Celebrity dish … Michael Moore, owner of The Summit Restaurant and author of Moore to Food

Michael and I go way back to when he was a young pony-tailed chef and I was just moving from catering into the media. I have always been a big fan his food.  He is also one great guy. We cooked together after he joined Fresh on the Nine Network where I was co-host and until he stopped this year, we both present weekly cooking segments on Kerri-Anne on the same network.

Sydneysiders will know Michael’s restaurant – The Summit, on top of Australia Square.  This iconic restaurant recently opened a very special private dining room, Salon Privé by Champagne Taittinger. Michael has created bespoke menus for this beautifully designed

room with its 360 degree views of the city and Sydney Harbour.

Michael is also one the new resident chefs at Westfield in Pitt Street Mall, Sydney.  His venture EAT Deli Kitchen purports it to be the Australian home of the Reuben sandwich – that classic New York combo of salt beef, pickles and mustard on rye.  Michael’s version features Wagyu Salt Beef and is served hot.  I haven’t tried one yet but it’s on my food wish list for my next visit to Westfield.

As well as launching a new restaurant, late last year Michael launched his new book, Moore to Food (New Holland) where he shares his culinary secrets and presents recipes and tips for entertaining at home in a stylish, yet comprehensive manual format.  Definitely a book for anyone who loves to entertain.

With a 25 year plus career owning and running top restaurants in his native London and adopted Sydney, where he has been awarded a number of chefs’ hats from the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide, Michael is certainly well qualified to be a celebrity dish.

Over to Michael: 

What is your earliest food memory: Making blackcurrant jam and rock cakes with my Nan back home in the U.K!

What is the strangest meal you’ve ever been served: Chickens feet and pigs bum (Andouillette sausage)

What is your signature dish: Twice cooked pork belly with roasted apple marmalade and glass crackling

What is your favourite cookbook: Marcella Hazan ‘Italian Cooking’

What do you never eat: Andouillette sausage

What are the five ingredients you would take to a desert island: Buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, olive oil, bread, chocolate

What are you having for dinner tonight: Wagyu salt beef ‘Reuben’ sandwich on rye, swiss cheese, pickles, mustard mayonnaise

Thanks Michael. 

The details:

The Summit Restaurant

Level 47, Australia Square, 264 George Street, Sydney

Telephone 02 9247 9777

Email reservations@summitrestaurant.com.au

EAT Deli Kitchen

Level 5, Westfield Sydney

Pitt Street Mall, Sydney

Telephone 0423 441 220

Celebrity dish … Ian ‘Herbie’ Hemphill, spice wizard, author and proprietor of Herbie’s Spices

If you are passionate about what you cook and serve your friends and family, you’ll be very familiar with Herbie’s Spices. If you live in Sydney you’ve certainly been to Herbie’s delightful shop in Rozelle. And if you don’t live in Sydney, you are probably glad that his herbs and spices are stocked at your local gourmet deli or food store and also available mail order via his website.

Ian is Australia’s leading authority on herbs and spices. He produces hundreds of spices, herbs, extracts, pastes and blends as well as books and dvds.

Speaking of books, Herbie and I have co-written a book, Just Add Spice (Penguin) which is being launched this week! Just Add Spice contains 100 recipes to show you how to expand your repertoire and spice up simple dishes using enticing herbs and spices, all with wine matching notes. This book also debunks the myth that it is difficult to match wine with spiced food.

Just Add Spice is available in bookshops and department stores now for $49.95.

Here are Herbie’s answers:

Celebrity dish … Serge Dansereau, Executive Chef & Owner, The Bathers’ Pavilion

Serge was enticed to Australia from Quebec in 1983 as part of the opening team for the Regent Sydney (now Four Seasons Sydney). While he was there he received many accolades – Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide Chef of the Year in 1989, three toques for Kable’s in 1990 and, in 1994, he received the Sydney Morning Herald Special Award for Excellence.

French Canda’s loss was definitely Australia’s gain.

Then in 1999, Serge crossed the harbour and became co-owner and executive chef at one of my favourite Sydney restaurants, The Bathers’ Pavilion at beautiful Balmoral Beach which encompasses a restaurant, chef’s table, café, kiosk and two special function spaces.

Serge has written three lovely cookbooks and has a fourth on the way later this year. I love his style of cooking and respect for produce and can’t wait for his new book!

What is your earliest food memory: My earliest food memory is probably the fish cooked by my father after the numerous camping and fishing trip he took us on; I love nature and camping but I do not think I have the patience for all day fishing especially for ice fishing, something he was very keen to take us on in the middle of winter in Canada!

What is the strangest meal you’ve ever been served: I remember having worked at The Regent in Hong Kong and the kitchen crew took me after work for their usual Mah-jong games and a meal in a secret den that also served food; they took great pride to order and feed me all type of strange food but I will never forget the fluorescent baby snakes, there was no way to say no, so I made the best of it but it did look radioactive.

Celebrity dish … Matt Preston, food journalist, restaurant critic, and television presenter

The second series of MasterChef returns to our tv screens later this year. Whether or not you think it should be called MasterCook, it has engaged the Australian public, kids in particular who now talk about “plating up”. So I thought we might get the inside scoop from one of the judges.

Although Matt was an experienced writer in his native UK, it was not till he came to Australia that he started writing about food and soon made his mark, winning “Best New Writer” in the Australian Food Media Awards when I was President of the Food Media Club Australia (now the Australian Association of Food Professionals).

What is your earliest food memory: A casserole from my grandmother’s wood-fired aga or a World Cup Willy nougat bar.

What is the strangest meal you’ve ever been served: A meal at El Bulli that included a plate of rose petals, undercooked kidney and another dish of ice. Grilled scorpion was also pretty weird.