Q&A: Matt Moran, chef & restaurateur, 53

Chef Matt Moran on fishing trips with his mate Gordon Ramsay, his love of motorcycling — and his star turn cooking on a cruise ship.

Star attraction: Matt Moran. Picture: Nikki Short

How would you explain “Australian cuisine” to a tourist from abroad? I think we have always had that reputation of clean and green, with very good produce. We are incredibly lucky to have a vast coastline with both warm and cold waters. But I often have these arguments with my mate Gordon [Ramsay]. He’ll say, “You don’t have turbot, you don’t have halibut” and I say, “You don’t have coral trout, you don’t have King George whiting.”

Can you describe a dish that feels like ’Straya on a plate? Something that’s very simple, produce-driven and with a bit of native character... I think it has to have an element of native ingredients. Those fish I mentioned are my two favourites, and some of the lamb we produce is among the best in the world.

You’re the star attraction on Cunard’s inaugural Great Australian Culinary Voyage next January. Ever been on a cruise ship? Not as a punter. I did a cruise in 2000 – Sydney to New Zealand, one dinner. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves in for but it was actually a lot of fun. The hardest part was getting used to swaying all the time.

What sort of challenges are you expecting in the galley? The only real challenge I think will be if we have rough seas and a little bit of seasickness, but Queen Elizabeth is a big bloody boat. I imagine the kitchens are pretty flash. I’m treating it as if I’ll be working in a five-star hotel for five nights.

You also consult to Singapore Airlines. Why so much investment in inflight food these days? All airlines get you from A to B. The competitive edge they can offer is to do better entertainment and better food. Twenty years ago people used to say “airline food is shit, hospital food is shit” and put them in the same basket. But if you look at airline food now – there’s French Champagne, caviar, fresh seafood... And I suspect that with people like Mark Best and Luke Mangan on board now, cruise ship food is a lot better too.

What’s a favourite Moran family holiday? [Before the pandemic] we’d go skiing every year in either Japan or the US. That’s something we started doing when the kids were young. It was a strategic thing; when kids get into their teenage years and their early 20s they don’t want to holiday with their parents anymore. But when they become skiers and they love it, they can’t afford to do it on their own, so they need you.

Your next trip overseas? In July I’ll catch up with Gordon in London and then we’ll go fly fishing in Iceland. He took me for my 50th birthday and we decided to do it every year for the rest of our lives. Iceland is one of the world’s best fly fishing destinations and Reykjavik is amazing. You come out of a club at three in the morning and it feels like three in the afternoon. The food is all right, they eat a lot of horse actually. But they’re Vikings – they love to get drunk and fight. I loved it.

How else do you blow off steam? Motorcycles. My love is getting away and going enduro riding in the bush, not so much the high-speed stuff anymore. A couple of mates on bikes, maybe a bit of camping, a few drinks – just getting away from it. That and going to the farm [in the NSW Central Tablelands], they are my two loves. Every now and then I’ll do a track day and I still enjoy that but as you get older you get more sensible. I probably don’t go as hard as I used to.

The Great Australian Culinary Voyage (Sydney-Melbourne-Burnie-Sydney) Jan 28-Feb 2; cunard.com/en-au