Matt Moran, restaurateur and TV chef

Matt Moran, 39, is co-owner and head chef of quintessential Sydney eatery ARIA Restaurant

Matt Moran, 39, is co-owner and head chef of quintessential Sydney eatery ARIA Restaurant

He lives, eats and breathes work, but when Matt Moran is not in his harbourside restaurant or on the small screen in The Chopping Block, he’s at home on Sydney’s eastern beaches, where he lives with his criminal lawyer/novelist wife Sarah Hopkins and their children Harry, six, and Amelia, three.

Chef’s perk I love a good coffee in the morning. I get home late and wake up early, so it’s a good boot in the bum and one of the first things I do. My coffee machine is a mini version of the one I’ve got at ARIA – an ECM.

Fit fix I train in a gym not far from ARIA and find it really relaxing. My business partner Peter Sullivan and I go three or four times a week in the middle of the day, when we’re just starting to tire. I go there, turn off, come back, have a coffee, something to eat and feel fantastic.

Taste testing I try to eat everything in moderation. We have something at 11am and at about 4pm but I pick all night, tasting food. I often say I have one meal a day that starts at eight in the morning and finishes at midnight. I’ve been doing this for 23 years.

Home cooking I love cooking at home – I find it very therapeutic and easy as long as I don’t have anyone in my way. Sarah’s always getting in the way! She cooks for the little ones but has only cooked for me about four times in 10 years. It just makes sense. That’s what I do. I only have a couple of nights off – Sundays and Tuesdays – and Sunday is a big home night. I generally cook boiled chicken with some shallots in a master stock I’ve had for years.

Chef’s indulgence We’re building a new house at the moment and I’ve got a cool room there. When I come home late at night, I’ve always got a box of fruit and veg and I hate to unpack, so it will be so easy to put it all in the cool room. I can’t wait.

Favourite furniture We entertain about every second week so the dining table is important to us. My brother-in-law, Peter Harris, made it a few years back. It’s solid blackbutt, seats up to 14 people and is really beautiful.

Eating out Harry loves going to restaurants – he thinks he’s a grown-up. Amelia will last for a period of time and then goes berserk. We go to North Bondi Italian Food a lot.

Treasured item I have a beautiful Gloria Petyarre painting – Leaves. Every way you view it, the work has a different look. Sarah works for the Aboriginal Legal Service and we both love Aboriginal paintings. It’s very special.

Best accessory I have a few watches, but I have one I really like. It’s an IWC Pilot Watch, which is very hard to get. I’ve got big arms, big hands and I love it because it’s big.

Proudest moment I’m very proud of my wife’s book, The Crimes of Billy Fish. I saw the amount of work that went into it and I know, deep down, that’s what Sarah really wants to do.

Tendency to hoard I’d like to say I throw things out but I don’t. I’ve got my first reference, from Michael De Laurence at La Belle Helene, and the first weekly takings docket from my first business with Peter in Sydney’s Paddington Inn, back in 1991. I still have my first cookbook, Michel Roux’s pastry book. I think I made every dessert in it.

Great escape We have a farm at Rockley near Oberon in the NSW Central Tablelands. My father lives there and it’s really chilled. You can’t get mobile reception – and that’s good.

Final renovation We’re meant to be moving into our house at Gordon’s Bay by Christmas but it’s been going on for years. I’ve done this three times – bought and renovated – and this will be the last one.