Great Australian Bake Off judge Darren Purchese’s favourite things, tips for dinner parties

Pastry chef and Great Australian Bake Off judge Darren Purchese has revealed some of his favourite things and what you can do to master the best dinner party.

Pastry chef Darren Purchese has a range of quirky cookware.

When friends come to dinner, it’s best to keep things simple, says Darren Purchese, who fears he’s missed many an invite because people dread the thought of cooking for a world-renowned chef.

“A great lasagne or pasta or pizza always works,’’ says Purchese, a judge on the sixth season of The Great Australian Bake Off, which premiered on Foxtel last Tuesday.

“Chefs are quite straightforward to cook for,” he says.

“There’s this whole impression that, ‘I’ve got a chef coming around, I’ve got to cook the most amazing thing’ but, from my point of view, I’m just really grateful someone is cooking for me.’’

He says it’s good to keep it simple.

That’s not to say Purchese avoids the kitchen on his days off – every spare second is spent conjuring up new recipes. Many will feature in his new online venture Studio Kitchen, set to go live later this year.

Purchese, famed for his extravagant desserts, says he’s more thoughtful now and focuses on sustainability and local ingredients. While the desire to pursue other interests was behind the closure of Chapel St’s Burch and Purchese Sweet Studio, the pastry king says signature cakes made from overseas fruit purees were also a factor.

“They (overseas ingredients) just don’t sit right with me anymore,’’ Purchese says.

“Now we only use Australian goods with low food miles.’’

The Great Australian Bake Off airs Tuesdays at 8.30pm on FOXTEL.

He loves spending time in his kitchen and home office.

Who Darren Purchese

Where Prahran, Melbourne. I live in an apartment with my wife (and fellow chef) Cath Claringbold. It’s a compact space but it’s close to the Prahran Market.

Favourite spaces I have two favourites – one is the kitchen because I’m always in there cooking up something but I’ve also got a little office area where I write my recipes and my cookbooks.

Home is centred around food. It’s about spending time with my wife and relaxing over a really great meal – either something we have just come up with or an old favourite.

DARREN PURCHESE’S FAVOURITE THINGS

PIZZA-THEMED WALL CLOCK

Pictures: Eugene Hyland.

I needed a pizza clock for my kitchen, I really did. If I’m cooking any meal that has pizza in it (and photographing or filming it to create online content), then I will have this clock in the background. I often change the clock in my kitchen, depending on what I’m cooking.

AMY WINEHOUSE ARTWORK

Pictures: Eugene Hyland.

I absolutely love Amy Winehouse. It’s so heartbreaking that she’s not around anymore, her voice was so special. The artist, Horace Panter, was a bassist in a band my wife and I love called The Specials. I know him through Twitter – I sent him my cookbooks because he’s a bit of a fan of food and he sent me this art.

LAMINGTONS & LEMON TART COOKBOOK

Pictures: Eugene Hyland.

One of my favourite desserts is a lemon tart. I used to cook a lot of them in the UK. When I moved to Australia, lamingtons were something I didn’t know anything about but when I discovered them, I thought, ‘Wow, these are awesome’. This cookbook is like a coming together of two worlds.

SHELLEY PANTON HANDMADE JUG

Pictures: Eugene Hyland.

Shelley Panton had a beautiful homewares shop two minutes from my apartment and she made this for us for a gift. We often use it in (online content) when we want a really nice jug for pouring cream over a tart. We have pieces that mean something and we use them over and over again.

LE CREUSET HAN SOLO ROASTER

Pictures: Eugene Hyland.

I try not to be full-on Star Wars but I do love Le Creuset – I have a whole suite of Dutch ovens and pots – and when I saw this Star Wars-themed one I had to have it. I actually use it quite a lot, so much that I’m scared I’m going to ruin it one day. I do a dish with short ribs and two short ribs fit in this really well.

ALESSI TEA REX KETTLE

Pictures: Eugene Hyland.

I love my coffee but after about 11am I switch to green teas for the rest of the day. Cath bought me this kettle for my birthday. It’s called a Tea Rex, but it kind of looks like a dragon.

GOZNEY PIZZA OVEN

Pictures: Eugene Hyland.

This sits on my apartment balcony for pizza night. It gets to 500 degrees and can cook a pizza in 90 seconds. I would have to say pizza is literally my favourite food – pizza is the answer to everything.

HELIOGRAF LIGHT SOY LAMP

Pictures: Eugene Hyland.

This table lamp is like the soy sauce bottle that’s shaped like a little fish that you get at sushi restaurants. It’s made from recycled plastic that was destined to go into the sea and they have put it to good use. I’ve gone away from using plastic.

Originally published as Great Australian Bake Off judge Darren Purchese’s favourite things, tips for dinner parties