IN THE ZON E
Great restaurants don’t just happen. After working with Australia’s best chefs and running his own kitchens, Sam Pinzone shares his lessons.
“Food, for me, is everything.” When Sam Pinzone talks about food, he isn’t kidding around. From watching Neil Perry on TV as a child to pursuing his goal of working for him, running his own kitchen and now publishing his first cookbook (Great Produce, Real Food – due out at the end of the year), life is, and always has been, about food. Now, he’s taking the knowledge he’s gained throughout his career and offering his advice to others as a kitchen consultant.
But with a successful restaurant to his name – The Longroom, in Melbourne, where he is a part-owner and executive chef – and after having won hats with Gault & Millau during his time at The Rose Upstairs, why consult? “I’ve studied food my entire life,” says Pinzone, who continued his early development under acclaimed chef Jacques Reymond. “I wanted to be a consultant who helps chefs by working with them. Not just by coming in and giving them a menu and recipes, but by actually developing a menu around the business and the chef without being pushy.”
According to Pinzone it’s not just about having a great menu, it’s about proper food costing, value for money, sourcing great produce, marketing, PR and social media. “It’s not about the lights and glamour,” he says. “It’s about being real and making a business successful.”