ON THE PASS

What changes can we expect to see at Etta? I’m the third head chef here, so in terms of change, it’s more of an evolution. We’ve got a really loyal customer base, and for me the most important thing was to keep them happy and to never alienate them. If it wasn’t pointed out to you that there’s Hainan lantern chillies, or crisp anchovies on the menu, you may not notice, but that’s how I put my own personality and my heritage into it. It’s still Etta, but it’s Etta 3.0.

Do you have any vegan items on your menu at the moment? Because I spent a bit of time working at Smith and Deli during lockdown, I learned a lot about mouth-feel, and the intent behind making vegan food delicious. I’ve carried a lot of this with me to Etta. All of our vegetarian dishes on the menu can be switched out to be vegan. So it’s not just omitting items to make it vegan, but adding, so that vegans are as valued as any other guest.

What else have you learned creating a menu for a wine-focused restaurant and bar? It’s been quite interesting. For example, I wanted to put a devilled egg on the menu, but because it’s such a wine-focused place, there are a lot of considerations I had to take into account. One of them being, something that’s as sulphuric as an egg, it doesn’t really pair very well with wine. It’s really about having as much consideration for what you’re drinking, as well as eating, it’s been fascinating.

What makes the perfect wine snack? I don’t think you can go past an oyster, especially with the producers and farmers we have access to. At the moment I’m doing an oyster with a mignonette granita. It’s super bright, super fresh and you also get that salivation you get from a high-acid wine.

60 Lygon St, Brunswick East, Melbourne, Vic, ettadining.com.au