By Leigh O’Connor.
Growing up, Jeff Schroeter wanted to be a race car driver – he got hungry and that’s why he started to cook!
Born in Walla Walla, he now heads the culinary team at Chef-hatted Beckett’s on Glebe Point Road in Glebe, where you can embrace the elegance of leisurely dining in an iconic space along with great cocktails.
This fine diner is the brainchild of renowned theatre director Wendy Beckett and Jeff, making a statement on the Sydney culinary scene from an historic location in the former Darling Mills site.
"Cooking reminds me of my childhood and when I cook, I think about big family gatherings on the farm. Whenever we celebrated an occasion, cooking got everyone involved,” he recalls.
"I remember my Aunties running around in excitement on the homestead and family members growing their own food they would bring to the table.”
Known as Australia’s food bowl, the Riverina region of NSW has extremely fertile territory.
"We grew up learning to love our connection to the earth and so did my passion for local and seasonal produce. I had a very active childhood – eating food from the farm, foraging in surrounding lakes, rivers and forests.”
Chickens, potatoes and tomatoes were straight from the backyard, Jeff’s Mother would make fresh banana ice cream from her churn and yabbies were pulled from the nearest dam.
"I learnt to have a deep appreciation for the fruitful soil and abundance of fresh produce that set me on my culinary journey.”
Over three decades, he travelled the kitchens of The Savoy Hotel in London, Restaurant Marktplatz in Switzerland and The Royalton Hotel in Manhattan.
Settling in Sydney and working in the playgrounds of Bistro Moncur and Bayswater Brasserie, he then decided to open Beckett’s.
"The reason I cook is to give…that’s my style. I think adding labels to food can give us a narrow focus on what food can be – it is meant to surprise us, so I always hope my cooking can delight someone in a new and exciting way.
"I will often do twists of the classics and dishes that have fallen off menus or are out of favour – I cook by what I feel around me and by the mood I sense in the day.”
Expect a dash of New York energy and a pop of London mood when you enter Beckett’s – backed up by a menu dishing up stunning plates such as truffle Wagyu beef onglet.
"Onglet is a favourite dish of mine as it has a full flavour, which like aged beef, is slightly ‘cheesy’, but is still tender when cooked correctly.
"The combination of a blue cheese soft polenta works in harmony with the flavour of the onglet and truffles, while mushroom bridges those flavours to make the dish sing.”
As for the future, Jeff says since COVID, staff scarcity has had a definite effect – Australians have welcomed dining out with open arms and the industry has exploded; unfortunately, it has been difficult to keep up with demand.
He hopes to nurture a new generation of talented colleagues and build a community at Beckett’s – hopefully, there will also be more time to go fishing!
