most important in life.
“When they couldn’t be there, Sybil, a salt of the earth Yorkshire Woman from up the road would take over our kitchen and make sure we “ate proper”. Her Shepherd’s Pie recipe can never be replicated, it came from the heart, but here’s my messed up version with lentils.”
Bubbles Brunch with Trisha Greentree, Simon Bryant and Sean Connolly, at Town Square Kitchen (Victoria Square) on May 9. For details and bookings go to tastingaustralia.com.au
Sashi Cheliah
Former MasterChef Australia winner, owner and chef at Gaja by Sashi, Gaja Express
Cheliah says: “Rendang is a traditional and hearty dish which is loved by most people in Asia, as for my family its something we love to share with our love one and friends during most gatherings as it brings back memories of us growing back in Singapore.”
Duncan Welgemoed
Owner and executive chef, Africola, Tasting Australia guest programmer
Rose Adam
Former MasterChef Australia finalist, owner and head chef at The Middle Store cafe
Adam says: “I love making this for family dinner, it’s so quick and simple to make, you can pretty much put whatever toppings you like (or what your family likes for the fussy eaters), paired with a quick pasta and salad and you’ve got a complete meal. You can also serve it with some meats and cheeses as a starter. I love to add a spicy sausage, caramelised onion and soft feta to shake it up. Definitely a family favourite.”
Adam Swanson
San Remo Pasta ambassador, Cheeky Chook Eats
Swanson says: “This dish is quick’n’easy and always a crowd pleaser in my house and is the most requested meal from my family. If you want to take it to the next level add some crabmeat with a hint of chilli.”
Justin James
Botanic Gardens Restaurant’s new executive chef
James says: “Right now, the nights are getting chilly, and I want something comforting and warm, maybe something nostalgic. So, the dish I would make for friends and family is a dish that reminds me of my time in Manhattan, the NYC halal cart dish: chicken over rice. Traditionally it is a mix of yellow rice, grilled chicken, fresh lettuce and tomato, white sauce, and hot sauce. If you do not have any fresh produce, the chicken on rice with white sauce
and hot sauce will be the winner.”
Brett Worrall
Star of Greece head chef
Worrall says: “I love to focus on using local fresh produce for my family.”
Tony Carroll
Executive head chef at Fishbank
Carroll says: “This is a firm favourite in the Carroll household, my wife has an Italian heritage, so all things Italian feature heavily in the family meal repertoire. My kids are all grown up now, and enjoy a bit of spice, but this dish also evokes memories of summer holidays in Goolwa collecting pipis when they were young, and my father in-law cooking up the best ever Spaghetti Vongole.”
Jessi Singh
Head chef and owner, Daughter in Law
Singh says: “I love cooking this dish as South Australia has some of the best seafood. This dish rightly so, lets the salmon shine. You don’t have to do too much with good quality produce”.
Josh Lansley
Head chef at East End Cellars
Lansley says: “I Love cooking pastries at home weather it be a big tart or a small eclair, my
family are all lovers of quality baked goods, so I know this tart will always go down a treat!’”
Brendan Wessels
Head chef at Aurora restaurant, former head chef at The Cube
Wessels says: “Peri Peri chicken has a very dear place in my heart. I was living in the South African bush veld with my now wife Lindsay, when we were first courting. If we had a night off, we would drive 1.5 hours through the bush to the nearest town, buy a peri peri chicken ‘flatty’, drive back and cook it on our little one man braai. It is home for us, it’s nostalgia and comforts us when we are feeling a little home sick, especially now during banned international travel.”
Anna Gerlach
Owner and operator, Indulgence Food Design home catering
Gerlach says: “This is one of our family favourites because everyone loves it and because it’s pure country comfort food we can all sit down and enjoy together.”
Themis Chryssidis
Co-founder and chef at Eleven and Lou’s Place
Themis says: “I love cooking this dish as South Australia has some of the best seafood. This dish rightly so, lets the salmon shine. You don’t have to do too much with good quality produce.”
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