When Tom van Beem and Emma Pegrum took over Wines of While in December, regulars could have been forgiven for experiencing pangs of déjà vu. After all, van Beem was the opening manager when Wines of While’s original owner Sam Winfield opened the pioneering natural wine bar and bottle shop in August 2018.

This month, the return of another familiar face will likely evoke similar feelings.

Branden Scott began working at Wines of While in early 2020 as a casual baker assisting then-baker Rupert McDonald make the bar’s terrifically burnished sourdough bread. In 2022, he moved into a co-head chef role alongside Jack Botha (formerly of London’s Brawn and Dorset’s River Cottage) where the duo served some of the most compelling farmhouse cooking the city had tasted: things like very good pissaladière, the Catalan salt cod and vegetable salad esqueixada, grilled fish and other dishes one might expect to find on the tables of the vignerons that the bar championed. Until the end of June, Scott is back on the pans and will pick up where he left off.

“It all starts with the ingredients,” Scott said of his approach to cooking.

“I’ll see what’s good and then from there, I’ll write a menu. I like classic food. I don’t like reinventing things if they’re not broken.”

The menus will follow a similar four-and-four format featuring four small plates and four larger dishes including pastas and grilled things. As it was during the Scott-Botha era, Europe remains a key influence. Highlights from Scott’s first menus include vichyssoise (a chilled potato and leek soup), polenta with mushroom and egg, spaghetti dressed with a Meyer lemon cream and bottarga, plus whiting grilled over charcoal. While the menu will change regularly to reflect what Scott can get from farmers and suppliers, most dishes will tick the plays-nice-with-sourdough box.

“If the bread is good, you’re starting on the right food and you’re going to have a good meal,” said Scott, who has started the in-house breadmaking program again.

As well as welcoming Scott back into the kitchen, Wines of While is also introducing a three-course Sunday lunch menu. The price of admission is low ($55 per person) and the entire meal will be built around familiar, share-friendly deliciousness.

“We want Sunday to be a nice lunch that people can go out for without breaking the bank,” Pegrum said.

“It’s going to be a simple, nourishing communal lunch. There won’t be nothing fancy or elaborate.”

The first of these lunches takes place this Sunday, May 19 with guest chef Nagesh Seethiah from cult Melbourne wine bar Manze heading west to share his spicy, vibrant Mauritian cooking with diners.

Bookings for the Sunday lunch deal have been snapped up fast so those wanting to see what the fuss is about need to act fast. Having said that, Seethiah will also be cooking snacks on Saturday (May 18) with food available from 2pm till 9pm. Saturday’s event is walk-in only.

Wines of While is at 458 William Street, Perth and is open Wednesday to Sunday.

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