Following a successful career in restaurant kitchens, including modern-Thai Longrain in Sydney and Melbourne, Martin Boetz traded his chef clogs for muddy Blundstones and a life on the land. Not that this is a cruisy midlife tree change - he will be involved in a European restaurant, Rushcutters, opening in Sydney next month, which will feature his produce. Right now, Boetz's new farming business, the Cook's Co-op, is an exhausting one-man operation with help from mates in exchange for a good lunch when a crop needs harvesting. He's energised, though, by the potential for expansion and his plans to convert a huge shed into a commercial kitchen and dining hall on part of his property on the Hawkesbury River.
My pantry Annalisa Italian tinned cherry tomatoes for pasta, Alto olive oil, Sirena tinned tuna for pasta with baby capers and lemon zest. OVViO organic dried herb blends are great if you haven't got fresh to hand.
My fridge I bought a glass-fronted fridge because I'd always wanted to be able to see what I had and start thinking about what to cook for dinner while I was eating my breakfast. In it are Thomy German mustard or Maille Dijon, Saskia Beer's beetroot jam as a dip or to have with steak. Tracklements horseradish cream, Parmalat Pure Organic unhomogenised milk.
I drink OVViO Organics English Breakfast tea with a little vanilla powder. The vanilla powder is just dried, powdered vanilla beans, which I also use whenever I want vanilla, in baking and desserts. It's from OVViO Organics, too. I don't drink coffee or fruit juices. As for wine, I like anything that's pinot noir-based.
Saturday night tipple
I love Campari and soda but I really love Montenegro; that's an amaro made with cloves and orange, on ice with a slice of orange. Or if it's a celebration, Gosset rose champagne.
Last dinner at home Penne pasta with zucchini, beans, garlic, capers and anchovies. I have a jar of parsley I've blended with olive oil, which I fold through at the end and I serve the pasta with lots of parmesan. The parsley oil is just the herb buzzed up in the food processor, and it keeps for a week in the fridge. The meal was actually a quick lunch for five people who'd come to help pick beans.
Doritos Cheese Supreme corn chips. I could eat three packets in one go.
I get it from the garden these days, so it's the seasonality of the produce and the people who live around me. There are great producers up here near the Hawkesbury River, such as Melanda Park free-range pork and Karen Ball from Willowbrae Chevre Cheese. I love Italian cookery, so I always get inspired by River Cafe cookbooks. They're simple recipes and sometimes when you need a bit of help you just flick one open and find something you can adapt to what you have on hand.
A teapot my father gave me for my 21st birthday. It's a great design and has a little candle holder underneath to keep the tea warm.
When I was working in the Chianti region of Italy in 1994, my mum came and stayed with me for two weeks and we had an impromptu lunch at Harry's Bar in Venice. It was just really special. We had ravioli stuffed with wild mushrooms in a creamy sauce. The waiter was so great and he just came and refilled our plates twice. We had carpaccio and a Bellini to start with. I don't think we had a dessert after three plates of ravioli. We probably had another Bellini to finish.
My mortar and pestle I use a lot to bruise garlic or grind spices. Cast-iron pots for slow cooking. I have a Kasumi serrated knife for carving and chopping, which is super-sharp. I have a collection of glass bowls, which I love layering desserts in. I've just been collecting them over the years from nowhere in particular; when I see one, I just grab it.
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