Washing dishes at 14 in a hotel in rural England gave British-born Strode a taste for commercial kitchens. His career included high-end hotels and restaurants in Britain and France before landing in Melbourne in 1992. He was head chef at The Adelphi; had his own restaurant, Pomme; then headed the kitchen at Langton's before an offer from MG Garage lured him to Sydney. He left there to open his own place, Bistrode, which closed after seven years, the last three of which overlapped with his gig at Bistrode CBD. Going casual last year, he opened The Fish Shop in Potts Point. He lives with his wife, chef Jane Strode, and their two sons in Surry Hills.
My pantry
Alto extra virgin olive oil, a robust Australian oil for dressing and drizzling. Alto merlot vinegar, it's quite sweet, great with oysters. Australian salt, Murray River pink or Olsson sea. McIlhenny & Co Tabasco sauce for spicing up dishes for ourselves after we've fed the kids. HP sauce or Heinz ketchup for my eggs and bacon at the weekend. Kewpie mayo is a new addiction since cooking more casually at The Fish Shop. San Remo penne pasta - cheap and cheerful for an easy dinner with the kids with a nice homemade sauce.
My fridge
Pyengana cheddar, my absolute favourite Australian cheese. I'm from the west country in England, the home of cheddar and this from Tasmania is as good as any from back home. Farmer Browns or any good eggs - it's worth buying the best, ''free-range'' often isn't.
Freezer
Mini Magnum ice-creams. Helga's wholemeal sliced bread for toast and sandwiches. Bags of Jane's bolognese - it's an absolute staple as we can get kids' dinner ready in 15 minutes. Peas and sweetcorn.
Burrawong chook roasted with garlic and onions, pumpkin and corn.
I steal the kids' Mini Magnums late at night.
Piccolo latte in the morning, then T2 lemongrass and ginger tea as I never drink coffee after midday. If I'm cooking steak on the BBQ, I adore that with a good chianti. Lighter style reds, like pinots, are definitely my thing.
Saturday night tipple I love Campari, orange and a dash of lemonade.
My Global knife is the best all rounder for big or small jobs. I sharpen it on a sharpening stone, which I find very therapeutic. KitchenAid - I just started baking with the boys on Sundays. This is fantastic if you like baking, and we are using muffin and cake tins all the time as well. Weber BBQ, so compact, it's great. Chef Inox non-stick frying pan is really good because it can go into the oven. French bread board [from French importers Ici et La in Sydney].
When I was cooking at Grosvenor House Hotel in London in 1982, the saffron came in little glass bottles, which I now use for spices generally.
London restaurateurs Mark Hix of HIX and Fergus Henderson of St John for putting British food back on the map. Ben Shewry from Melbourne's Attica for his humility and the fact he still pan fries, rather than sous-vides, fish. April Bloomfield, I read her book A Girl and Her Pig in one day. Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion, an indispensable reference. Anybody who's trying to grow on or take from our planet in a responsible way.
Etxebarri in the Spanish Basque mountains; the journey there by bus and cabs, the fact we had the kids and the in-laws, the location, the howling wind, the produce, the simplest and best cooking I've ever eaten and a lift back to San Sebastian with Victor the chef … Perfect day out.
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